ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Since psychologists began studying the human mind it has

become evident that learning occurs in many ways and that there is

a reciprocal relationship between the factors that influence learning,

ranging from biological, cultural and environmental. Research has

offered teachers new insights into how children learn, which we

have a responsibility to incorporate in the classroom. These insights

enable us to adopt teaching techniques that suit the learning styles

of our students to improve their understanding and other aspects of

their learning. In my examination of how children learn I will discuss

the most influential philosophies of learning and explore how they

have impacted on the teaching and learning I have observed and

practiced and the implications of their use in future teaching1.

Undoubtedly, the most influential theories on teaching and

learning are those of Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner 2. Both Piaget and

Vygotsky’s theories fit into the broad constructivist philosophy of

learning, the guiding principle of which emphasises that learning

must start with hands-on problem solving and issues that students

are familiar with. Bruner used the best of Piaget and Vygotsky’s

theories to introduce the ideas of scaffolding and contingency to

teaching practice.

1
Professional Standards for QTS: Q. 7a – Reflecting on and improving my practice
through knowledge and understanding of a range of learning theories.
2
Professional Standards for QTS: Q. 10 – Learning about these teaching, learning
and behaviour management strategies in the process of this assignment has
allowed me to understand how and where I have used them in my teaching in
order to provide the most suitable lessons for all learners to achieve their
potential. Furthermore, observing how they are used in the teaching practice of
other teachers has allowed me to reflect upon how I can improve my use of these
strategies for future practice.

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is based on four

developmental stages of cognition, which he believed followed a

pattern that is predetermined from birth (Figure.1). Piaget believed

that children learn by experience and through these experiences

they build cognitive structures to help make sense of the world

around them: “Learning is no more than a sector of cognitive

development that is facilitated by experience.” (Piaget, 1970)

Developmen Age Cognitive Processes

tal Stage
Sensorimotor Birth – 2 Through physical interaction with
Stage years environment the child builds a set of
concepts about reality and how it
works. At this stage a child does not
know that a physical object remains
in existence even when out of sight.
Preoperationa 2 – 7 years The child is not yet able to
l Stage conceptualise abstractly and needs
concrete physical situations.
Concrete 7 – 11 years The child starts to conceptualise,
Operations creating logical structures to explain
their physical experiences. Abstract
problem solving is possible at this
stage.
Formal 11 – 15 By this point, the child’s cognitive
Operations years structures are similar to those of an
adult and include conceptual
reasoning.

Figure. 1 (www.funderstanding.com)

Piaget emphasized three other factors that shape a child’s

cognitive development; maturation, activity and social transmission.

For Piaget maturation is the biological development of the mind that

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

is programmed from birth in each individual. Activity is the

learners’ ability to undergo experiences and therefore learn from

these which “leads in turn to an alteration of children’s thought

processes.” (Summary of Research in Teaching and Learning in

Secondary Schools, DFES: 0345/2003). Social transmission is the

act of learning from others; “As children act on their environment,

they also interact with others and can therefore learn from them to

differing degrees depending on their developmental stage.”

(Summary of Research in Teaching and Learning in Secondary

Schools, DFES: 0345/2003).

Although it is clear that age is a key factor in how and what

children learn Piaget’s notion that the child must mature through

stages in a predetermined biological pattern is for me, too

constricting. As King (1985) points out:

“Piaget assumed that development of thought follows

the same pattern in all, with no real consideration of
factors such as individual differences, motivation,
personality, the differing information loads of different
tasks, familiarity with materials, and the possibilities of
teaching or possibly a partnership with peers.”3

Furthermore Piaget believed that the thought processes of children

must follow “logico-mathematical” (Baumann et al, 1997) patterns.

However Reber (1985) points out that if the original understanding

of knowledge is incorrect, then incorrect conclusions can be reached

even if logical thought patterns have been employed.

3
Professional Standards for QTS: Q. 18 – My understanding of the range of factors
that influence how children learn is what leads me to agree with King in his
opinion that Piaget’s developmental stages are too constricting since they do not
take these factors into account.

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

In a lesson with a Year 10 class I applied Piaget’s theory and

explored its criticisms (Appendix 1). The class were studying

branding and my aim was to immerse the students in a set of

experiences that would demonstrate to them the power of branding,

through their involvement in the experience4. Students were

presented with two concealed cereal boxes marked as ‘Cereal A’

and ‘Cereal B’. Their task was to undergo a series of tests on the

cereals (Figure. 2), each time referring back to the key question:

‘Which cereal would you buy and why?’ The concluding part of the

task was for the students to make their judgement on which cereal

was branded based on the results of their testing5. The purpose of

breaking the experience into these small tests was to mimic Piaget’s

four developmental stages (Figure. 2) in order to truly immerse the

students in an experience around which they could construct new

meanings and ideas.

