Piaget And Vygotsky Essays - Constructivism, Child Development

Piaget And Vygotsky Everyday life is characterized by conscious purpose. From reaching for food to designing an experiment, our actions are directed at goals. This purpose reveals itself partly in our conscious awareness and partly in the organization of our thoughts and actions. Cognition is the process involved in thinking and mental activity, such as attention, memory and problem solving. Much past and present theory has emphasized the parallels between the articulated prepositional structure of language and the structure of an internal code or language of thought. In this paper I will discuss language and cognition and two famous theorist who were both influential in forming a more scientific approach to analyzing the process of cognitive development. Jean Piaget There are those that say that Jean Piaget was the first to take children`s thinking seriously. Although Piaget never thought of himself as a child psychologist his real interest was epistemology, the theory of knowledge, which, like physics, was considered a branch of philosophy until Piaget came along and made it a science (2000). Children and their reasoning process fascinated Piaget. He began to suspect that observing how the child`s mind develops might discover the key to human knowledge. Piaget`s insight opened a new window into the inner workings of the mind. Jean Piaget has made major theoretical and practical contributions to our understanding of the origins and evolution of knowledge. Stages of Childhood Development In his work Piaget identified stages of mental growth. He theorized that all children progressed through stages of cognitive development. He discovered that children think and reason differently at different periods in their lives. Piaget believed that everyone passed through a sequence of four qualitatively distinct stages. They are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. In the sensorimotor stage, occurring from birth to age 2, the child is concerned with gaining motor control and learning about physical objects. This stage promotes that thought is based primarily on action. Every time an infant does any action such as holding a bottle or learning to turn over, they are learning more about their bodies and how it relates to them and their environment. Piaget maintains that there are six sub-stages in the sensorimotor stage although children pass through three major achievements. In the preoperational stage, from ages 2 to 7, the child is preoccupied with verbal skills. At this point the child can name objects and reason intuitively. Piaget has divided this stage into the preoperational phase and the intuitive phase. In the preoperational phase children use language and try to make sense of the world but have a much less sophisticated mode of thought than adults. They need to test thoughts with reality on a daily basis and do not appear to be able to learn from generalizations made by adults. In the intuitive phase the child slowly moves away from drawing conclusions based solely on concrete experiences with objects. However, the conclusions drawn are based on rather vague impressions and perceptual judgments. It becomes possible to carry on a conversation with a child. Children develop the ability to classify objects on the basis of different criteria. At this stage children learn to count and use the concept of numbers. In the concrete operational stage, from ages 7 to 12, the child begins to deal with abstract concepts such as numbers and relationships. It is here that children learn mastery of classes, relations, numbers and how to reason. In this stage a person can do mental operations but only with real concrete objects, events or situations. Logical reasons are understood. For example, a concrete operational person can understand the need to go to bed early when it is necessary to rise early the next morning. A pre-operational child, on the other hand, does not understand this logic and substitutes the psychological reason, "I want to stay up. Finally, in the formal operational stage, age 12 to 15, the child begins to reason logically and systematically. The last stage deals with the mastery of thought (Evans, 1973). A formal operational thinker can do abstract thinking and starts to enjoy abstract thought. The formal operational thinker is able to think ahead to plan the solution path. Finally, the formal operational person is capable of meta-cognition, that is, thinking about thinking. A central component of Piaget`s developmental theory of learning and thinking is that both involve the participation of the learner. Knowledge is not merely transmitted verbally but must be constructed and reconstructed by the learner. Piaget asserted that for a child to know and construct knowledge of the world the child

JFK2 essays

JFK2 essays On November 22, 1963, it was said that everything changed. This was the day that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The facts of the J.F.K. assassination will be assessed and the many different conspiracy theories will be explored and explained. How did one of the greatest and most influential Presidents of our time become assassinated, and why? Throughout this paper the facts will be brought to your attention and therefore you will be able to draw your own conclusions. By midday of November 22, 1963, the skies overlooking Dallas, Texas showed the threat of possible rain. This did not stop President Kennedy from greeting the crowds from his open limousine. To the left of the President in the rear seat was Mrs. Kennedy. In the driver seat was agent R. Greer of the Secret Service, next to him was agent Roy H. Kellerman. In the backseats were Governor Connally and Mrs. Connaly. Directly behind the Presidential limousine was a car with eight Secret Service Agents. Behind that car was the Vice Presidential car, carrying, the Vice-president, Lyndon Johnson and his wife Lady Bird. There were also several cars and busses for additional dignitaries, press Shortly after 11:50 a.m., the motor cade left from Love Field, and preceded through neighborhoods, and only stopping two times at J.F.K.s request to greet onlookers Each time the motor cade stopped, the Secret Service men stood near the President and Mrs. Kennedy to protect them. The motor cade then preceded down Houston Street and directly ahead on the intersections northwest corner a seven story, orange brick warehouse and office building, The Texas Schoolbook Depository. At a speed of 11 miles per hour, the Presidents motor cade descended gradually toward a railroad overpass, then reaching the Stemmons Freeway. The front of the Texas Schoolbook Depository was now on the Presid...

