If you’re not asleep during staff meetings, you’ve probably heard the phrase “research-based practices” thrown

around a lot.  Do you silently ask yourself, “Sooo, which practices are research-based anyway?”  I don’t know
about you but it’s been a little while since I originally learned about the people who did some of the major
research in education.  Lucky for all of us, I have put together a cheat sheet.
https://www.theclassroomkey.com/2016/01/education_theorists.html
Education Theorists

All of these guys did a lot more work than what is mentioned in this graphic.  I just tried to pull out what was most
relevant to teachers.  The cool thing is, you probably recognize a lot of these practices as thing you’re already
doing.
Lev Vygotsky – How do you decide the level at which to instruct your students?  Vygotsky says to determine
their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).  This means the skills that are just a little bit beyond their reach.
When you are working with a small reading group, don’t pick books that kids can read perfectly.  Pick ones that
are just a little bit challenging, that students will need some support to read.  Eventually a student’s ZPD bumps
up higher because they have mastered the skills you were supporting them with.
Scaffolding is not a term that Vygotsky actually used but it’s a concept that developed based on his work.  When
you scaffold a student, you give them support to complete a task that they can’t quite do on their own.  For
example, at first, students need to be walked through every step of long division.  Gradually the scaffolding can
be reduced.  Maybe they just need a couple of reminders at tricky spots.  Eventually the scaffolding can be
removed because the student can complete the task on their own.
Jean Piaget – Piaget was a constructivist which means he believed that kids learn by manipulating, modifying,
and otherwise working with concepts.  They construct their own learning rather than just being told something.
Piaget worked with the idea that the things people know are organized into schemas.  When a child learns
something new, they either assimilate it into an existing schema, change their schema, or develop a new schema.
Do you activate background knowledge before a lesson?  You’re helping students tap into their existing schema!
B.F. Skinner – When I taught second grade and my class was on the wrong track, I would look for the one kid
doing the right thing and say, “Wow, I love how Jesse is standing with his hands to his side and his voice turned
off.”  As I positively reinforced this behavior with praise, other students would jump on board, too.  This is the
heart of behaviorism.  It’s the idea that praise and rewards positively reinforce a behavior and encourage kids to
continue with it.  Punishments discourage students from a behavior.  Beyond following rules, there are learning
actions we can reinforce.  If you display quality student work, praise students for using strategies, let students
publish on cool paper when they have their writing perfect, etc. you are using behaviorism to guide students
toward the behaviors and actions of successful adults.
Jerome Bruner – If you have decent curriculum to use, you’ve probably seen Bruner’s idea of spiral curriculum at
work.  Elementary students can’t design roads and bridges but they can begin to learn about the physics of how
the slope of a ramp affects the speed of a ball rolling down that ramp.  Each year they can revisit and build on
their previous learning.
Benjamin Bloom – You may have heard of Bloom’s Taxonomy.  It’s a hierarchy of intellectual behaviors.  The
lowest level is remembering facts.  The highest level is using your knowledge to create something new.  With the
new Common Core standards we’ve heard a lot about increasing rigor for our students.  One way to do this is to
make sure we’re involving our students in higher order thinking activities at the top of Bloom’s Taxonomy, not
just in memorizing facts.
Howard Gardner – Gardner found that people have more than one way of processing information and that a
typical IQ score doesn’t completely measure intelligence.  He created the theory of Multiple Intelligences.  In the
classroom we can engage multiple intelligences by singing educational songs, allowing students to work through
concepts verbally, through art, through writing, with partners, and through movement.
THEORIES     DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Child Development Theories and Examples
By Kendra Cherry  | Reviewed by Steven Gans, MD
Updated January 19, 2019

Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and grow over the course of childhood. Such
theories center on various aspects of development including social, emotional, and cognitive growth.

The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have personal experience with development,
but it is sometimes difficult to understand how and why people grow, learn, and act as they do.

Why do children behave in certain ways? Is their behavior related to their age, family relationships, or individual
temperaments? Developmental psychologists strive to answer such questions as well as to understand, explain,
and predict behaviors that occur throughout the lifespan.

In order to understand human development, a number of different theories of child development have arisen to
explain various aspects of human growth.

The Background of Child Development Theories

Theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth and learning. But why do we
study development? What can we learn from psychological theories of development? If you have ever wondered
about what motivates human thought and behavior, understanding these theories can provide useful insight into
individuals and society.
How Our Understanding of Child Development Has Changed Over the Years

Child development that occurs from birth to adulthood was largely ignored throughout much of human history.
Children were often viewed simply as small versions of adults and little attention was paid to the many advances
in cognitive abilities, language usage, and physical growth that occur during childhood and adolescence.

