Article Review on Educational Implications and Development
Introduction
The authors of the three articles being reviewed namely; Piaget, Erickson and Vygotsky have been fascinated by the various ways in which human beings perceive concepts. This is exemplified by the role of growth or developmental stages in the entire learning, cognitive and imagination purposes such that it is a gradual process which takes time. The best aspect of these processes is that the steps involved in all the educational implications are the same such that there is infancy for those who have just started the expedition, then maturation until adulthood is attained.
Adulthood is portrayed by increased competence in the area be it learning, cognition and imagination. Consequently, the stages are not dependent on the scenario for which the process is taking place as the same steps are incorporated. However, each author has their own view regarding the educational implication of the various processes, as well as, the role of various environmental and innate components.
Discussion
Vygotsky on imagination development
Vygotsky views development of imagination as an innate process which is unique depending on the individual. This is important in establishing the role of imagination in the overall development of making the capacity to imagine more concrete. Vygotsky has linked an individual’s surroundings which refer to the environment they grew up in as the key determinant of their imaginative ability. Culture is another aspect of imagination which brings out a closer link between the teaching-leanring process and the role played by imagination in the entire process.
According to this article, the internal and external environment interact to create an even ground for imagination to develop. This is best exhibited by the fact that children do not imagine beyond what they have seen in their days hence during their early school going days they are asked to imagine concepts in line with what their daily lives encounter.
Imagination as a conscious effort of normal thought is driven by biological and cultural factors which are part of our daily lives. After imagination infancy, the learner grows into an adolescent imaginative being where links and creativity is part of their daily lives. Fantasizing as a crucial component of the natural process of imagination enables the learner to enhance their creativity and in the course of leanring, the level of intelligence is elevated.
Vygotsky attributes the cognitive ability of the learner to control their emotions to their enhanced imagination. Similarly, the ability to perceive concepts by applying the newly learnt skill of relating objects with imagery boosts the memory status of the learner. This is referred to as the mature stage of the imagination development stages (Vygotsky, 2004).
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in mathematics instruction
Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development such that all human beings or learners have to pass through each of the stages. As the cognitive development stages are chronological, the aspect of the individual skipping one means that later in life they will experience diverse problems in the cognitive abilities. This is one reason which explains why some adults have slow cognitive abilities though their mental status is okay as they could have skipped a stage during their formative years.
The very first stages are carried out during infancy where a child is able to perceive the presence of objects through vision. Though names are not pronounced, the basic form and hue of the object is used to distinguish between the various cognitive elements.
Children who fail to understand the connections between figures or objects will develop problems in the leanring-teaching process in class. Children who are in the early stages of growth often fail to create connections between the practical activities in mathematics and the calculations done in their books. This is the most critical aspect of cognition development which must be emphasized on by the teachers.
A poor foundation in the learning-teaching process in the early stages of developing the cognitive abilities of the learner is a solid forecasting of what is expected in future. This is because failure to hone ones cognitive abilities early in life with the help of teachers will cause disastrous results in future when learners will be challenged by mathematical concepts which call for application.
The external environment is also important according to Piaget’s cognitive development as it brings about an accurate relation of the mathematics problems in class with the other aspects involving figures such as planning ones budget. In this regard, the cognitive ability of a learner to deduce a mathematical problem and to solve it accurately is dependent on the exposure he/she has in daily activities especially at home (Ojose, 2008).
Erickson’s developmental theory in spiritual development among Christians
In the article illustrating Erickson’s theory of development, being born again among Christians is seen as resembling an infant in the normal terms. This is because someone who has just being borne again is regarded as possessing little knowledge of the Biblical teachings. Similarly, the way of conducting one self and the procedures involved in various spiritual aspects of the new culture.
It is for this reasons that a stepwise spiritual development process is formulated to describe growth of the born again Christian to attain the status of spiritual maturity. The spiritual leaders are the teachers in this case whose role in ensuring that the new born is provided for with the adequate resources which will enable them to grow in their spiritual life.
Similar to the learning in classrooms, spiritual infants are provided with care and endless attention to help them relate the life they would wish to lead and the one they had been leaving earlier. The connection or contrast between the two enables the spiritual development process to run smoothly from infancy, adolescence and adulthood. As the spiritual development process progresses, the role of caregivers changes such that during adulthood their presence is meant to provide supervisory and collaborative support to the spiritual learner (Parker and Tate, 2007).
Conclusion
Educational implications from various perspectives present the learning-teaching process as a continuous dynamic process. This is because the accomplishment of one stage gradually transforms into the other regardless of the setting. Consequently, the nature of environment and atmosphere in which the learner undergoes the process has significant impacts of their future lives and capabilities. Education as a continuous process requires that the learner and teacher spend equal amounts of resources to ensure the successful attainment of the learning process.
References
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