Charles Dickens

INTRODUCTION This report will talk about the life of a famous author, Charles Dickens. It will tell you about his early, middle, and later years of his life. It will also talk about one of his great works of literature. In conclusion, this report will show a comparison of his work to his life. Plagiarism Detection >EARLY LIFE Charles Dickens was born at Landport, in Portsea, on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay-Office, and was temporarily on duty in the neighborhood when Charles was born. His name was John Dickens. He spent time in prison for debts. But, even when he was free he lacked the money to support his family. Then, when Charles was two they moved to London.1Just before he started to toddle, he stepped into the glare of footlights. He never stepped out of it until he died. He was a good man, as men go in the bewildering world of ours, brave, transparent, tender-hearted, and honorable. Dickens was always a little too irritable because he was a little too happy. Like the over-wrought child in society, he was splendidly sociable, and in and yet sometimes quarrelsome. In all the practical relations of his life he was what the child is at a party, genuinely delighted, delightful, affectionate and happy, and in some strange way fundamentally sad and dangerously close to tears. 2At the age of 12 Charles worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He held the job only for a few months, but the misery of the experience remain with him all his life. 3Dickens attended school off and on until he was 15, and then left for good. He enjoyed reading and was especially fond of adventure stories, fairy tales, and novels. He was influenced by such earlier English writers as William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet, and Henry Fielding. However, most of the knowledge he later used as an author came from his environment around him. 4MIDDLE LIFE Dickens became a newspaper writer and reporter in the late 1820s. He specialized in cover ing debates in Parliament, and also wrote feature articles. His work as a reporter sharpened his naturally keen ear for conversation and helped develop his skill in portraying his characters speach realistically. It also increased his ability to observe and to write swiftly and clearly. Dickens first book, Sketches by Boz (1836) consisted of articles he wrote for the Monthly Magazine and the London Evening Chronicles.5On April 2, 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth. This was just a few days before the anoucement that on the 31st he would have his first work printed in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. And this was the beginning of his career. 6Then, at 24, Dickens became famous and was so until he died. He won his first literary fame with The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Published in monthly parts in 1836 and 1837 the book describes the humorous adventure and misadventures of the English Countryside. After a slow start, The Pickwick Papers as the book was usually called gained a popularity seldom matched in the history of literature. 7Then in 1837, Catherines sister Mary, died. Because of her death Dickens suffered a lot of grief. This led some scholars to believe that Dickens loved Mary more than Catherine. Catherine was a good woman but she lacked intelligence. Dickens and Catherine had 10 children. Then later in 1858, the couple seperated. 8LATER LIFE,/b His later years was basically consisting of two main additions to his previous activites.The first was a series of public readings and lectures which he began giving it systematically. And second, he was a successive editor. Dickens had been many things in his life; he was a reporter , an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer, and a editor and he enjoyed all of those things. 9Dickens had a remarkable mental and physical energy. He recorded all his activites in thousands of letter, many of which made delightful readings. He spent much of his later life with crowded social friends from arts and literature. He also went to the theater as often as he could, cause he loved drama. Dickens also produced and acted in small theaters to give public readings of his work.10Besides doing all this after his retirement he got involved in various charities . These charities included schools for poor children and a loan society to enable the poor to prove to Australia. 11Then about 1865 his health started to decline and he died of a stroke on June 9, 1870. 12Conclusion His work of Great Expectation is very related with his life. It deals with the same problems he faced when he lost Catherine and how his life was before he became rich and famous. He also created scenes and descriptions of places that have longed delighted readers. Dickens was a keen observer of life and had a great understanding of humanity, especially of young people. The warmth and humor of his personality appeared in all of his works. Perhaps in no other large body of fiction does the reader receive so strong and agreeable impression of the person behind the story.Endnotes 1. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of The Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg.19 2. Ibid, pg. 21-22 3. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. Viking, 1977, pg. 20 4. Ibid, pg. 27 5. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193 6. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 50 7. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg. 193 8. Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph. Rev. ed. Viking, 1977, pg. 53 9. G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens The Last of the Great Men, American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942 pg. 167 10. World Book Encyclopedia, Random House, NY., 1990 pg.195 11. Ibid 12. IbidBIBLIOGRAPHY Â  Chesterton, G.K., The Last of the Great Men American Book-Stratford Press, NY., 1942. Plagiarism Detection >Johnson, Edgar, His Tragedy and Triumph Rev. ed. Viking, 1977.World Book Encyclopedia, Random H ouse, NY., 1990