Interest in the field of child development finally began to emerge early in the 20th century, but it tended to focus
on abnormal behavior. Eventually, researchers became increasingly interested in other topics including typical
child development as well as the influences on development.

How Studying Child Development Allows Us to Understand Changes That Take Place

Why is it important to study how children grow, learn and change? An understanding of child development is
essential because it allows us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and educational growth
that children go through from birth and into early adulthood.
Some of the major theories of child development are known as grand theories; they attempt to describe every
aspect of development, often using a stage approach. Others are known as mini-theories; they instead focus only
on a fairly limited aspect of development such as cognitive or social growth.

Major Child Development Theories

The following are just a few of the many child development theories that have been proposed by theorists and
researchers. More recent theories outline the developmental stages of children and identify the typical ages at
which these growth milestones occur.

Freud's Psychosexual Developmental Theory

Psychoanalytic theory originated with the work of Sigmund Freud. Through his clinical work with patients suffering
from mental illness, Freud came to believe that childhood experiences and unconscious desires influenced
behavior.

According to Freud, conflicts that occur during each of these stages can have a lifelong influence on personality
and behavior.

Freud proposed one of the best-known grand theories of child development. According to Freud’s psychosexual
theory, child development occurs in a series of stages focused on different pleasure areas of the body. During
each stage, the child encounters conflicts that play a significant role in the course of development.
His theory suggested that the energy of the libido was focused on different erogenous zones at specific stages.
Failure to progress through a stage can result in a fixation at that point in development, which Freud believed
could have an influence on adult behavior.

So what happens as children complete each stage? And what might result if a child does poorly during a particular
point in development? Successfully completing each stage leads to the development of a healthy adult
personality. Failing to resolve the conflicts of a particular stage can result in fixations that can then have an
influence on adult behavior.

While some other child development theories suggest that personality continues to change and grow over the
entire lifetime, Freud believed that it was early experiences that played the greatest role in shaping development.
According to Freud, personality is largely set in stone by the age of five.
Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development

Erikson's Psychosocial Developmental Theory

Psychoanalytic theory was an enormously influential force during the first half of the twentieth century. Those
inspired and influenced by Freud went on to expand upon Freud's ideas and develop theories of their own. Of
these neo-Freudians, Erik Erikson's ideas have become perhaps the best known.

Erikson's eight-stage theory of psychosocial development describes growth and change throughout life, focusing
on social interaction and conflicts that arise during different stages of development.

While Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development shared some similarities with Freud's, it is dramatically

different in many ways. Rather than focusing on sexual interest as a driving force in development, Erikson
believed that social interaction and experience played decisive roles.

His eight-stage theory of human development described this process from infancy through death. During each
stage, people are faced with a developmental conflict that impacts later functioning and further growth.
Unlike many other developmental theories, Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory focuses on development across the
entire lifespan. At each stage, children and adults face a developmental crisis that serves as a major turning
point. Successfully managing the challenges of each stage leads to the emergence of a lifelong psychological
virtue.
Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development
Behavioral Child Development Theories

During the first half of the twentieth century, a new school of thought known as behaviorism rose to become a
dominant force within psychology. Behaviorists believed that psychology needed to focus only on observable and
quantifiable behaviors in order to become a more scientific discipline.

According to the behavioral perspective, all human behavior can be described in terms of environmental
influences. Some behaviorists, such as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner, insisted that learning occurs purely
through processes of association and reinforcement.

Behavioral theories of child development focus on how environmental interaction influences behavior and are
based on the theories of theorists such as John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner. These theories deal only
with observable behaviors. Development is considered a reaction to rewards, punishments, stimuli, and
reinforcement.

This theory differs considerably from other child development theories because it gives no consideration to
internal thoughts or feelings. Instead, it focuses purely on how experience shapes who we are.

Two important types of learning that emerged from this approach to development are that classical
conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning by pairing a naturally occurring
stimulus with a previously neutral stimulus. Operant conditioning utilizes reinforcement and punishment to modify
behaviors.

Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory

Cognitive theory is concerned with the development of a person's thought processes. It also looks at how these
thought processes influence how we understand and interact with the world. Piaget proposed an idea that seems
obvious now, but helped revolutionize how we think about child development: Children think differently than
adults.

