OUTLINE ON
THEORIES
Behaviorist
• Advocate: B.F. Skinner
(1904-1990)
• Thrust of Theory
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Stimulus – response
Learning occurs from the outside
Behavior is not taught, it is managed
Consequences determine if the behavior
is or is not acceptable
– Consequences can be negative or
positive
• Implications:
– Emphasis on rewards and punishments
– If a child responds appropriately, it is
assumed that the behavior is learned
– To be effective, the reward must seem
pleasant to the child
– Temporary compliance
– Teacher is in control
• Role of the Teacher
– Dispenser of rewards and punishments
– Decides WHAT to reward and punish
– Question…What’s good for whom?
• Comments:
– May encourage positive actions for
wrong reasons
– Rewards/punishments may be a “game”
to child – he/she manipulates the adults
– Demands consistency
– Tends to be product oriented
Maturationist
• Advocate: Arnold Gesell
(1880-1961)
• Thrust of Theory:
– Genetically based – emphasis on
heredity
– Normative – average child
– Focus is on the child being “ready”, not
the curriculum being appropriate
• Implications:
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Wait and see attitude
Emphasis on nurturing
Learning is predictable
Child is ready or not ready
• Role of the teacher:
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Nurturer
Individualized learning
Do not “push”
Decide if child is “ready – mature”
• Comments:
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Downplays environment
Norms helpful – but “average: ???
Individualized learning is not practical
Teacher response – Child is not ready may
excuse trying to find alternative approaches or
more appropriate curriculum
– May cause children to be “pushed”
– Misuse of screening
– Leads to transition and retention based on
immaturity
Cognitive-Constructivist
• Advocate: Jean Piaget
(1896-1980)
• Primary thrusts:
– Child constructs knowledge
– Learning and behavior based on cognitive
development
– Aim – autonomy (intellectual and moral)
– Stage theory
Sensorimotor: birth – 2
Preoperational: 2 – 7
Concrete operations: 7 – 11
Formal operations: 11 – 15….
• Implications:
– Importance of environment –
interactions
– Emphasis on meaning/understanding
– Outcomes are not always predictable
– Curriculum must be ready
(developmentally appropriate) for the
child
– Importance of hands-on activities
• Role of the teacher:
– Respect for the child
– Provide group activities – learn from
each other
– Ask open ended questions
– Have child demonstrate
knowledge/understanding
• Comments:
– Stages are flexible
– Having a constructivist classroom is not
easy. It demands a caring, intelligent,
imaginative, and nurturing teacher.