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Sarah • **Introduce and describe the theorists' contributions to the theory** Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is an influential figure who created the Theory of Development. He began his career as a biologist studying mulluscs, and became a developmental psychologist that studied children's learning. After working with children to examine their thought processes, by observing, talking, and listening to them while they completed a series of assignments that he constructed, he was able to develop this theory, which supports that "humans increasingly adapt to their environment, and in a more complex manner." Piaget's main contribution was the discovery that maturation (aging) increases a child's capacity to think logically about topics and understand the world around them. He stated that children, "cannot undergo certain tasks until they are cognitively mature enough to do so." This statement was elaborated upon by Piaget, as he developed four stages that are still referred back to by educators today.

The theory contains four separate characteristics, or states, of cognitive development: 1) Sensorimotor Stage (Infancy): Knowledge on the world is limited, and is based on physical (tangible) interactions and experiences. 2) Pre-Operational Stage (Toddler/Early Childhood): Intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and it is in this stage that memory and imagination are developed. Piaget theorized that while in the pre-operational stage of development, thinking is done in an "illogical" and "non-reversable" manner. This stage would typically occur in children up to about first grade. 3) Concrete Operational (Elementary/Early Adolescence): The child develops the ability to think abstractly and make rational decisions and judgements, without having to physically possess the topics being thought about. This stage is usually possessed by students from the first grade till 5th grade. 4) Formal Operational-(Adolescence to adulthood) Cognitive level is at it's peak, as formal operational is the last stage in the theory. The child is capable of both hypothetical and deductive reasoning, and see things from multiple perspectives. Children usually reach this stage around the time of middle school.
 * • Describe at least 3 main characteristics of the theory.**

Stephanie **• Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the theory ** -The theory gives guidance to teachers when they are determining student stages of knowledge and how to help move their students to higher stages. -This theory makes the application of it to the design of instruction easier with the clear definition of stages. -Helps teachers better understand their students current level of knowledge. -Not all students(even adults) reach the formal operational stage. And if they do they don't always stay there. -It is unclear at whether the transtion between stages is continuous or discontinous. -This poses a problem for teachers when determining the stage of their student during a transition.
 * Source**: "Cognitive Development." // Educational Psychology Interactive //. Web. 16 Oct. 2010. .
 * Strengths**
 * Weaknesses**

Source [] Emily **• Explain how the theory is associated with either direct instruction or constructivism. **
 * Direct instruction focuses on curriculum design and effective instructional delivery techniques. This method of teaching is a more traditional form of instruction, tending to be more strict and less room for variations to lesson plans. It views that teachers are responsible for student learning and the goal is "do more in less time." Constructivism is the view that learning is an active, continuous process, where students shape or "construct" their own knowledge. Constructivist believe that learning is based on one's experiences and teachers must act as aids, mentors, and role models to guide students to make their own understandings and feel confident about the world around them. Cooperative learning is a big concept in constructivism because its believed to allow students the chance to be exposed to data, primary sources, and incorporate the ideas and experiences of others into their own knowledge and understanding.
 * Piaget's theory of development relates more closely to the view of constructivism rather than direct instruction. This is because Piaget views children as learning in particular stages where they must learn basic skills of understanding in order to move on to the next level.Teachers do not have the power to teach students concepts that are too complex for their age of development, therefore, must scaffold and guide students to encourage them to come to their own understandings. It is important for teachers to set the achievement bar high and encourage students to do their very best so children are more motivated to succeed in school. Curriculum and lessons cannot be too strict and set in stone because all children develop at different rates; a group of children in a particular classroom are the same age, but not necessarily in the same stage of development. Therefore, teachers must be able to modify lessons based on the development of all children in the class. Cooperative learning is important because it allows children to improve their social skills, as well as listen to their peers' opinions and reasoning, increasing their understanding of the material as well.

• **Provide at least one example of how technology can be integrated into classroom instruction that uses your learning theory. What would this classroom look like? What would the instruction look like? Include the targeted grade level. What are the goals for instruction? What would the technology integration look like?**
 * Ryan **
 * A good example of how to incorporate the concrete operational stage into classroom instruction using technology could be to have students in grade 1 or 2 learn how to compose a simple document and make it look professional, even if the content is not as advanced as some others may be.
 * Another way to incorporate technology into classroom instruction is for children in grades 4 and 5 to make a podcast about how weather affects their daily lives, and then expand on it by telling me why weather occurs and show me how to draw a correct high and low pressure system on a map.
 * In terms of how the instruction would look, I would be at the front of the class telling the students how to use the podcasting tool properly while showing examples of the assignment that either previous students had made or some that I made. After I made sure that everyone knew what they were doing, at least for the most part, I would turn them loose to work on it and have them finish it for homework. I would then walk around and see how they all were progressing and help those that were having difficulty. This is targeted for grade 4 specifically, and it is intended to enhance the student's knowledge of the basic types of weather through interactive means that they can relate to.
 * For the other activity, I would have the students come into a computer lab and open up Microsoft Word. I would then show them how to use the little gadgets and tools within the program by having them do different things with a set amount of words. This is targeted for first grade, but could also be used in second grade or kindergarten for some advanced kindergartners. It is intended to give kids a head start on using technology in an age that has it everywhere, along with immersing children in what they will most likely be seeing on a daily basis once they reach middle school (in some schools it can be as early as fourth or fifth grade).

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 * Everybody: **
 * References:**
 * 1) http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/contructivism
 * 2) http://www.learning-theories.com/constructivism.html
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