1. Learning & Development Unit (Blue) (Module 3)
Theories of Learning A timeline of 8 Educational theorists with relevance to Forest School
Learning & Development Unit (Blue)
(Module 3)

2. Friedrich Frobel (1782 – 1857)
Born in Germany, Frobel studied forestry, philosophy, architecture & teaching. He was the 1st person to articulate a comprehensive theory on how children learn.
Importance of play in child development – fostering enjoyment, emotional well being & other fundamental benefits. Play being the most spiritual or highest form of activity in which humans engage.
‘Kindergarten’ – sensory & 1st hand experience, nature, music, arts & mathematics
The 3 forms – interconnectedness of life, beauty & knowledge
Mutual respect & ‘begin where the learner is’
‘At every stage, be that stage’
Importance of parental involvement & role of women in education

3. John Dewey (1859 – 1952) Children learn by doing
Born in America into a family of farmers, Dewey gained a PhD and became a professor of philosophy. He established a laboratory school in Chicago studying how children learn & how adults can best support them.
Children learn by doing
Education should be based on real-life situations
Experimentation & independent thinking should be fostered
‘Education is a process of living and not preparation for future living.’
Reflective professional practice – teachers should know their children well, follow their interests, have good subject knowledge and want to continue learning
Opportunities to develop own interests, work in ways that match age/experience and contribute to their understanding of the world

4. Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952)
Born in Italy, Montessori was the first women in Italy to receive a medical degree. As a paediatrician she became interested in deprived children which turned to an interest in education.
‘the child can only be free when the adult becomes an acute observer. Any action of the adult that is not a response to the children’s observed behaviour limits the child’s freedom.’
Learning through movement – hand linked to intelligence
Learn through the senses – senses come first then intellect
Respond & enjoy learning in an environment designed to meet their needs.
Can learn abstract principles at an early age – but only when introduced when child is interested

5. Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980)
Born in Switzerland, Piaget was a born academic studying zoology, philosophy and publishing papers at an early age. After studying psychology with Carl Jung he developed an interest in children's intellectual development.
Stages of development – sensorimotor (0-2 years), preoperational (2 – 6/7 years), concrete operational (7 – 11 years), formal operational (12 years to adult)
Equilibrium, accommodation & assimilation – how new information/experiences are made sense of and form ‘schema’
Object permanence
Egocentrism
Conservation
Teaching needs to meet the needs of the individual and stage of development

6. Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934) Emphasis on importance of social context
Born in Belarus, Vygotsky studied a range of subjects; medicine, law, history, literature and philosophy. He was a research fellow of Moscow Institute of physchology and wrote hundreds of books, however they were only translated into English after his death.
Emphasis on importance of social context
Language and thinking – importance of forming abstract thought, labelling
The Zone of proximal development – capacity to learn through instruction is fundamental to human intelligence – ‘scaffolding’
The social context for learning – social and cognitive developmentt work together – family, peers, community
Play and imagination important

7. John Bowlby (1907 – 1990)
Born in UK, Bowlby was commissioned by the WHO to study mental health needs of homeless and orphaned children. He documented the depth of distress witnessed and how children attach to adults.
Attachment Theory – emotional bond to caregiver that ensured survival (not just physical).
Babies born to seek out attachments
Reciprocal Interaction between child and adult
Attachment behaviour increases in times of stress
Attachment in infancy affects relationships in later life
Good attachment gives positive social outcomes – self confidence, self esteem, the capacity to care for others, mastery

8. Erik Erikson (1902 – 1994)
Born in Germany, Erikson a pupil and client of Anna Freud. He was one of the psychoanalysts to leave Vienna due to the 2nd World War, moving to New York.
3 systems of the self – Somatic system, ego system & societal system
Psychosocial theory – spanning a human life time
Developed 8 stages of psychosocial development – at each stage there is a central dilemma or crisis:
0 – 1 – trust vs Mistrust (in caregivers, environment & self)
1 – 3 – Autonomy vs shame and doubt (independance)
3 – 6 – initiative vs guilt (desire to master environment
6 – 12 – industry vs inferiority (desire to master intellectual and social hallenges)

9. Howard Gardner (1943 – )
Born in USA, Gardner is professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard University. He has worked in many areas of psychology and was influenced by Erikson and Bruner.
Traditional ‘intelligence (IQ)’ too narrow a perspective . He defines intelligence as ‘the ability to solve problems or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings’
Set out to explore ‘how people are intelligent rather than how much intelligence they have’
Multiple Intelligences – Linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinaesthetic, naturalist, intrapersonal, interpersonal
All these intelligences are present in all humans, however depending on how they have been allowed to develop will determine how each intelligence manifests