1. Principles of teaching, Learning and Assessment
How children think and learn

2. Why to we need to know?
The understanding of intellectual development is essential for TAs so they can be effective in the classroom supporting learning.
Enable effective communication with teaching practitioner during the activity, evaluation of learning activities and assessment of pupils

3. Patterns of Learning
Learning is a never-ending cycle – constantly learning new skills
Once one skill is gained in a particular area further skills can be learned.
Think of 3 examples
Walking
Reading
Talking

4. Learning Theorists
These are researchers who have come up with theories of how learning takes place.
They may view learning from different positions and use varying types of research e.g. the use of animals in experiments, observational research

5. Jean Piaget ( )
Cognitive theorist – studying how individual learn to think and how thinking develops over time.
A biologist who originally studied molluscs but moved into the study of the development of children's understanding, through observing them and talking and listening to them while they worked on exercises he set.

6. Jean Piaget – what did he think
Children learn through active exploration of their environment – need ‘concrete experiences to learn
Adult role is to facilitate learning – provide appropriate experiences and environment
Cognitive development occurs in set stages 0-2, 2-7, 7-11, 11-adult
Children will learn only when ready (maturation)
Development begins at birth before children can comprehend or use words but language is important at later stages

7. Jean Piaget
Identified a process he thought children used to construct knowledge
Assimilation – finding out information
Accommodation – the incorporation of new information
Adaption – using information to find out new information – the process of learning

8. How children think and learn (2nd Ed) David Wood (2005)
Views of Piaget’s theory from Wood
Piaget identified critical periods of learning
“Whilst animals and humans are able to learn some things with little effort certain points…..they seem incapable of learning the same things at other times, e.g. learning to talk” (p:5-6)

9. How children think and learn (2nd Ed) David Wood (2005)
Development of learning (p: 52)
“A central aspect of Piaget’s theory is the proposition that children’s thinking is different in kind from that of more mature individuals.”
“ a major implication of the theory is that the effects and effectiveness of teaching are fundamentally constrained by the structure of the child’s intelligence. …..e.g. you can teach a 5 year old to recite the words one to five but it does not follow that he/she understands numbers. ”

10. Timeline Piaget’s ideas gained prominence in the 60s and 70s
Influenced the view of ‘learning readiness’ developed around this time
Key stages?

11. Resources http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/pia get.htm
Teaching Assistant’s guide to child Development and Psychology in the Classroom – Susan Bentham (2010)