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John Dewey's Progressive Education
-Focused on the social, emotional, and physical development of children and stated that the children's interests should dictate what is learned
-Strengths: Students are interested in the lessons, activities are hands on and child-centered
-Weaknesses: Lessons not led by teachers, lack of formal instruction
-Fact: Students were not explicitly taught how to read, but rather participated in activities that would lead to reading -
B.F. Skinner and Behaviorism
-Uses conditioning to reward or punish behavior, states that learning occurs through imitation and association
-Strengths: Puts an emphasis on formal, teacher led instruction
-Weaknesses: Does not value the role of social, physical, and emotional development
-Fact: Behaviorism uses explicit instruction, which emphasizes the use of specific steps to take in order to accomplish the task -
Maria Montessori Method
-Theory focuses on the influence the senses have on learning, skills will be mastered through organized, systemic training
-Strengths: Teacher acts as a guide and models behavior, emphasizes practical, real world materials
-Weaknesses: Does not include the influence of play or children's interests has on learning
-Fact: Montessori's materials have greatly influenced the manipulative that are used in classrooms today -
Jean Paiget's Cognitive Development Theory
-Theory focuses on four stages of cognitive development and describes the intellectual abilities of children in each stage
-Strengths: Lessons are based on the particular stage the students are in, emphasizes the influence of a child's interaction with the world around them
-Weaknesses: Does not include specific content areas like math or science
-Fact: Piaget stressed the importance of curiosity and spontaneity in a child's learning -
Lev S. Vygotsky's Theory of Intellectual Development
-Focuses on a person's mental structures, or schemas, where information is stored, recognizes the zones of proximal development
-Strengths: Includes the importance of social relationships on learning,
-Weaknesses: States children must interact with others in order to learn
-Fact: Scaffolding plays an important role in social constructivist theory- adult models how to accomplish something for the child, who can then do it themselves
