Emily Soto

EDST 3045-A01
M4 Assignment
Dr. Arlene Rider
07/15/2023

Thank you for the title page. As per feedback from paper 3, If you center it from top to
bottom on this page, it will be perfect!
Heading: Theorists

John Dewey's philosophy focused on practical life experiences and social interaction rather

than the more traditional and staid manner of instruction and rote learning. He believed that

effective education came directly through interaction. John Dewey was an American philosopher

and educator who was a founder of the philosophical movement known as pragmatism “For

Dewey, the individual was at the center of the learning process. He reasoned that for genuine

learning to take place learners needed to make independent evaluations based on their interests

and that school should be a place where challenges and difficulties are met and resolved”(Aubrey

& Riley, 2018, p. 282)period. He also believed that teachers should view learning as a cycle

where lessons are planned and implemented based on observation and reflection from their

interest and past experiences.

He believed that teachers have an important responsibility in facilitating learning by

encouraging and channeling individuals’ curiosity and motivation so they can develop

intellectually. His main focus was social interaction and how he believed that a child's learning

begins with an emotional response. Dewey believed that children should interact with other

people, he thought that interaction with others would help with the learning process. He argued

that children should interact with both children and adults. “children need to interact with other

people, and work both alone and cooperatively with their peers and adults” ( Dewey’s

Educational Philosophy, 2021)period. For the teacher he believed that they should develop

exciting lessons that would help promote the child’s development. The teacher should know the

child well, know their learning techniques and understand how they learn.

Maria Montessori's Theory is an educational approach that emphasizes individualized

instruction and self-paced learning.“It is based on the belief that children are naturally curious
and capable of learning independently” (Aubrey & Riley, 2018, p. 732)period. Maria Montessori

believed that children learn best through their curiosity and independently. Children learn

through their independence and with the ability to explore on their own. When children satisfy

their curiosity through safe, self-initiated, and playful exploration, learning can occur naturally.

Independent learning allows the child to feel confident in their learning. One thing that

Montessori believed as she was observing children was that “allowing children a sense of

freedom in their education and the opportunity to select their own learning experiences, within

the boundaries of respect for the materials and one another, Montessori observed that they could

sustain interest in an activity for significant periods and would frequently repeat experiences

until mastery was achieved” (Aubrey & Riley, 2018, p. 734) this is a result of allowing children

to learn independently.

Montessori believed in how children learn naturally, she later on opened up the first

Montessori-based school. Throughout the text, it stated several times how children could sustain

concentration on an activity for considerable periods and how absorbing information from their

environment they were able to educate themselves. She also developed many different stages as

she observed children. There were a total of four stages: an absorbent mind, a continuous mind,

abstract thinking, and lastly adulthood. “She was the first theorist to acknowledge the importance

of the first few years of a child’s life” (Aubrey & Riley, 2018, p.801)period.

Jean Piaget was a theorist and his theory was cognitive development and why cognitive

development was important. Jean Piaget believed that a child’s intelligence changes as they

grow. He believed that children take an active role in the learning process. Piaget observed how

children play and interact. Piaget's research allowed him to build his theory on the four stages of

cognitive development which were based on how children play. “The four stages are the
sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal

operational stage” (Aubrey & Riley, 2018) period. He argued that a child’s development occurs

in stages. These stages are what help a child to learn and understand.

His theory was based on the fact that children progress in four developmental stages. He

believed that a teacher’s role was to provide appropriate learning experiences and materials that

stimulate students to advance their thinking . Piaget thought that a child thinks differently than an

adult. Piaget considered the concrete stage to be the most important as it is a major turning point

in the child's cognitive development because it marks the beginning of logical or operational

thought.

Lev Vygotsky was a sociocultural theorist, He was known for his work on psychological

development in children. (Aubrey & Riley, 2018) Vygotsky was best known for his

sociocultural theory. He believed that social interaction plays a critical role in children's learning.

Social interaction is very necessary in a child's learning process. It’s part of child development.

Vygotsky emphasized that through social interaction children go through a continuous process

of learning.

