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Rousseau believed children should have their own ways of learning through curiosity and should not be interfered by formal instruction. Rousseau thought that children should spend the least amount of time around adults to avoid adult intervention. Rousseau's philosophy is meant for a child's early education to be natural. -
Pestalozzi is a strong believer in combining natural learning with informal instruction. He felt children should not have to learn to read on their own and that teachers should create a reading process that will allow the children to grow. He suggested that children learn through their senses, touch, smell, language, size, and shape. -
Froebel believed that children learn best through play. Froebel felt that learning through playing has benefits like having adult guidance and having a planned environment. He was the first to construct a curriculum that included objects and materials. -
The research Morphett and Washburne conducted stated that children who were developmentally 6 years and 6 months old were old enough to learn to read. -
Maria Montessori believed that in order for children to master skills they need time and systematic training. Children use their five senses to learn things like shapes, colors, and sizes. Montessori was a strong believer in having children work with materials in the classroom. -
John Dewey was a philosopher who strongly believed that curriculum should revolve around the interests of children. He also thought that children learn better when playing in a real life setting. He was a strong believer in children maintaining social interactions in order to continue to learn and grow as students. -
Emergent literacy was a phrase first used by Marie Clay that means children have some knowledge about reading, language, and writing before entering a classroom.
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Jean Piaget believed in different staged of cognitive development. There are four stages that include, the sensorimotor period (0-2 years), the preoperational period (2-7), the concrete operational period (7-11), and the formal operations period (11-adult). Piaget expressed that children learn when they are interacting with the world. -
Vygotksy's theory stated that he believes children learn best through acquiring new concepts. Children learn new concepts as they interact with others who will challenge them and provide feedback. This begins the scaffolding process which directs the attention of children to what they may need to know and do. -
During the mid 1980s and early 1990s whole-language was being criticized and under security because children were testing low on literary skills that would help them become fluent readers. This was mainly caused by teachers misunderstanding that they should be teaching students in small groups rather than as a whole.
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This approach states that teachers should be incorporating different methods into their classroom. There are a combination of methods that should be used in order for students to fully comprehend what they are learning. No teacher should only use one method in their classroom.