Annales Universitatis Apulensis. Series Paedagogica-Psychologica
Language Arts and Children
Florin MARINA
Universitatea 1 Decembrie 1918 Alba Iulia
ABSTRACT. Language is a complex system for creating meaning through socially shared conventions. Before children enter elementary school, they learn the language of their community. They understand what community members say to them, and they share their ideas with others through that language. In a amazingly short period of three or four years, children master the exceedingly complex system of their native language, allowing them to understand sentences they have never heard before and to create sentences they have never said before. Young children are not “taught” how to talk; this knowledge about language develops tacitly, or unconsciously.
Introduction
Analyzing the way how children learn and, particularly, how they learn language influences how we teach the language arts. The instructional process should never be construed as a smorgasbord of materials and activities; instead, teachers design instruction based on what they know about how children learn. The educator’s role in the elementary and middle-school classroom has adapted to changes in the teaching environment. For example, elementary classrooms may be organized into team-teaching pods or combination classrooms where two or more grades, such as grades 1 and 2, work together. As well, middle schools (often characterized by grades 5 to 8) have emerged as flexible and responsive organizational structures for pre-adolescent and adolescent learning needs. Presenting these environments we realize that, teachers are now decision makers, empowered with both the obligation and the responsibility to make curricular decisions. In the school language arts program, these curricular decisions have an impact on the content (information being taught) and the teaching strategies (techniques for teaching content).
The approach in this article incorporates both the sociolinguistic theory of Lev Vygotsky and the constructivist theory of learning proposed by Jean Piaget.
How Children Learn
Presenting the process of language acquisition theorists emphasize the importance of language in learning and view learning as a reflection of the culture and community in which students live (Heath, 1983b; Vygotsky, 1978, 1986). According to Vygotsky, language helps organize thought, and children use language to learn as well as to communicate and share experiences with others. Understanding that children use language for social purposes, teachers plan instructional activities that incorporate a social component, such as having students share their writing with classmates. And, because children’s language and concepts of literacy reflect their cultures and home communities, teachers must respect students’ language and appreciate cultural differences in their attitudes toward learning- and toward learning the language arts in particular.
The famous Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980) developed a theory of learning that radically changed our conceptions of child development. Piaget’s constructivist framework (1969) differs substantially from behavioral theories that had influenced education for decades. He described learning as the modification of students’ cognitive structures as they interact with and adapt to their environment. Piaget believed that children construct their own knowledge from their experiences. His view of learning requires a re-examination of the teacher’s role. Instead of being primarily dispensers of knowledge, teachers provide students with reading and writing experiences and opportunities to manipulate objects such as storyboards, magnetic letters, and objects in book boxes in order for students to construct their own knowledge (Pearson, 1993).
The Cognitive Structure
Small children’s knowledge is not just a collection of isolated bits of information; it is organized in the brain, and this organization becomes increasingly integrated and interrelated as their knowledge grows. The organization of knowledge is the cognitive structure, and knowledge is arranged is category systems called schemata (a single category is called a schema). Within the schemata are three components: categories of knowledge, the features or for determining what constitutes a category and what will be included in each category, and a network of interrelationships among the categories.
These schemata may be likened to a conceptual filing system in which children and adults organize and store the information derived from their past experiences. Taking this analogy further, information is filed in the brain in “file folders”. As children learn, they add file folders to their filing system, and as they study a topic, that file folder becomes thicker.
As small children learn, they invent new categories, and while different people have many similar categories, schemata are personalized according to individual experiences and interests. Some children, for example, may have only one general category, bugs, into which they lump their knowledge of ants, butterflies, spiders, and bees, while other people distinguish between insects and spiders and develop a category for each. Those who distinguish between insects and spiders also develop a set of rules based on the distinctive characteristics of these animals for classifying them into one category or the other. In addiction to insect or spider categories, a network of interrelationships connects these categories to other categories. Networks, too, are individualized, depending on each person’s unique knowledge and experiences.
The specific category of spiders might be networked as a subcategory of arachnids, and the class relationship between scorpions and spiders might be made. Other networks, such as a connection to a poisonous animals category or a webs and nests category, could have been made. The particular networks that link categories, characteristics, and examples with other categories, characteristics, and examples are extremely complex. As small children adapt to their environment, they add new information about their experiences that requires them to enlarge existing categories or to construct new ones.
According to Piaget (1969), two processes make this change possible. Assimilationis the cognitive process by which new information in the environment is integrated into existing schemata. In contrast, accommodation is the cognitive process by which existing schemata are modified or new schemata are restructured to adapt to the environment. Through assimilation, children add new information to their picture of the world; through accommodation, they change that picture on the basis of new information.
The process of Learning
Jean Piaget recognized that children are naturally curious about their world and are active and motivated learners. New experiences are necessary for learning. Children experiment with the objects they encounter and try to make sense out of their experiences; that is to say, they construct their own knowledge from interactions and experiences rather than through passively receiving environmental stimulation. Oral and written language work the same way. Children interact with language just as they experiment with bicycles they ride.