Developmen Age Task Processes

tal Stage
Sensorimotor Birth – 2 ‘Blind’ test
Stage years
Preoperationa 2 – 7 years ‘Touch’ test
l Stage
Concrete 7 – 11 years ‘Taste’ test
Operations
Formal 11 – 15 Judgement of
Operations years cereals based on
test results

4
This links to Piaget’s cognitive developmental factor of activity.
5
This links to Piaget’s social transmission as students shared opinions and ideas
about their final judgements based on their test results.

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Figure. 2

Piaget felt thought processes should follow strict logical patterns but

even the most logical thought can be flawed if it is based on

assumptions. The students results of the ‘blind’ testing proves this

as some of them concluded that Cereal B was the branded cereal

because it was in a slightly bigger box and therefore they would buy

Cereal B (Appendix 1.1). The students learnt through their

experiences (and assumptions) that advertising can influence

consumers to buy a branded product, even if in reality it is exactly

the same as a non-branded version (Appendix 1.2).

First and foremost for Vygotsky, learning occurs when children

interact with others around them: “Through others, we become

ourselves” (Vygotsky, 1997). He emphasized that children need

“interaction with those who have more knowledge and experience

(generally speaking, older children and adults)” (Baumann et al,

1997a) to aid their learning. According to Vygotsky the key factors

that effect learning are; culture, language and the zone of proximal

development (zpd).

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Culture contributes to a child’s intellectual development in two

ways; it provides them with the content of their thinking

(knowledge) and the processes of thinking. In other words,

Vygotsky believed that culture teaches children both what to think

and how to think. Language allows children to internalise the

knowledge they learn from the culture around them, Vygotsky

considered speech to be “a tool that developed in a social context

and which became the vehicle for thought” (L. Vygotsky, 1978).

The zpd is perhaps what Vygotsky is most famous for, he

contended: “What children can do with the assistance of others

might be in some sense more indicative of their mental

development than what they can do alone.” (L. Vygotsky, 1978a).

The zpd is the zone between what children can achieve alone and

what they can achieve with adult support. Vygotsky’s zpd is

connected to his conviction that social interaction is essential to the

development of children’s thinking. From my observations and

investigation I have realised that group work6 and class discussion

are practices employed by teachers to improve learning and

enjoyment as students point out that group work helps them to

engage with the work and share ideas (Appendix 2).

I applied Vygotsky’s theory in a series of Year 10 lesson on

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Appendix 3)7. In the first lesson the

6
Group work is a good example of the theories of all three men – social
transmission, zpd enactive representation and scaffolding.
7
Professional Standards for QTS: Q. 22, Q. 25a, Q. 25b & Q. 25c – Introducing the
difficult concept of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the class in a series of linked
learning sequences. Creating progression in students understanding of the

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

hierarchy was introduced to the students through a diagrammatical

example which was explained and exemplified in teacher led

discussion. In groups students created a mind map explaining their

thoughts and ideas about the hierarchy. The groups then

completed a carousel task where each group looked at the work of

others. In the following class discussion students established their

agreed understanding of the hierarchy based on their mind maps.

This learning episode relates to Vygotsky’s theories of language and

zpd. Students worked together, using their different prior

knowledge and experiences to bridge their understanding of the

abstract concept into something more concrete to understand. In

the act of working together language was a key factor in their

learning and discussion was pupil led and teacher led which again

highlights the use of zpd8.

Students then created their own diagrammatical example of

the hierarchy using any images they felt could best represent their

understanding of the hierarchy. In doing this Vygotsky’s ideas on

culture were also employed, as I guided students with ideas of the

kinds of images they might use to represent their understanding of

the concept9. For example one student used the life of a dog, whilst

concept by building on prior knowledge and ideas students are familiar with,
whilst using a range of teaching resources to improve their learning.
8
Using knowledge from each other and my examples and explanations of the
hierarchy students were able to come to a better understanding of the concept
than if they had attempted to tackle it alone.
9
This is also an example of the use of Bruner’s iconic representation theory since
students used imagery to help them understand the concept.

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

another student used the idea of a platform computer game

(Appendix. 3.1).

In the following lesson students were given a series of clips

from the film Castaway (2000) and asked to create a learning tool

for future students that could explain Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

to them. Students worked in pairs 10 to analyse each clip and decide

which of the needs it was an example of using a worksheet to help

them11. Students then created a short film explaining Maslow’s

Hierarchy of Needs using examples from the clips they analysed and

an explanation. This task links further with Vygotsky’s theory as

students were not only using the culture they are familiar with to

exemplify their understanding but they also created a tool that can

be used with future classes and so those classes will benefit from

using resources that are immersed within their culture even more12.

