Establishing the Foundations for Teaching and Learning Effective Strategies for Teaching

Brad Henry “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love for learning.”

Theories That Shaped Teaching Rousseau Pestalozzi Froebel Dewey Montessori Vygotski Piaget Bruner

Jean-Jacques Rousseau He believed that children naturally progressed through the processes of maturation. As a humanist, Rousseau believed that educators should provide developmentally appropriate activities that ensure children develop a healthy sense of self-worth and morality. He promoted a natural educational environment that does not restrict children’s natural growth and development.

Johann Pestalozzi He postulated that children learn through their senses and concrete experiences. Instead of teaching through rote memorization and recitation, Pestalozzi believed children should be actively engaged in the learning process. To prepare children for life, Pestalozzi emphasized the use of concrete, or hands-on, instructional materials.

Johann Pestalozzi The primary characteristics of Pestalozzi’s teaching methods include recognizing children’s potential through careful observation, understanding the importance of teacher-student relationships, strengthening peer relations, and providing opportunities for children to learn the senses.

Friedrich Froebel He is known as the “father of kindergarten.” His ideas about the values of play, singing, storytelling, language activities, and circle time experiences are considered essential elements of kindergarten and early childhood education.

John Dewey As a progressive, Dewey believed that because the world is ever-changing, students need to become information seekers who are able to apply what they’ve learned to current, relevant problems. Students learn through interacting with others, exploring self-selected topics, and applying what they have learned to solve authentic problems. Teachers facilitate students’ learning through probing questions, problem-based learning, democratic classrooms, and metacognitive activities.

Maria Montessori She believed that teachers should carefully observe children so they can create respectful, child-centered classrooms that celebrate the unique nature of each child. The Montessori method, a system for educating children and youth, develops children’s knowledge and skills through prescribed sets of materials and physical exercises.

Lev Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), a Russian developmental psychologist, emphasized the role of social interaction in students’ construction of knowledge. He suggested that learning is enhanced and extended by interacting with significant others such as their parents, teachers, siblings, and peers. His theories laid the foundation for cooperative learning and the basic tenets of constructivism.

Jean Piaget Stage Cognitive Skills Sensorimotor (infancy) Uses senses to explore world. Egocentric perspective. Recognizes events may be caused by intentional actions. Realizes objects exist even when not present. Focuses on the present. Preoperational (toddler/early childhood) Uses representational symbols. Rapidly develops language. Less dependence on senses. Classifies objects by single feature. Believes everything happens for a reason. Concrete Operational (elementary/adolescence) Thinks logically about objects and events. Classifies objects by several features. Understands numbers. Realizes objects can appear in different forms. Formal Operational (adolescence/ adulthood) Solves complex verbal and hypothetical problems. Thinks through symbols. Able to reason scientifically and logically. Capable of abstract thinking that includes past, present, and future.

Jean Piaget Piaget’s theories focused attention on the idea of developmentally appropriate education. Teachers should provide learning environments, curriculum materials, and instruction that correlate with students’ stages of cognitive development. They should introduce new concepts with realistic, hands-on activities followed by more abstract learning experiences. Piaget’s developmental stages help teachers decide what to teach, how much to teach, and when to teach it.

Jean Piaget Piaget also developed the schema theory in which students group similar types of information into schemata (categories) according to similarities and differences. In view of this theory, effective teachers systematically plan introductory activities that connect new topics with students’ existing personal and academic experiences.

Jerome Bruner Three Sequential Modes of Learning: Enactive: learning by doing Iconic: learning by forming mental images Symbolic: learning through a series of abstract symbols or representations

Activity & Question Envision your very favorite middle school teacher. What personal qualities, knowledge, and skills made that teacher particularly effective? What makes a good teacher, an effective teacher, a successful teacher?