PSY 260 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Language Barrier, Traditional Education, Lev Vygotsky
Document Summary
Young children are both very capable and eager to learn. Quality preschool education can have huge payoffs for poor individuals (health, cognitive, and social benefits); still helpful for families that have great informal education at home, but not as much so. Not always worth it - great home care far exceeds low quality day-care centers. Program quality is hard to judge, but teacher quality can be observed. Types of programs widely vary - preschools, day care centers, nursery schools, etc. Children should be given freedom and options for learning activities. Artistic expression usually encouraged, like drawing, dancing, and telling stories. Often draw from both piaget and vygotsky"s theory. Piaget posited that children will learn new ideas if given capacity. Vygotsky contended that children will learn from each other. Emphasize individual pride and achievement through independently chosen, structured projects. Teachers add structure and limits where it is needed. Traditional sitting quietly in a group setting to learn is excluded.
