Educational Theories, Essay Example

“ The child had her left arm wrapped around the provider’s neck and her fist was closed on a lock of the provider’s hair. The child’s right hand was grasping a portion of the provider’s apron cover-up. The provider said, “Look who’s here Annie!” as she pointed to the student volunteer. The child smiled briefly and buried her head in the provider’s shoulder. The student said, “Annie, how would you like to slide down the ramp today?” There was no response from the child. The provider walked toward the ramp and knelt with one knee on the floor and the left knee supporting the child. She whispered something to Annie. The child looked up at the ramp and “dove” off the provider’s knee. She landed directly on the side of the ramp and scrambled up to the top.”

In this scene, the theory of Abraham Maslow and motivation categorizes the selection as human motivation driven by their unsatisfied needs. In this case, the student needs to satisfy the need of the child to belong and be loved for the child to let go of the provider. This theory of motivation greatly influences education progress because if their need to belong is not fulfilled then they will not be motivated to learn or fulfill their potential.

“The student clapped her hands and smiled at Annie. For the next fifteen minutes, Annie and the student repeated their interactions by the ramp. Annie continued to crawl up and slide down the other side, while the student applauded each time. After about two minutes had passed, another infant moved in the direction of the ramp. He fell forward and readjusted his balance while he repositioned himself to stand up again. Then he toddled forward three steps. He was on the opposite side of the ramp that the student was sitting by. He passed the ramp and plopped down in the student’s lap. When Annie reached the top of the ramp, the student held the boy’s hands and clapped them together, while she smiled and said, “Annie’s at the top again!”

Patterson’s Social-Interactional Developmental Model is evident in this part of the scene because the children have been able to learn and practice their skills of interaction without the help of the student. These long-term changes help in the attainment of short-term change that includes peer interaction. All these skills are helpful since they set up pleasurable interactions with their friends, which are important for their emotional, social and cognitive development stages.

“The student helped Justin off her lap, he held on to her leg after she stood up and she bent down and asked him, “Which is your bib, Justin?” Justin pointed to the red one in the assistant’s hand. The student helped tie it around his neck.”

Interactional theory in this selection is promoted by the teacher who understands their importance in shaping the child’s behavior. By asking Justin to identify his bib, the teacher is instilling in him the model of interacting with others and reduces the attachment the child has with parents because over time the patterns change.

“The group leader explained to the supervising ECE teacher that the spoons were on the table so that the children were encouraged to feed themselves. One of the children used the spoon successfully without spilling the majority of the contents, several of the children used the spoon and spilled most of the contents and the rest of the six children ate with their fingers.”

In this part, personal growth is emphasized by the ECE teacher who imposes Carl Rogers’s theory of humanistic counseling, education and psychotherapy. The teacher believes that the children possess natural tendency to learn and fulfill their potential. In this scene, the teacher plays the role of enabling the learner find the route that will see them fulfill their potential. As a result, the climate is favorable for learning to take place considering that all resources are in place. Furthermore, the teacher acknowledged and balanced all emotional dimensions.

“The group of children clustered around different toys now. Two children sat by the group leader while she read some stories. Three children began riding the wheeled toys. Two children went to the toy shelf and began to play with the Cookie Monster puppet. The student showed the ECE instructor how the puppet would eat a cookie and it would disappear. The children each had a puppet and placed the cookies in the Monster’s mouth. The student explained that the children had already figured out how to retrieve the cookies from the pocket in the back of the puppet. The children and adults continued playing and interacting for about twenty minutes.”

Social cognitive theory is displayed in this selection and emphasis is placed on mechanisms of self-efficacy regulatory. This concerns self-regulation of performance and motivation, which was strengthened by modeling. The teachers had performed the trick several times and the children had mastered the skill and are applying the techniques acquired, which has left them aware of their capabilities as individuals. In this selection it is also evident that the children are observant and have acquired capabilities of self-direction and self-motivation. They are engaged in activities that fulfills their valued goals. Furthermore, the children are motivated by their discontent since they have substandard performances that need fulfilling. Therefore, their act of engaging in different activities satisfies their goals, which enables them keep their conduct and personal standards in line.

“The group leader signaled that it was time to pick up the toys and that they were going to go outside. Some of the children had jackets. The adults helped button and zip the jackets after they held the sleeves for the children. None of the children attempted to dress themselves. The whole group walked through the next room (full of empty toys because there were not enough infants to staff two rooms). They reached the door for the infant playground and the adults helped the children walk down the cement ramp. The group leader explained that they had to be careful here. Even though the slope was very gentle, someone inevitably ended up falling down. Occasionally, some pebbles got in the walking area and that made it even more slippery. The children were guided down about a 4-foot ramp to the playground. Some of the children went right to the sandbox. The student helped uncover the top. She placed some toys and shovels in the box and started to fill a sand pail. Other children started picking up shovels and scooping up the sand. The group leader played catch with two of the children. When they missed the ball, they went running after it. This game continued until the teacher had to leave. She waved goodbye to the children and thanked the adults for allowing her to visit that day.”

Behavioral theory is evident in this selection and gives emphasis to both classical and operant learning. In classical conditioning, on reaching the play ground, the children started reacting to the toys and this means that the stimulus is the play ground while the toys are the responses. Their minds become active on sight of the toys and make them want to engage in different activities. In operant conditioning, the behavior consequences changes the strength of the behavior thus, they are susceptible to control. Their responses act on the environment and in turn generate consequences because in future, the children are more likely to repeat the same behavior in future.