It is important that children are learning all the time they are growing; this is so they can learn how to develop key skills within their life. I have heard of three main models of learning, each with a series of practitioners which I will show below wit

2. Laissez-faire: (Nurture)

The Laissez-faire model of learning allows exploration and choice. However, with the lack of adult input limits any extension of the learning. This approach to learning children may lead them not to reach their full potential, as the adult will hesitate to interfere with their learning.

This model also has two main theorists and they are Noam Chomsky and Sigmund Freud.

Noam Chomsky believed that everyone had been biologically programmed for language; this meant that he believed that children did not have to learn from their parents to speak, as they already know that due to their genes. He also rejected Skinners views and was dissatisfied with Piaget’s theory as he felt it was too vague. He had also believed that we were born with the things we needed to produce language, i. e. parts of the brain where language centres are located and speech producing apparatus in the throat and mouth. He felt that all these theories were justified because we could control our out breathing and we had language acquisition devices therefore making us unlike animals in that way.

        Sigmund Freud’s theories were complex and are fiercely debated; this was because he believed that the individual’s unconscious mind is responsible for the shaping of their life as is emotional conflicts that are unresolved. Freud is only loosely linked to the laissez faire model, inspired by many modern psychologists of development. Others disagree.

        If a parent had used this theory concerning child learning then the adult would have little input to what the child does. This then gains the independence that the child needs in their life however; their learning could be stopped before it even started, as they would not get the help they need if needed.

3. Social Constructivist (Nature and Nurture)

According to this model of learning, a child may learn by interaction with the environment and through practical experience, for example a child may see a dog and know what it looks like however only know it is called a dog through someone telling them. This model is still in favour today and underpins many curricular developments. This method also combines elements of the transmission model with its views of a child as an empty vessel and the laissez-faire model with its suggestion of learning is pre-programmed. This model is the one that you are most probably going to encounter in early years settings.

This model of learning has three main practitioners: Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and Jerome Bruner.

        Jean Piaget believed in a process of learning, these were; Assimilation, Accommodation, Equilibrium and Adaptation which supported his idea that children learned by doing. An example of this idea would be a child putting a doll into a pram. Through trying different positions and sizes dolls, the child would then realise either which would be the best way to seat the doll or what size through the process of elimination that occurs in the child’s mind.

        Piaget’s processes of learning:

• Assimilation (take in and understand fully):

In assimilation, new information is taken in which fits the child’s existing understanding, i. e. the child’s pram, baby and the knowledge that the baby can go in the pram.

• Accommodation (adapting or adjusting):

During accommodation, information is modified and adapted to account for new experiences and knowledge i. e. if the baby is too big for the pram they would try to fit the baby in other angles etc.

• Equilibrium (opposing forces are balanced):

The balance of existing knowledge and new concepts as the child makes sense of its environment.

• Adaptation (changing):

The adapting thoughts and concepts through the process of assimilation and accommodation.

Lev Vygotsky believed in a theory known as the zone of proximal development. This meant that he believed that adults should be involved and is crucial to the learning development however; they should know when to help, and not do the work for the child. He also believed that interaction between adult and child was crucial to build up their knowledge of language and their awareness of particular ways of thinking and interpreting their own experiences. He also believed that children did not simply react to words but also interpret the context, facial expressions and body language to understand its meaning.

Jerome Bruner was influenced by Vygotsky’s ideas, mainly the concept of the ZPD; he also believed that scaffolding contributes to the child’s learning. In this, the adult would support the learning experience, enhancing the child’s learning through manageable levels of information therefore enabling the child to solve a problem or to achieve further.

Bruner believed that children use three models of representing experience:

1. Enactive mode of representation:

Information is recorded mentally and linked to physical activity; this is the stage of most infants under the age of one.

2. Iconic mode of representation:

The mental images are linked to the senses; this stage is associated with children aged 1-7.

3. Symbolic mode of representation:

A range of representative forms, such as language and number, is used to demonstrate the child’s learning; this stage is seen mostly from 7 years onwards.

A parent would most probably choose this model of learning. This is because it allows the parent to intervene when needed however leaving the child to cope on its own when it is important for the child’s learning. They would also choose this method of learning as it creates a social development to the child’s learning and teaches them the values of friends and the good use of sharing with others- which would not be present in the other methods. It also allows the parent to pass on knowledge that they know themselves and allows the child to research knowledge on their own creating a good balance to their learning.

Nature Vs Nurture Debate:

This debate has been going for many years; it is about whether nature (genetic and inherited factors) or nurture (the environmental and external influences) has the greatest effect on a child’s development and ability to learn. 

John Locke supported Nurture as he believed that people were not born with the knowledge to survive on their own and taught how to do things and how to survive. An example of this would be the story of Oxana Malaya and how six years of her life was spent with dogs. Totally abandoned, she was discovered behaving more like an animal rather than a human child. This brought on the idea that children brought up in a human environment in creates a stability that they need to survive. However, a child brought up by animals will not have the norms and values of an average human being therefore they are not able to survive or cope in the modern world.

Parents may feel that sometimes things that are developed within a child’s learning may come naturally to them, for example a child learning to play a piano, for some it is natural using the music keys, however, some children would find it a lot harder to understand, but through practise they can achieve that goal.

Conclusion:

Overall, each of the theories that have been tested would all work therefore in the nature/nurture debate I would have to say both is required. These are because everyone is individuals and are different to another that one method may work for one child whereas another would be better for the other.

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