Theorist Jean Piaget proposed one of the most influential theories of cognitive development. His cognitive

theory seeks to describe and explain the development of thought processes and mental states. It also looks at
how these thought processes influence the way we understand and interact with the world.

Piaget then proposed a theory of cognitive development to account for the steps and sequence of children's
intellectual development.
  The Sensorimotor Stage: A period of time between birth and age two during which an infant's knowledge
of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities. Behaviors are limited to simple
motor responses caused by sensory stimuli.
 The Preoperational Stage: A period between ages 2 and 6 during which a child learns to use language.
During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information
and are unable to take the point of view of other people.
 The Concrete Operational Stage: A period between ages 7 and 11 during which children gain a better
understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically about concrete events but have
difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.
 The Formal Operational Stage: A period between age 12 to adulthood when people develop the ability
to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic
planning also emerge during this stage.

Piaget's Four Stages of Development

Bowlby's Attachment Theory

There is a great deal of research on the social development of children. John Bowbly proposed one of the earliest
theories of social development. Bowlby believed that early relationships with caregivers play a major role in child
development and continue to influence social relationships throughout life.

Bowlby's attachment theory suggested that children are born with an innate need to form attachments. Such
attachments aid in survival by ensuring that the child receives care and protection. Not only that, but these
attachments are characterized by clear behavioral and motivational patterns. In other words, both children and
caregivers engage in behaviors designed to ensure proximity. Children strive to stay close and connected to their
caregivers who in turn provide a safe haven and a secure base for exploration.

Researchers have also expanded upon Bowlby's original work and have suggested that a number of
different attachment styles exist. Children who receive consistent support and care are more likely to develop a
secure attachment style, while those who receive less reliable care may develop an ambivalent, avoidant, or
disorganized style.
Attachment Theory
Bandura's Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory is based on the work of psychologist Albert Bandura. Bandura believed that the
conditioning and reinforcement process could not sufficiently explain all of human learning. For example, how can
the conditioning process account for learned behaviors that have not been reinforced through classical
conditioning or operant conditioning?

According to social learning theory, behaviors can also be learned through observation and modeling. By
observing the actions of others, including parents and peers, children develop new skills and acquire new
information.

Bandura's child development theory suggests that observation plays a critical role in learning, but this
observation does not necessarily need to take the form of watching a live model. Instead, people can also learn
by listening to verbal instructions about how to perform a behavior as well as through observing either real or
fictional characters display behaviors in books or films.

Social Learning Theory

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Another psychologist named Lev Vygotsky proposed a seminal learning theory that has gone on to become very
influential, especially in the field of education. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children learn actively and
through hands-on experiences. His sociocultural theory also suggested that parents, caregivers, peers and the
culture at large were responsible for developing higher order functions.

In Vygotsky's view, learning is an inherently social process. Through interacting with others, learning becomes
integrated into an individual's understanding of the world. This child development theory also introduced the
concept of the zone of proximal development, which is the gap between what a person can do with help and what
they can do on their own. It is with the help of more knowledgeable others that people are able to progressively
learn and increase their skills and scope of understanding.

Sociocultural Theory
A Word From Verywell

As you can see, some of psychology's best-known thinkers have developed theories to help explore and explain
different aspects of child development. While not all of these theories are fully accepted today, they all had an
important influence on our understanding of child development. Today, contemporary psychologists often draw
on a variety of theories and perspectives in order to understand how kids grow, behave, and think.

These theories represent just a few of the different ways of thinking about child development. In reality, fully
understanding how children change and grow over the course of childhood requires looking at many different
factors that influence physical and psychological growth. Genes, the environment, and the interactions between
these two forces determine how kids grow physically as well as mentally.

https://www.verywellmind.com/child-development-theories-2795068
 Theories of Early Childhood: Maria Montessori, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky
Montessori:
Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. In her work at the University of Rome's psychiatric clinic, Dr. Montessori developed
an interest in the treatment of children and for several years wrote and spoke on their behalf. At age twenty-eight, she became
the director of a school for mentally-disabled children. After two years under her guidance, these children, who formerly had
been considered uneducable, took a school examination along with normal children and passed successfully. Educators called
Dr. Montessori a miracle worker. What was her response? If mentally disabled children could be brought to the level of normal
children, Dr. Montessori wanted to study the potential of "normal" children. She went back to school to study anthropology and
psychology and finally, in 1907, was asked to take charge of fifty children from the dirty, desolate streets of the San Lorenz
slum in the city of Rome.