Bruner believed children rely on three types of interrelated

cognitive processes that correspond to the stages “by which we

‘represent’ the environment to ourselves when we are learning”

(Baumann et al, 1997b). The three stages are: enactive

representation, iconic representation and symbolic representation.

Enactive representation is learning through the act of doing which

10
Another example of social interaction and zpd.
11
Some students completed these in more detail than others as they were still
coming to a better understanding of the concept, this is an example of Bruner’s
theory of scaffolding where supports structures are provided for students and
then gradually taken away as they become more able.
12
Since they are using film clips (culture) and the films the students produced
themselves are a result of and part of our school culture.

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

cause those actions to become automatic. Iconic representation is

learning through the visual medium, for example images, drawings,

diagrams, spatial arrangements and colour patterns. Symbolic

representation is, for Bruner, the most advanced level of cognitive

development where connections between concrete knowledge and

abstract knowledge are made chiefly through language.

Bruner expanded on Vygotsky’s notions of the zpd; he built

this notion into his devices of scaffolding and contingency. For

Bruner, scaffolding is the intervention made by the teacher so that

the “child’s ineptitude can be rescued” (Baumann et al, 1997c).

Contingencies are the procedures on which scaffolding should be

based. David Wood (1988) developed Bruner’s contingency theory

to create five increasing levels of support and two rules of

contingency that should be applied in scaffolding (Figure 3).

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Level 1
General verbal

Level 2 Contingency Rule

Specific verbal 1
If a child fails to
succeed after any
given level of help
Level 3 the teacher must
Identify material respond with a
and/or key skills
Contingency Rule
2
If a child succeeds
Level 4 then the subsequent
Assembly or level of help should
breakdown of whole be lower in order for
sequence into the child to develop

Level 5
Demonstration

Figure. 3 (Baumann et al, 1997d)

I observed Bruner’s theory in a Year 7 Spanish lesson

(Appendix 4) where students were being introduced to the new

vocabulary of opinions and school subjects. All three stages of

Bruner’s theory were used in the lesson through the use of visual,

auditory and kinaesthetic resources or tasks. Enactive and iconic

representation was used to help the students learn the new

vocabulary of school subjects and symbolic representation was used

to help the students understand the context in which the new

vocabulary about opinions should be used. Students were shown

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

nine images, each one relating to a school subject, the teacher read

out school subjects and students had to connect the image and the

vocabulary. This exemplifies Bruner’s iconic representation as the

students made connections based on the images they could see the

words they could hear.

Enactive representation was then used in a task based very

much on play13. The teacher picked two students to play against

each other in a game in which they had to be the first one to touch

the image that related to the subject called out by the teacher and

other students. The teachers intention was that the students would

recall the game, the act of having to physically move, the image

and the words to make the connection in the future and therefore

remember all nine new vocabulary words:

“I think it will help them to connect it all together, so

that they don’t just remember the school subjects that
they like or dislike but all of them. This works for the
students who played the game and the ones who took
part by calling out vocabulary words because they will
remember the act of watching their peers jump, bend or
lean across to touch the right image.”
(Appendix. 4.1)

The final part of the lesson was where the teacher introduced

symbolic representation by giving the students the context in which

to use their new vocabulary. Students were given opinion cards (in

Spanish) to hold up depending on whether they liked or disliked the

13
This is also an example of the theory of Vygotsky who believed that play was an
important feature of how children learn because it provides them with background
information on which to base their thinking processes.

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

subject. After doing this students had to use their new knowledge

to translate five sentences from the board. In doing this the

connections between concrete ideas (the school subjects) and

abstract ones (opinions) were made and students were able to put

their new learning into a context that they could easily understand.

Throughout this lesson there were also examples of scaffolding and

contingency as G&T students were given more challenges, for

example they were asked to translate five sentences and produce

two new sentences of their own (low contingency level). Students

who needed a higher level of help were supported through specific

verbal prompts from the teacher and demonstrations of how to use

the vocabulary from other students (high level contingency).

In my investigation I have found a number of useful ways in

which to incorporate the theories of Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner. In

my opinion the key findings are the use of visual, auditory and

kinaesthetic resources or tasks, group work, problem solving and

group discussion in lessons. I have also come to understand that

these practices must be incorporated into tasks that are based

within the culture and experiences of the students in order for them

to make connections between abstract concepts and concrete

actions. These are not only examples of the theories in practice but

they are also prime examples of the types of learning that children

themselves state are most effective (Appendix 2). This has

informed my practice now and will continue to do so in the future as

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 ASSIGNMENT 1: HOW CHILDREN LEARN

I now have a better understanding of how children learn, the mental

processes they undergo and the factors that affect their learning.

Armed with these new insights I can create sequences of learning,

learning tasks and creative problem solving challenges that are

more suited to the ways my students learn.

Word Count: 2,395

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