A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Modest Proposal - Essay Example Patrick’s Cathedral as Dean. He is known for his marvelous works such as Gulliver’s Travels, A journey to Stella and The Battle of Books etc. In this essay he proposes a method to mitigate the tense and misery in the life of the poverty stricken Irish people. While describing the family conditions of the beggars and the woeful economic situation of the Irish laborers who couldn’t feed their family and their infants, Swift points out a â€Å"surplus† of those infants who could not be fed. By considering the possibility of selling the children into slavery once they reach at the age of twelve, he objects that scheme, not because of the brutality in that scheme but because of its impracticality. Swift said that twelve years is a long time in which a child cannot be fed because of the fragile conditions of his parents, and that he came to know from his acquaintance in America that a one year old child in good healthis : â€Å"a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome Food, whether Stewed, Roasted, Baked or Boiled†(Swift, n.p.). From this point onwards, Swift supports his idea of subjecting the children into cannibalism at earlier age than to nurse the child for twelve years. Following this scheme the mother of the child has only one year to milk him/her so as to make him/her a perfect food for the upper class. After selling her child she would get enough time to work until she is pregnant again. He also showed that this idea if implied would help in reducing the Catholics too, as a Catholic child breeds rapidly as compared to a Protestant child. People could make use of their skin as well. Next he discusses the recipe for older children but refutes it because the meat of an older child would never be as fresh as the infant’s meat. He concludes with six advantages of this scheme and says that nobody should object his proposal until and unless somebody comes with a genuine counter argument and that this entire proposal is in the favor of the Irish prosperity. Critical Analysis Jonathan Swift is known for his satirical writings about the political situation prevailing at that time in his country and the snide comments about the unjust policies of his time. In this article he talked about the somber and murky situation of the poor people of Ireland and the condition of the streets and public places full of beggars followed by a team of their ill conditioned children. The mother of such children instead of earning are forced to beg their infants. All this strive for those children who would either turn themselves into thieves (because of the deprivation of basic necessities), or sell themselves to Barbados or fight for Spain, provide no actual benefit to the country. This fragile and solemn condition of these helpless infants adds more to the already present country grieves. Having explained this weird condition in a melancholic tone he suddenly shocked the audience by his own seemingly a very ruthless an d brutal solution of the problem. He calculates and shows the result that a 12 year breeding of children and then selling them is an impractical scheme and that it costs too much to the parents. However by using a very shrewd stance and highlighting all the negative aspects of the aforesaid scheme he puts forward his own idea of subjecting the infants to cannibalism at the age of one year. The audience had not yet recovered from the shock his seemingly hysteric and madding ideaand he started giving the calculations regarding the saving of a family who follows this proposal. He continued to explain the need of such an idea which if implemented save a thousands of currency per annum. At this point one reading all this juxtaposition of problem and solution would think that the author of this essay could be a serial killer or a