He believed social negotiation was essential for building knowledge and understanding

concepts. Vygotsky believed that “The role of the teacher is one of a mediator for the child's

cognitive development.” Vygotsky wanted teachers to encourage students to discover on their

own. (Aubrey & Riley, 2018) period. He believed in constructivism, learning, instruction, and

development. He said it was the only positive form of instruction. Which leads to cognitive

development.

Paulo Freire's theory was based on the dialogical approach. Freire proposed a dialogical

approach in which students become “active agents” in their education. (Aubrey & Riley, 2018)
Freire developed an approach to education that links the identification of issues to positive action

for change and development. He strongly believed that the classroom was a place where social

change could take place.

Encourage active inquiry and curiosity-lead participation this is something that Friere

believed in. Freire believed that by preventing active inquiry in classrooms, you deny learners

the opportunities for growing up into mature, autonomous people who critically reflect on their

world to make it a better place.

Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger have similar theories. They both believe in social learning

theory and situated learning theory. Which is learning occurs within authentic context, culture,

and activity and that it is widely unintentional. Whereas social learning theory places learning at

the core of human existence and assumes that it is fundamentally a social phenomenon. Jean

Lave and Etienne Wenger argue that learning is necessarily situated, a process of participation.

They both believed that learning was embedded with activity, context, and culture. Social

learning occurs when people who have a common interest in a subject or area collaborate over an

extended period, sharing ideas and strategies, and determining solutions.

Heading: Influence on Practice

Each of these theories has influenced classroom practices. They all in some way have

made their way into the classroom. In the classroom teaching as they suggest would look like

having classrooms that are full of learning, social interaction, and play-based. It would also look

like natural learning, which can be done through practical learning, this is Montessori based. It

implements lessons that are student-centered, and student based. The logical thing is that it's

about the student first. “Maria Montessori had a clear vision for the education of young children

which was based around her view that an educational environment should attend to the holistic
needs of each child” (Aubrey & Riley, 2018) cognitive development is something that some

theorists discussed. In the classroom, this will look like communication, having conversations,

teacher and student engagement, and visual aids. Another good thing to do is apply project-

based, collaborative, and experiential learning. The most important is providing a stress-free

environment. Lastly providing the opportunity for students to pick the lesson, fosters

independence and also shows that a classroom is student-centered.

The directions ask you to take each theory and apply it- Discuss how their work influences

classroom practices (meaning, what would teaching as they suggest, look like? What activities

would you do? What questions would you ask? How would students interact?)

Heading: Reflection

The most impactful to me as a learner is understanding the way a child learns, first trying to

connect the dots, and observing how the student learns. Then as a teacher execute the task and

then develop student center based lessons to foster their independence and learning. The theories

that stood out the most to me were Montessori and Vygotsky. I liked how Montessori believed in

how children learn naturally. I completely agree that a child has to satisfy their curiosity and

learn for themselves, especially at a young age, before they start school a child shouldn't be told

what to learn. Let them learn naturally. With Vygotsky, he believed that social interaction plays a

critical role in children's learning. I agree with this, Social interaction is very necessary for a

child's learning process and development. This type of interaction is extremely important, this

allows a child to grow and develop. A situated classroom looks like an active learning

environment, this can include field trips so that students can experience the work environment.

References
Aubrey, K., & Riley, A. (2018). Understanding and using educational theories (3rd.

edition). SAGE second line should be indented 5-7 spaces. Good try.

19 July 2023

Emily,

Your written paper had a TURNITIN score of 48%. All green highlighted sentences, should have

had references as they seem to have been taken from sources. Basically, you have used quotes to

be your words and I have no idea that you truly understand what the quotes (or the theory) mean.

Quotes should support your words not be your words. Please look to the university's Academic

Integrity Policy for more information. It can be found at https://www.esc.edu/academic-integrity

That said, in terms of content, part one was good, but still had some missing key components to

theories. Part two was application and much was missing. The directions ask you to take each

theory and apply it- Discuss how their work influences classroom practices (meaning, what

would teaching as they suggest, look like? What activities would you do? What questions would

you ask? How would students interact?). Please see feedback in the margins. If you cannot see

the feedback in the margins please advise and I will show you how to access.

Grade 70

Dr. Arlene Rider