Psychological Theories in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Psychological Theories in Education - Essay Example In recent years, the focus has been on creating a socialization process which assists the novice educators in understanding and applying general insights relating to teaching and learning. Thus, it can be seen that various theoretical approaches and practices were suggested by several psychological theorists in the history of education. In the 20th century, one most prominent researcher in developmental psychology has been Jean Piaget (1896-1980) who was mainly interested in the biological influences on how people come to know or learn and considered himself a genetic epistemologist. He is one of the most significant education theorists who has dealt with the cognitive as well as constructivist strategies of learning and contributed heavily to the various aspects of education through his significant theories. The Piagetian theory of cognitive development and constructivist learning theory have both had a significant impact in the field of education. Jean Piaget is the central contrib utor of Cognitive constructivism which is mainly based on his work. The two major aspects of his theory are the process of coming to know and the stages one moves through as one gradually acquires the ability to know. In an analysis of Piag... to the physical and mental stimuli is of significant value for human beings to survive in any kind of environment and this process of adaptation incorporates both assimilation and accommodation. According to Piaget, every individual holds mental structures. It is through assimilation of external events, and conversion of these events to suit one's mental structures that one gains the ability to adapt to the physical and mental stimuli. Furthermore, it is important to realize that the mental structures themselves lodge to new, strange, and frequently changing aspects of the outer environment. The second principle of Piaget, termed as organization, is concerned with the nature of the adaptive mental structures which he explained through the first principle. According to Piaget, the organization of the mind is in multifarious and integrated ways. It is important to understand the theories of Piaget in relation to the mental development of the child. "Piaget's theory has two major parts: an "ages and stages" component that predicts what children can and cannot understand at different ages, and a theory of development that describes how children develop cognitive abilities." (Cognitive Constructivist Theories). Piaget's theory of cognitive development is the major foundation for cognitive constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. According to his theory of development, humans cannot be 'given' information which they immediately understand and use, but instead, they must 'construct' their own knowledge. They build their knowledge through experience which facilitates them to create schemas which can be understood as mental models. Through the complimentary processes of assimilation and accommodation, these schemas are changed, engorged, and made more sophisticated.