Dissertation - Can an organisation's growth be restricted Essay

Dissertation - Can an organisation's growth be restricted (constrained) by its recruitment policies, employee motivation or is it other factors - Essay Example For this reason, there is a strong need to determine the best way to increase the work motivation of the older generation employees. For this study, the researcher aims to determine whether the organization’s growth be restricted by its recruitment policies and employment motivation strategies on workers more than 50 years of age. To address the purpose of the study, the researcher will first conduct a literature review on organizational culture, work equality, importance of work flexibility and work-life balance, and the current employment law with regards to the pension age. Eventually, the researcher will conduct a quantitative and qualitative research survey among employees more than 50 years old. Organizational culture refers to â€Å"a set of norms, beliefs, principles and behaviour that gives the organization a unique character.† (Brown, 1995) It is also defined as â€Å"a pattern of behaviour developed by an organization to cope with problems related to external adaptation and internal integration aside from enabling the employees to feel and think positively.† David (1999: 143) Organizational culture is a paradigm which is often developed by employees within the organization. Over time, organizational culture forms a strong set of behavioural patterns and belief that could greatly affect the perception of employees with regards to its organizational goals and success. (Willcoxson & Millett, 2000) In fact, organization culture could greatly influence not only the success of the organization in terms of attaining its organizational goals but also its current performance. (DuBrin, 2002; David, 1999; Robbins, 1998) In order to effectively develop a strong organizational culture, managers play an important role when it comes to determining and implementing an acceptable organizational culture that promotes employees’ loyalty as well as motivating them to participate in supporting the effort on attaining the organizational goal

Peace in Eastern Religions Essay Example for Free

Peace in Eastern Religions Essay All Eastern religions have their own ideas about engendering peace within individuals and society. Jainism and Buddhism insist on the protection of all life. Confucianism permits war whenever reality would not allow for absolute peace within society. Daoism, on the contrary, rejects war by almost equating tranquility with the true nature of humanity. It is reasonable, therefore, to pose the following questions: Do all people love peace? If so, why do we have to discuss the subverting of hatred? As a matter of fact, all people cannot find peace until and unless they have come to believe in certain peace-inducing thoughts, such as ahimsa of the Buddhists. All religions propose peace with their particular sets of beliefs. Followers of the religions are required to know the thoughts of their peace-loving leaders, however, before they can find absolute peace within themselves. There is no religion without knowledge, which is why a Jain must know the basic beliefs of his or her community before peace could be practiced in the form of complete nonviolence. I believe that the â€Å"inner peace† proposed by Buddhism is the most important definition of peace. This is the kind of peace that is available to all, regardless of our levels of education. Even before an individual has realized the peace-inducing thoughts of the Buddha, or another religious leader, â€Å"inner peace† is essentially available. Moreover, nonviolence is best practiced with â€Å"inner peace. † If this kind of peace is not available to an individual, he or she may find it difficult also to understand the nonviolent practices of the religion. After all, an agitated and wrathful mind would not be able to practice nonviolence in the best possible way. Despite the fact that Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism, Smith-Christopher (1998), the editor of Subverting Hatred: The Challenge of Nonviolence in Religious Traditions, has positioned the chapter on Buddhism before the chapter on Hinduism. This allows the reader to understand the origins of Buddhism after reflecting on the religion. Most importantly, however, the placement of the chapter on Buddhism before the chapter on its origins allows the reader to be introduced to the concept of â€Å"inner peace† earlier on. This is an indispensable form of peace without which no concept of nonviolence is possible to be understood. Seeing that the subject of the book is the practice of peace, it would have been appropriate also to place the chapter on Buddhism as the first chapter in the book – simply for an understanding of â€Å"inner peace. †

Sweeney Todd :: essays research papers

Sweeney Todd is by no means a conventional musical; it takes several forms of music and theater and artfully places them together. Sondheim very effectively transports the audience back to Victorian England for a mad waltz with murder, mayhem...and meat pies. He also utilizes his skill as a choral composer to write some truly fascinating ensemble pieces accompanied by a very intricate plot with many elements carefully layered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several important thematic elements in this carefully written commentary on our society, and Sondheim makes good use of his music to accent not only the melodramatic plot, but these themes as well. For example, the song â€Å"Kiss Me† becomes an anthem for Anthony and Johanna and a symbol of their true love....they loved when they did not even know each other’s names. Sweeney Todd may be a dark musical, but its construction lends well to light voices and an equally light orchestral style. Plot-wise, this show is rather light, the characters seem cartoonish and one-dimensional, especially Mrs. Lovett, Anthony, and Johanna, who appear to be little more than melodramatic character roles. Ironically, Mrs. Lovett, the absolute capitalist, is one of the show’s most complex characters. Mrs. Lovett is not merely some amoral witch out to make a fast dollar, she is a character driven by greed and love to keep Sweeney however she can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, the play gives an excellent example of captive innocence, and the loss of innocence that immediately follows. Sweeney is driven to murder, Mrs. Lovett bakes these people into pies, Johanna kills, Lucy is forced to become a Beggar and a whore, and nearly every major character experiences their own fall