Motessoris Idea of conducive Learning:

Multi-aged Grouping, based on Periods of Development: Children are grouped in three or six-year spans and have the
same teacher for this period. The first group is called the "Nido" and consists of children in necessary daycare for working
parents. This is age 0-1, or "until walking". The second group is known as the "Infant Community" and is from around one year
to age 2-3. The third group is the "casa dei bambini" and is from 2.5-6 or 3-6, depending on the training of the teacher. The
forth group is from 6-12, a larger age span because the children for this 6 years exhibit the same tendencies and learning
habits. The emotional and physical growth is steady and the intellectual work strong. The 6 year old learns from and is inspired
by children much older, and the teaching is done by older to younger as well as younger to older. This large age span helps to
avoid the tendency of some teachers to over-schedule and over-direct students who need ever more freedom of time-planning
and research. Sometimes this age group is divided into 6-9 ad 9-12, but this is a new development and still questioned by
many. The next group is the 12-15 which is, at least in the West, a more emotional time with less ability to focus on intellectual
work. Dr. Montessori called this time the Erdkinder CHildren, and proposed a farm school with real work close to the earth. The
high school years are, as in traditional schools, a time of much more intellectual work, but with a different kind of child who has
been through years of critical thinking, caring for the earth and other people, and independent research.

The 3-Hour Work Period: Aft every age, a minimum of one 3-hour work period per day, uninterrupted by required
attendance at group activities of any kind is required for the Montessori method of education to produce the results for which it
is famous.

The Human Tendencies: The practical application of the Montessori method is based on human tendencies— to explore,
move, share with a group, to be independent and make decisions, create order, develop self-control, abstract ideas from
experience, use the creative imagination, work hard, repeat, concentrate, and perfect one's efforts
The Process of Learning: There are three stages of learning: 

 (Stage 1) introduction to a concept by means of a lecture, lesson, something read in a book, etc.
 (Stage 2) processing the information, developing an understanding of the concept through work, experimentation,
creation.
 (Stage 3) "knowing", to possessing an understanding of, demonstrated by the ability to pass a test with confidence, to
teach another, or to express with ease.
Indirect Preparation: The steps of learning any concept are analyzed by the adult and are systematically offered to the child.
A child is always learning something that is indirectly preparing him to learn something else, making education a joyful
discovery instead of drudgery.

The Prepared Environment: Since the child learns to glean information from many sources, instead of being handed it by
the teacher, it is the role of the teacher to prepare and continue to adapt the environment, to link the child to it through well-
thought-out lessons, and to facilitate the child's exploration and creativity. The Prepared Environment is essential to the
success of Montessori. There must be just the right amount of educational materials to allow for the work of the child. However,
one thing that has become very obvious in our materialistic society in the west, is that TOO MUCH is worse than TOO LITTLE.
The basic collection of didactic materials (such as that approved by the materials committee of AMI, The Association Montessori
International) has been thoroughly tested over many years and has been shown to engage the children as much today as it
has, as much in the USA as in other countries. Therefore it is very important to only supplement these materials with essential
books and materials that are chosen only by an experienced teacher. The Michael Olaf Company is a well-known source for
these tested supplementary books and materials. Instead of constantly adding to their collection of products offered, they
continually refine and reduce their list, based on feedback from master teachers and Montessori teacher
trainers. www.michaelolaf.net

Observation: Scientific observations of the child's development are constantly carried out and recorded by the teacher. These
observations are made on the level of concentration of each child, the introduction to and mastery of each piece of material,
the social development, physical health, etc. on.

Work Centers: The environment is arranged according to subject area, and children are always free to move around the
room, and to continue to work on a piece of material with no time limit.

Teaching Method: There are no text books, and seldom will two or more children be studying the same thing at the same
time. Children learn directly from the environment, and from other children—rather than from the teacher. The teacher is
trained to teach one child at a time, with a few small groups and almost no lessons given to the whole class. She is facile in the
basic lessons of math, language, the arts and sciences, and in guiding a child's research and exploration, capitalizing on
interests and excitement about a subject. Large groups occur only in the beginning of a new class, or in the beginning of the
school year, and are phased out as the children gain independence. The child is scientifically observed, observations recorded
and studied by the teacher. Children learn from what they are studying individually, but also from the amazing variety of work
that is going on around them during the day.

