Pollard's Three Perspectives On The Study

Pollard (2014:34) states, “How we understand children and their learning affect the choices that teachers make, day by day”. Pollard (2014) highlights that teachers can attributed differences in children’s learning as deficits in the children themselves. However, all children have the potential to be powerful learners and so teachers must seek to understand and remove the barriers to learning. To effectively do this, teachers must have a knowledge of three perspectives on learning; behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism.

Behaviourism asserts that “living creatures… learn by building up associations or ‘bonds’ between their experience, their thinking and their behaviour.” (Pollard 2014:35). This theory focuses on the behaviour of

Cognitivists believe that humans require active participation to learn and our actions are a consequence of thinking. The factors influencing learning include previous experiences and existing schema. A schema is an internal knowledge structure; a codified set of associated experiences (images, sounds, movements, smells, feelings and actions) in memory. Schemata (set of associated schemas) help children explore and understand new events and environments. Piaget influenced the study of cognitivism significantly. Cherry (2017) highlights Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor stage (0-2 years), pre-operational stage (2-7 years), concrete operations (7-11) and formal operations (11 upwards). The first three stages deem the role of children’s direct experience as critical with abstract thinking only possible in the final stage (Pollard et al, 2014). During the sensorimotor stage, infants gain knowledge through sensory experiences, e.g. looking, sucking, grasping, listening, and manipulating objects. Piaget believed that the human mind is embedded with specific ways of doing things for example, a baby knows how to suck his thumb without being taught. Piaget suggested three concepts when dealing with changing schemas. Assimilation is the process of observing a new object in terms of existing schema. Accommodation occurs when we modify existing

Pollard(2014) highlights the crucial role of experienced practitioners in supporting less competent learners. The teacher acts as a facilitator who coaches, meditates, and scaffolds the learner’s understanding. Wells(1999) and Bruner(1990) argue that the role of culture and social context influences understanding. From birth children interact with parents and their family, developing their experience of language and forming behaviours. Pollard (2014:40) highlights how Mercer (1992) shows this theory of constructivism from how his daughter “appropriated new ways of playing from watching an older child”. Therefore, a teacher must recognize and build on children’s pre-existing understandings and misunderstandings before attempting to further extend their knowledge. Vygotsky’s ‘Zone of Proximal Development’(1978) shows the importance of the interaction with more knowledgeable others. The ZPD is, “the distance between the actual developmental level of the child… and the level of potential development…under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.” (Vygotsky 1978:86). The adult guidance could be an explanation from a teacher, a discussion with a parent, a debate among peers etc. If the support is meaningful and appropriate, then the level of understanding of the child can be extended far beyond the level they would reach on their own. Bruner