In the study of Child Development learning how children think has become the basis of what helps teachers

decide how children learn through play and their environment on a daily basis. Two theories have helped pave the way in breaking down the developmental processes required. Jean Piaget according to Mooney (2000) was really an epistemologist. (p. 59). He studied what knowledge was and how it begins. Jean Piaget believed that children learned about their world through stages. He thought that they learned by building steadily upon the knowledge of each stage. They take what they have learned and use it to reevaluate and relearn things about the world around them. Lev Vygotsky was also another theorist that made an impact in child study. He thought that children relied on the adults and peers around them. He felt that children had to learn through interacting with their social environment. Even though they sometimes seemed distinctly different they each made valid points that has helped improve child developmental studies today. Jean Piaget introduced the clinical method during his later studies. This method focused on the way children answered questions when presented with a problem. The person in charge of the test would ask a child a number of questions to see if the child would realize how to solve the problem. If it seemed the child was having difficulty then the questions were rephrased and asked again. This let observers see how children processed information in order to learn. In Piagets view children did not just take in material. He believed that they were excited to learn and that they themselves played a part in their learning process. He also believed that children were able to adapt better at their environments. This made learning easier for them. Sometimes children reached a point where they are not able to make sense of some things until they learn what is needed before. This situation he called disequilibrium. An example of this would be a child who has not learned the correct sounds of the alphabet. If the child does know the correct

sounds of the alphabet they will have difficulty with word recognition. If children are taught phonics at an early age then they would be able to recognize the words with a little more ease when they are learning to read. The learning of phonics will help them with sounding out the words. Piaget believed that children had a way of organizing what they learned that helped them to process information. This process of organization called schemes include filtering or modification of input-assimilation; modification of internal schemes to fit reality is called accommodation. (Inhelder, 2000, p.6). When children interact with their peers they learn to think logically about situations. As a young child children have a form of egocentrism that keeps them from seeing anyones perspective but their own as they grow up and interact more then they learn how to use the perspective of others. Also as a childs brain matures they learn more and they are able to learn in different ways. Piaget theorized four stages that a child must go through in order for them to reach full cognitive development. Piagets stages of development are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete and formal operations. These four stages of Piaget categorize child development. The Sensorimotor stage starts at birth. He believed that a lot of the behaviors of a newborn were ingrained to help them live and function outside of the womb. Children responded primarily to stimuli and most of all they did was by reflexes. In this stage children gained object permanence where they eventually learned that just because an object disappeared it could still be there. It was no longer out of sight out of mind. They also learn a lot through trial and error. A child that cries realizes that he or she will get what they want. As they get older they realize that their cries no longer have the same effect so they try to learn how to talk in order to ask for what they want.

Some of the limitations of this stage are that children only think about things in their present environment. They do not have the capacity or think of what might be happening later. The preoperational stage is from the ages of two to seven. This is a stage when children do a lot of pretend play. They mimic adults and situations of how the world works around them i.e., doctor or teacher. Children in the preoperational stage also have an increase in their vocabulary during this time. They are not able to think logically about certain situations. The children may get answers right during this stage but a lot of time they are just guessing. For example a child may take play dough out of a container and flatten it. The child does not realize that the same flattened play dough is actually the full amount that was in the container. They do not have the thought process of conservation. The Concrete operations stage is around the age of seven. During this stage children have become more in tuned to the feelings of others. They are able to classify objects into different groups and realize that just because an object is in one group does not mean that it cannot be in another group of similar properties. Children at this stage are able to think more logically but still are unable to interpret the meaning of some things i.e., algebra and discussions about astronomical units. In Piagets last stage known as Formal operations a child is usually around the age twelve. Children in this stage are able to think about things that are not presently there. They are able to come up with conclusions to problems and figure out alternative ways to make a decision. A limitation to this stage is that even though a child can come up with a brilliant answer to a solution does not mean it will work. Usually children at this age are very idealistic about the way the world is supposed to work. Piagets stages made understanding the way children learned