Class Size: The most successful 3-6 or 6-12 classes are of 30-35 children to one teacher, with one non teaching assistant, this
number reached gradually over 1-3 years. This provides the most variety of personalities, learning styles, and work being done
at one time. This class size is possible because the children learn from each other and stay with the same teacher for three to
six years. This size help to create much independent work, and peer teaching, and eliminates the possibility of too much
teacher-centered, teacher-directed work.

Basic Lessons: A well-trained Montessori teacher spends a lot of time during training practicing the many basic lessons with
materials in all areas. She/he must pass difficult written and oral exams on these lessons in order to be certified. She is trained
to recognize a child's readiness—according to age, ability, and interest—for a specific lesson, and is prepared to guide
individual progress. Although the teacher plans lessons for each child for each day, she will bow to the interests of a child
following a passion.

Areas of Study Linked: All subjects are interwoven; history, art, music, math, astronomy, biology, geology, physics, and
chemistry are not isolated from each other and a child studies them in any order he chooses, moving through all in a unique
way for each child. At any one time in a day all subjects—math, language, science, history, geography, art, music, etc.—are
being studied, at all levels.

The Schedule: There is at least one 3-hour period of uninterrupted, work time each day, not broken up by required group
lessons or lessons by specialists. Adults and children respect concentration and do not interrupt someone who is busy at a task.
Groups form spontaneously but not on a predictable schedule. Specialists are available at times but no child is asked to
interrupt a self-initiated project to attend these lessons.

Assessment: There are no grades, or other forms of reward or punishment, subtle or overt. Assessment is by portfolio and the
teacher's observation and record keeping. The real test of whether or not the system is working lies in the accomplishment and
behavior of the children, their happiness, maturity, kindness, and love of learning, concentration, and work.

Requirements for Age 3-6: There are no academic requirements for this age, but children are exposed to amazing amounts
of knowledge and often learn to read, write and calculate beyond what is often thought usual for a child of this age.
Requirements for Ages 6-18: Requirements for ages 6-18: There are no curriculum requirements except those set by the
state, or college entrance requirements, for specific grades and these take a minimum amount of time. Students of K-12+ age
design 1-2 week contracts with the teacher to balance their work, and learn time management skills. The work of the 6-12
class includes subjects usually not introduced until high school.

Learning Styles: All intelligences and styles of learning—musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal,

intuitive, natural, and the traditional linguistic and logical-mathematical—are nurtured and respected.

Character Education: Opportunities for the valorization of the personality is considered at least as important as academic
education. Children are given the opportunity to take care of themselves, each other, and the environment—gardening,
cooking, building, moving gracefully, speaking politely, doing social work in the community, etc.

The Results of learning in this way: In looking at the results one must be sure they are judging a class run by a fully
trained teacher. Using Montessori without this training will not have the same results. When the environment meets all of the
needs of children they become, without any manipulation by the adult, physically healthy, mentally and psychologically
fulfilled, extremely well-educated, and brimming over with joy and kindness toward each other. 

Erikson:
Erik Erikson recognized the basic notions of Freudian theory, but believed that Freud misjudged some important dimensions of
human development. Erikson said that humans develop throughout their life span, while Freud said that our personality is
shaped by the age of five. Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages that humans encounter throughout their life. The
stages are Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role
Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Integrity vs. Despair.
8 Stages of Development:
Stage Basic Conflict Important Outcome
Events
Infancy (birth to Trust vs. Feeding Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care,
18 months) Mistrust and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust.
Early Childhood Autonomy vs. Toilet Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills
(2 to 3 years) Shame and Training and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy,
Doubt failure results in feelings of shame and doubt.
Preschool (3 to 5 Initiative vs. Exploration Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment.
years) Guilt Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert
 too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.
School Age (6 to Industry vs. School Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success
11 years) Inferiority leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of
inferiority.
Adolescence (12 Identity vs. Role Social Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads
to 18 years) Confusion Relationships to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion
and a weak sense of self.
Yound Intimacy vs. Relationships Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people.
Adulthood (19 to Isolation Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and
40 years) isolation.
Middle Generativity vs. Work and Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by
Adulthood (40 to Stagnation Parenthood having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people.
65 years) Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure
results in shallow involvement in the world.
Maturity(65 to Ego Integrity Reflection on Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment.
death) vs. Despair Life Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in
regret, bitterness, and despair.

Piaget:

Jean Piaget's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development involves changes in
cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget's view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later
progresses into changes in mental operations.

