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Observation of 4-8 year old piaget
Piaget theories in infant classrooms
How current theories of play can inform practice
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The transitional life span following toddlerhood is early childhood. Early childhood begins at the age of 4 years old to 6 years old. During the early childhood stage young children become very physically active, their language become more complex, and the evolution of imaginative and elaborate nature of play occurs. Young children at the early childhood stage also begin preschool. According to Piaget, a child at the early childhood begins to have more of an abstract and logical way of thinking.
Literature Review
The article related to the biological aspect of early childhood discusses the different theories and research based on play from infancy to early childhood. The article includes Piaget’s theory on child play, Sinclair’s Developmental Sequence of Play, Lezine’s Proposed Developmental Sequence of Symbolic Play, and Rosenblatt’s Developmental Taxonomy of Play (Casby 2003). The article begins with Piaget’s observation of play in children and followed by the development of play research done by individuals following Piaget’s study. This review will only focus on Piaget’s observation of symbolic play, which according to Piaget occurs between the toddler years and early childhood.
The article states that Piaget “envisioned play as lending from activity to representation. In so far as it evolves from its initial stage of sensorimotor activity to its second stage of symbolic or imaginary play” (Casby 2003). As we know the second stage of Piaget’s cognitive development is the preoperational thought period. According to Piaget, children begin to use symbolic representation for objects or circumstance during the preoperational stage (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashnam 2009). Piaget’s theory on the development of symbolic play coincide...
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...e best consequence. The best method of consequences can quickly be turned into punishments if the parent does not correctly present the consequence to the child, (Pepper & Roberson 1982).
Works Cited
Casby, M. W. (2003). The development of play in infants, toddlers, and young children. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 24(4), 163-174. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/620197153?accountid=4840
Pepper, F. C., & Roberson, M. D. (1982). Consequences: An alternative to punishment. Individual Psychology: Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research & Practice, 38(4), 387-397. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/616907694?accountid=4840
Rubin, K. H., & Pepler, D. J. (1982). Children's play: Piaget's views reconsidered. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 7(3), 289-299. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/616704397?accountid=4840
Early Childhood is marked by a time in children’s lives when they develop “a confident self-image, more effective control over their emotions, new social skills, the foundations of morality, and a clear sense of themselves as boy or girl” (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). According to Erik Erikson, early childhood is a period of “vigorous unfolding,” one where children have a sense of autonomy and a new sense of purposefulness or initiative (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). Play is a means for children to learn about themselves and they begin to adopt the moral and gender-role standards of the society in which they live (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011). A negative outcome of early childhood is the guilt children feel as a result of excessive punishment and criticism by the adults in their lives (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011)....
Theorists help us to learn about play and help us progress in relation to approaches and future planning. Vygotsky believed that imaginative play and relationships are important in relation to a child’s learning, and his theory was called the social constructivist theory. He believed that through play a ‘zone of proximal development’ is created, in which a child’s learns at the height of their potential. He argued against Piaget’s theory. Piaget argued that children did not necessarily learn through play but play just showcases and applies what they have already learnt. Piaget’s theory stated that there was two aspects to play – sensory and movement play and imagination, pretend and symbolic play. The McMillian sisters theorised the idea that children would find it extremely difficult to learn, play and develop without good hygiene and good health. Froebel also had strong opinions on the role of play. He believed in the importance of symbolic play, and imaginative play - stating it was one of the best ways for
An Article by Dr. Leong and Dr. Bodrova (2016) stated that play is beneficial to children’s learning especially when it reaches a certain degree of complexity. When they engage in play activities most of their early years, they learn to delay gratification and to prioritize their goals and actions. They also learn to consider the perspectives and needs of other people and to represent things significantly to regulate their behavior and actions in a cautious, intentional way.
Piaget stated that children function in a concrete world and therefore are unable to use language in an abstract way until about eleven years old. Consequently language does not afford young children the structure for appropriate self-expression. Piaget believed that children design symbols to communicate their wishes, ideas and emotions. This system of symbols characterises symbolic play (Piaget & Inhelder,
For all living beings play is an instinctive biological disposition, which helps to facilitate and enrich children’s overall development. As well as play being beneficial in assisting individual lives, many theorists as well as researchers have shown play to form a fundamenta...
Piaget, J. 1962. Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton White, J., 2002. The child's mind. London: Routledge/Falmer.
