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My Personal Paradigm
Emily Shumway
BYU-I
MY PERSONAL PARADIGM 2
Introduction
A child’s ability to learn is powerful beyond measure. I believe in addressing the “whole
child”, physical, social, cognitive, and emotional needs. This belief has not come to me all at
once like an explosion of fireworks on the fourth of July, but more gradual like how a child
learns to walk. It has taken me many years to enrich my mind and grasp how children learn best.
My philosophy about children has been shaped by educated philosophers and theorists like
Maslow, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bandura. Each one has contributed to my new way of thinking.
Maslow
and social needs. They provide the necessities of life for me to succeed. I admire Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs because it naturally supports how I was raised and how I view the raising and
Maslow’s pyramid has five different levels of how to meet the human needs. It is like
climbing a ladder, each step eventually leads you to the top. In order to reaching the top of the
ladder, a person must start at the bottom. At the base of the pyramid, “Physical” needs must be
met first such as food and shelter. Then a person can move on to the second step which is more
“Safe and Secure.” Once a person feels protected in their environment he can allow the third
level of “Love and Belonging” to come into his life. Everyone wants to feel loved. Once this
need is met then they can move onto the next level of “Esteem.” This means a person can be
successful, admired and respected. The last level of Hierarchy of needs is “Self- actualization.”
This is when a person finally reaches his unique self and he becomes who he is meant to be
(Berger, 2015, p. 56). I feel that this is the most important trait a person can have in their life. I
want children to reach the level of “Self-actualization” that they can have confidence in
MY PERSONAL PARADIGM 3
themselves. There are countless children in the world today, who barley have their basic needs
met. My desire is to be an advocate for children in communities and orphanages around the
world, to help them with their basic needs, so that they can development success.
Piaget
Piaget has four stages of development from infant to adolescent ages. According to Piaget,
real development comes from a child’s own effort in making sense of the world and making their
own discovery (Crain, 2011, p. 125). This idea describes his first stage from birth to two years
old. I am intrigued by his different stages of development. Piaget mentioned that each child will
reach these stages at different rates (Crain, 2011, p.141). I love the idea to allow children to
explore and learn on their own. This means that people need to allow children to be in control
and to guide their own learning. As adults, it is our job to be intune with the child’s interest and
teach to their needs. I want to apply Piaget’s s developmental stages to my philosophy about
children. I can apply his method by creating an environment for children to want to explore and
ask questions. There is a special power in discovering hidden treasures on our own; it gives us
the motivation to keep learning. In my profession, I want to expand the individual’s cognitive
mind and help him make sense of things. Allowing children to connect the dots together and
Vygotsky
(Berger, 2005, p. 52). Culture plays a vital part externally and internally on a child’s
development. Vygotsky believed that the interaction between the environment and behavior
MY PERSONAL PARADIGM 4
affect how a child develops and learn (Crain, 2011, p. 229). I believe as a society and people
need to defend children and create healthy environments for them to grow and interact.
Scaffolding is one of Vygotsky theories that focus on teaching to the needs of a child.
Scaffolding is simply adjusting to the child’s level of performance (Berk, 2012, p.331). Each
child has their own unique way of learning. I am passionate about teaching to the child’s needs.
From personal experience, I have seen the affects in my performance in school when a teacher
scaffolds to my learning. I want to be that same teacher for my students and children. I want
them to love learning because they can do it in their own way. Also, I want to incorporate
challenged in their learning and understanding with adult guidance (Berger, 2005, p. 45). I
believe strongly in challenging children to reach their fullest potential by stretching their
cognitive thinking.
Bandura
Bandura said, “We learn though imitation that involves cognitive processing” (Crain, 2011,
p. 204). Bandura believed strongly in learning through modeling and observation in society. I
also agree with him. It is amazing what a child can learn by imitating someone. For example, the
only way a child can learn to speak is by observing how others speak and try to imitate that same
behavior. We live in a world that children learn through modeling and observation. I want to
apply Bandura’s wisdom in my personal life. I know that what I do and say will have an impact
on my children and the children I work with. In order for children to learn correct behavior, I
Conclusion
After my journey through Maslow, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bandura’s theories, I have come to
the conclusion that I have a deep love for the development of cognition. I am passionate about
brain development and individual learning. The environment and culture play a crucial part in
developing the “whole child.” I know as I continue to gain more knowledge in the child
References
Berger, K.S. (2015). The developing person (10th ed.). New York: Worth Publisher.
Berk, E. L. (2012). Infants, children, and adolescents (7th ed.). Boston, MS: Pearson.
Crain, W. (2011) Theories of development (concepts and applications) (6th ed.) New Jersey:
Pearson.