Key Concepts of Piaget

Schemas - A schema describes both the mental and physical actions involved in understanding and knowing. Schemas are
categories of knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the world.

 In Piaget's view, a schema includes both a category of knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge. As
experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas.

For example, a child may have a schema about a type of animal, such as a dog. If the child's sole experience has been
with small dogs, a child might believe that all dogs are small, furry, and have four legs. Suppose then that the child
 encounters a very large dog. The child will take in this new information, modifying the previously existing schema to
include this new information.

Assimilation - The process of taking in new information into our previously existing schema's is known as assimilation. The
process is somewhat subjective, because we tend to modify experience or information somewhat to fit in with our preexisting
beliefs. In the example above, seeing a dog and labeling it "dog" is an example of assimilating the animal into the child's dog
schema.

Accommodation - Another part of adaptation involves changing or altering our existing schemas in light of new information, a
process known as accommodation. Accommodation involves altering existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information
or new experiences. New schemas may also be developed during this process.

Equilibration - Piaget believed that all children try to strike a balance between assimilation and accommodation, which is
achieved through a mechanism Piaget called equilibration. As children progress through the stages of cognitive development,
it is important to maintain a balance between applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and changing behavior to account for
new knowledge (accommodation). Equilibration helps explain how children are able to move from one stage of thought into the
next.
4 Stages of Development:

1. Sensorimotor: (birth to about age 2)

During this stage, the child learns about himself and his environment through motor and reflex actions. Thought derives
from sensation and movement. The child learns that he is separate from his environment and that aspects of his
environment -- his parents or favorite toy -- continue to exist even though they may be outside the reach of his senses.
Teaching for a child in this stage should be geared to the sensorimotor system. You can modify behavior by using the
senses: a frown, a stern or soothing voice -- all serve as appropriate techniques.

2. Preoperational: (begins about the time the child starts to talk to about age 7)

Applying his new knowledge of language, the child begins to use symbols to represent objects. Early in this stage he also
personifies objects. He is now better able to think about things and events that aren't immediately present. Oriented to
the present, the child has difficulty conceptualizing time. His thinking is influenced by fantasy -- the way he'd like things
to be -- and he assumes that others see situations from his viewpoint. He takes in information and then changes it in his
mind to fit his ideas. Teaching must take into account the child's vivid fantasies and undeveloped sense of time. Using
 neutral words, body outlines and equipment a child can touch gives him an active role in learning.

3. Concrete: (about first grade to early adolescence)

During this stage, accommodation increases. The child develops an ability to think abstractly and to make rational
judgements about concrete or observable phenomena, which in the past he needed to manipulate physically to
understand. In teaching this child, giving him the opportunity to ask questions and to explain things back to you allows
him to mentally manipulate information.

4. Formal Operations: (adolescence)

This stage brings cognition to its final form. This person no longer requires concrete objects to make rational judgements.
At his point, he is capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning. Teaching for the adolescent may be wideranging
because he'll be able to consider many possibilities from several perspectives.

Vygotsky:
Lev Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition, as he believed
strongly that community plays a central role in the process of "making meaning."

More Knowledgeable Other

The more knowledgeable other (MKO) is somewhat self-explanatory; it refers to someone who has a better understanding or a
higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept.  Although the implication is that the
MKO is a teacher or an older adult, this is not necessarily the case.  Many times, a child's peers or an adult's children may be
the individuals with more knowledge or experience. (For example, who is more likely to know more about the newest teen-age
music groups, how to win at the most recent Playstation game, or how to correctly perform the newest dance craze - a child or
their parents?)
In fact, the MKO need not be a person at all. Some companies, to support employees in their learning process, are now using
electronic performance support systems.  Electronic tutors have also been used in educational settings to facilitate and guide
students through the learning process.  The key to MKOs is that they must have (or be programmed with) more knowledge
about the topic being learned than the learner does. 

Zone of Proximal Development

The concept of the More Knowledgeable Other is integrally related to an important principle of Vygotsky's work, the Zone of
Proximal Development.  This is an important concept that relates to the difference between what a child can achieve
independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner.

Vygotsky sees the Zone of Proximal Development as the area where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should be given
- allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own - developing higher mental functions.
Vygotsky also views interaction with peers as an effective way of developing skills and strategies.  He suggests that teachers
use cooperative learning exercises where less competent children develop with help from more skilful peers - within the zone
of proximal development

https://sites.google.com/site/tourosgottesman/theories-of-early-childhood