some things easier. You are able to see the definitive qualitative changes over time. One of the downsides to his description of cognitive development was that he did not take in to account of the environment and culture of a child. Piaget also failed to account for the working memory of the brain according to Case (1985), important for cognitive development. (p. 205). A childs development of reasoning skills can be affected by their culture if in that culture they value certain things over others. A childs culture may not influence mathematical skills if they dont see it as important. They may feel that the beauty of arts or music, beauty that can be brought to the world is more important than something analytical. Also the prior knowledge or experience that a family member may have can greatly affect the way a child learns. If the child has a mother who is illiterate then that child may have a problem with reading if they do not get proper help. Lev Vygotsky thought that children learned better through their environment. He believed that if adults would help the kids acquire knowledge, then the child with adult help would soon be able to answer some things on their own. He also believed that if children were taught to learn in a nurturing environment they would be more apt to learn. Vygotsky believed that children were able to learn with the use of a cognitive tool which would help the child make sense of their environment. An example of cognitive tools are books and computers and for the youth of today more and more are using iPads which are being used in classrooms to promote learning through play. When thought and language merge it creates a chance for the child to talk themselves through a task that may be very challenging. By internalizing which comes from inner speech kids are able to talk themselves through a situation and make the best of it. An example of this is when two

children may have an argument. The child has to decide what the best way to handle the disagreement is. It depends on how the child talks himself through the situation as to if they will let a small problem become out of control. Children that challenge themselves during play allow themselves to go further than what they normally would. The challenge gives them real experiences and helps them with problemsolving skills. When they are challenged they have to come up with a solution that can help them. A child with assistance can challenge themselves and the adult can help them if the child becomes stuck on how to handle the problem. The zone of proximity is a term for the range of task that a child can complete independently. (Wikipedia) Vygotsky believed that a child would not challenge themselves if they are doing something that can be done independently. A teacher can help children during scaffolding by providing them with tools to assist them. On a math test the teacher can provide a calculator if she feels that they are unable to complete the work without it. This is scaffolding, because as the child learns the math problems the teacher will gradually remove the tools she has given the student until they no longer need them. Play provides children a chance to act out and learn through things they have seen in their environment. Children imaginatively take on the roles of different characters, in doing so children imitate or try to imitate actions they have mentally symbolized from situations observed days or even weeks earlier. (Hockenbury&Hockenbury, 2010 p. 393.) In guided participation children get to participate in adult activities while receiving help from the adults. Some activities such as a home economics class can let children learn life skills such as cooking or sewing. In apprenticeships children receive more challenging work and the adults

only assist with learning for a short while and afterwards only when needed. Most apprenticeships are when children start to think about career decisions. Where Piaget believed in a child learning from their own skills or things they obtained without help, Vygotsky believed that children learned with the help of the adults in their environment. Piaget believed that children were self-motivated and eager to learn whereas Vygotsky thought that children explored their surroundings to learn. Piaget did not take in to effect that culture played a difference whereas Vygotsky did. They both had arguable points and even though they had considerable differences they also centered on main points as well. They both agreed that a child had to be ready cognitively in order to processes some situations. They also both agreed that a child must challenge themselves in order to succeed at one level in order to go to the next. If the child never challenged themselves they were unable to improve their cognitive thinking skills. As lab managers at JPL discovered, object play with the hands creates a brain that is better suited for understanding in solving problems of all sorts. (Brown, 2009, p.86) In order to build knowledge of the alphabet I would let my students form letters with clay. This will allow them to not only hear the letters as we say them, but also learn how to manipulate them. This will help give them a memory of forming the letters when it comes time to write them. Another way that I will help my students learn through play is when learning about our neighborhood we will discuss the buildings in our area. The children will have the opportunity to make houses out of Legos. This will give them a visual description or symbol of what a house is compared to a skyscraper. In my classroom we would focus a lot of our work using manipulatives and taking field trips to the museum to see how our city has built up over time. I believe with these cognitive tools I can help my younger students succeed early in life.