Piaget believed that children in this stage experience two kinds of phenomena: pretend play and Egocentrism. Pretend play is the ability to perform mental operations using symbols. Egocentrism is the inability to perceive things from a different point of view. For example, a child covering his own eyes, because he believes that if he can’t see someone, then they can’t see him as well. When a child is seven to eleven years old, it is in the concrete operational stage. At this point, Piaget believed that children are able to grasp the concept of conservation. Conservation is the principle that mass and volume remain the same despite the change in forms of objects. For example, children at this age are mentally capable of pouring a liquid in different types of containers. Piaget also believed that at this age a child is capable of understanding different mathematical transformations. At the age of 12, children reach the Formal Operation stage, the final stage in Piaget’s stages of Cognitive Development. This is the
Many theorists have tried to define play as a concept, however, no two agree on a set definition. Their backgrounds and induvial lifestyles influence the way they see the importance of play. Reed and Brown also believe that there isn’t an agreed definition of play because is something that is felt rather than done (Reed & Brown, 2000 cited in Brock, Dodd’s, Jarvis & Olusoga, 2009). In spite of this, it is clear that most theorists uphold the ethos that play is imperative to a child’s learning and development. There is a wide range of different studies and theories which helps us develop our own perception of what play is. In my personal experience I have found play to be a way of expressive our emotions, exploring and learning new things, thus
Play is thought to be of central importance for young children. The idea of play has developed along with the history. It is necessary for the early childhood teachers to know some theoretical perspectives on play in order to further understand play and better working with children. This essay will introduce two theories of play, one of the traditional theories of play, which is The Recreational or Relaxation theory and one of the contemporary theories which is The Psychoanalytic theory. In the essay, these two theories of play will be compared and contrast, the implications for practice in the early childhood setting will be explained and the role of the teacher would be classified.
Jean Piaget’s influence on this developmental area allows us to better understand preoperational thought, egocentrism, and conservation. According to Piaget, preoperational thought is when a child is now able to understand symbolic play and have the ability to imagine something even if it is not physically there. Having these thoughts and abilities can encourage a child to use language to describe their play (Piaget, 1951). Another great example is using art to convey this growth. When a child draws, they are using their memories, mental representations of people, and things around them to put it down on paper! Being able to describe their surroundings is largely made possible by hearing people talk around them. Vygotsky believed children are able to build on cognitive structures by hearing social speech around them. Equally as important as social speech, is a child’s private speech. In early childhood, a child’s private speech will not only help them practice using the newly acquired language, but also learn to internalize dialog for mental activity (Vygotsky, 1962). A great way to improve upon these skills is to ask a child open ended questions to encourage them to use their words. Language will flourish and children will now have the ability to have conversations and tell stories about the things they imagine. While children are learning how to use their words during symbolic
Play is supposed to be a fun, spontaneous activity using the imagination. It is a good form of exercise, 20% of a child’s energy is spent on play. There are a few different types of play: social, parallel, sociodramatic, and locomotor. These forms of play vary between the child’s age, maturity, and physical development. The first type of play you see in children happens from birth to about two years old. Social play is the playful interaction between child and parents. Little games like peek-a-boo would fit in to this type of play. The next form of play happens from age 2-3. Parallel play is when children play next to each other but there isn’t really any social interaction. Sociodramatic play happens when children start to think and imagine things. They engage with same age peers and learn to problem solve. Around that time locomotor play develops as well. Locomotor play includes running, jumping, and play fighting is common with boys.
Gehlbach, R. (1991). "Play, Piaget, and Creativity: The Promise of Design." The Journal of Creative Behavior, volume 25, pp. 137-144.
Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory states that from infancy to adolescence children progress through four qualitatively different states of intellectual growth (Belsky, 2016). The four stages are sensorimotor, preoperations, concrete operations, and formal operations. Children between the ages of two and seven experience the preoperational stage, which is the second stage of cognitive development. In this stage children engaged themselves in symbolic play (McLeod, 2014). Animism is a type of symbolic play. Animism is the child’s belief that inanimate objects are alive (Belsky, 2016). These objects can be anything from toys to the sun and moon. In animism the child may also create an imaginary friend. These inanimate objects are said
Lerman, D. C., & Vorndran, C. M. (2002). On the status of knowledge for using punishment: Implications for treating behavior disorders. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 35, 431-464.
Play has always been an important part of a child’s developmental stage. It was “. . . acknowledged as a basic right of children worldwide in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which by the end of 2008 was signed by 192 nations” (Ozanne and Ozanne 264). People worldwide have acknowledged that it is important for a child to play; whether it be with toys bought from a store, or simple toy elements made from cloth such as blankets.