Lev Vygotsky- Vygotsky in action in the early years · Provides a theoretical underpinning fro effective practice. · Interrelationship between language and thought- thought is internalised language. · View human psychological development as a social achievement not an individual one. · Children acquire abilities with and from those around them. · Psychological development occurs through teaching /learning and upbringing using various types of spontaneous and specifically organised interaction of the child with the adults. · "What a child can do in cooperation today she can do only tomorrow. Therefore the only good kind of instruction is that which marches ahead of development and leads it." P20 Theories of childhood · Analysis of children should be both qualitative and quantitative, careful observation is just as valid as test scores. · Social and cognitive development work together and build on each other · Personal and social experience cannot be separated · Language and development build on each other · When children play they constantly use language · ZPD- zone of proximal development · Distance between the most difficult task and child can do alone and most difficult task a child can do with help Early childhood theories and contemporary issues · His approach was socio-constructivism- children construct knowledge with adults and other children. · Cultural tools- physical tools e.g. a book and psychological tools e.g. language and thought Learning theories of childhood · Imaginary play is a precursor to abstract thinking · "Through play children exercise their understanding of objects, develop relationships, mimic adult behaviours and adopt fantasy roles" P98 · Both Vygotsky and Piaget believed that children up to 12 months are capable of object substitution but it mainly occurs in the 2nd year · Play is mediated through nursery rhymes, songs, stories and fables. · Play is merely a process of repetition Child development · Best experience in a child's education is their collaboration with more skilled partners. Allows more complex tasks to be accomplished. http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/articles/play-the-work-of-lev- vygotsky/ · Imaginative play is a crucial component of a child's normal development. · Play shapes how children make sense of their worlds, how they learn thinking skills, and how they acquire language.
· Children have dialogues with themselves when they engage in imaginative play. Role-playing means creating a story and giving a voice to the different characters in the story. When children imitate others, they are developing a vocabulary that allows them to name and navigate the world around them. Less verbal children may talk more during imaginative play than in other settings. Jean Piaget Theories of childhood · While others asked "what children know" or "when they know it" Piaget asked "how children arrive at what they know · "Construction is superior to instruction" P61- children learn best when they're doing the work themselves and creating their own understanding of what's going on instead of being given and explanation. · Curiosity drives learning · Believed children needed every possible opportunity to do thinkgs for themselves. · PLAY · An important avenue for