Module 2

     Of the many theorists who have studied and founded thoughts on the ways that humans develop, it is the findings of Vygotsky that most intrigue me.  Vygotsky believed the clues to understanding mental development lie in children’s social processes.  He identified dual paths to cognitive development, the elementary processes and psychological processes.  The heart of Vygotsky’s theory is the belief that elementary biological processes are transformed into higher psychological processes. For example, a biological process is to learn to speak but that process turns into a psychological process when those words are transformed into complete, meaningful sentences, when we formulate thoughts and ideas, or deduce and comprehend. 

     Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development locates the knowledge base that the child operates within, or the tasks that a child can do independently with the skills that the child will be capable of doing with the help of a parent, mentor or teacher.  This is a critical component to assuring that my students will benefit from the teaching that takes place in my classroom.  If we teach below the student’s mode of proximal development, there is not any real teaching taking place.  Students are able to complete these tasks independently.  If we teach to far above the zone of proximal development the material is well beyond concepts the student can understand.  I’m sure students rarely benefit from learning about how to calculate the axis of rotation of an angle in first grade, but we can begin to teach them about shapes, angles and symmetry.  Some may even benefit from learning basic principles of area.  I think that understanding the concepts of proximal development will be of great assistance in differentiating instruction for the classroom.

     Skinner’s principles on operant conditioning are extremely important to the educational realm.  Skinner believed that in order to understand behavior, we must look at the causes of an action and its consequences.  Skinner’s principles help us to understand how to reinforce behaviors, whether positive or negative, and how to encourage the wanted behaviors to continue.

     I think that as we explore the theories of these different intellectuals, we must understand the variety and unique personalities that we each possess. The behavior model that might fit one student or any human being, can certainly not meet the needs of the next.  In understanding that we can ensure that we are finding strategies that meet the needs of all.