The act of learning occurs through the process of equilibration (Piaget, 1975). When a child encounters something he or she does not understand or cannot assimilate disequilibrium, or cognitive conflict, results. This disequilibrium typically produces confusion and agitation, feelings that impel children to seek equilibrium, or a comfortable balance with the environment. In other words, when confronted with new or discrepant information, children (as well as adults) are intrinsically motivated to try to make sense of it. If the child’s schemata can accommodate the new information, then the disequilibrium caused by the new experience will motivate the child to learn. Equilibrium is thus regained at a developmental level. These are the steps of this process:
- Equilibrium is disrupted by the introduction of new or discrepant information.
- Disequilibrium occurs, and the dual processes of assimilation and accommodation function.
- Equilibrium is attained at a higher developmental level.
The process of equilibration happens to us again and again during the course of a day. In fact, it is occurring right now as you are reading this chapter. If you are already familiar with the constructivist learning theory and have learned about Piaget in other education courses, your mental filing cabinet has been activated and you are assimilating the information you are reading into the file folder on “Piaget” or “learning theories” already in your filing cabinet. If, however, you’re not familiar with constructivist learning theories, your mind is actively creating a new file folder in which to put the information you are reading.
The process of learning doesn’t always occur when we are presented with new information, however. If the new information is too difficult and we cannot relate it to what we already know, we do not learn. This is true for both children and adults. The important implication for teachers is that new information must be puzzling, challenging, or, in Piaget’s words, “moderately novel”. Information that is too familiar is quickly assimilated, and information that is too unfamiliar cannot be accommodated and will not be learned.
Learning Strategies
People all have skills that they use automatically, as well as self-regulated for things that they do well – driving defensively, playing volleyball, training a new pet, or maintaining classroom discipline. they apply skills they have learned unconsciously and choose among skills as we think strategically. The strategies we use in these activities are problem - solving mechanisms that involve complex thinking processes. When they are just learning how to drive a car, for example, they learn both skills and strategies. Some of the first skills we learn are how to start the engine, make left turns, and parallel park. With practice, these skills become automatic. Some of the first strategies we learn are how to pass another car and how to stay a safe distance behind the cars ahead of us. At first we have only a small repertoire of strategies, and we don’t always use them effectively. That’s one reason why we take lessons from a driving instructor and have a learner’s permit that requires a more experienced driver to ride along with us. A seasoned driver teaches us defensive driving strategies. We learn strategies for driving on superhighways, on slippery roads, and at night. With practice and guidance, we become more successful drivers, able to anticipate driving problems and take defensive actions.
During the elementary grades, children develop a number of learning strategies or methods for learning. Rehearsal – repeating information over and over – is one learning strategy or cognitive process that children can use to remember something. Other learning strategies include:
- Predicting: anticipating what will happen
- Organizing: grouping information into categories
- Elaborating: expanding on the information presented
- Monitoring: regulating or keeping track of progress
Reciprocal teaching theory suggests that as children grow older; their use of learning strategies improves (Palinscar, 1985).
As they acquire more effective methods for learning and remembering information, children also become more aware of their own cognitive processes and better able to regulate them. Elementary and middle- school students can reflect on their literacy processes and talk about themselves and readers and writers. For example, grade 2 student Maria describes her writing: “That’s the writing we do for ‘Kids in the News.’ ‘Kids in the News’ is where we write to somebody. We can write to anybody… and then they have to write back to us something about what we did. I like to write to my mom, my dad, my auntie, my cousin, my brother, my sister, or Miss Denisa. (her classroom teacher), or Isabela” (McKayKendrick, 2001, p.14). Fifth grader George reports that “the pictures in my head help me when I write stuff down ’cause then I can get ideas from my -pictures” (Cleary, 1993, p.142). Eighth grader Chandra talks about poetry: “Poetry is a fine activity, and it can get you in tune with yourself… I think that my favorite person who does poetry is Maya Angelous” (Steinbergh, 1993, p.212).
Learners become more realistic about the limitations of their memories and more knowledgeable about which learning strategies are more effective in particular situations. They also become increasingly aware of what they know and don’t know. The concept of metacognition refers to this knowledge children acquire about their own cognitive processes and to children’s regulation of their cognitive processes to maximize learning.
Educators play an important role in developing children’s metacognitive abilities. During large-group activities, teachers introduce and model learning strategies. In small-group lessons, teachers provide guided practice, talk with children about learning strategies, and ask students to reflect on their own use of these cognitive processes. Educators also guide students about when to use particular strategies and which strategies are more effective with various activities.
References:
Heath, S. B. (1983b). Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.
McKay, R., & Kendrick, M. (2001). Images of literasy: youth children’s drawing about reading and writing. Canadian Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, 8(4), 7-22
Palinscar, A.(1985). The unpacking of a multi-component, metacognitive training package. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago I11.
Pearson, P. D. (1993). Teaching and learning reading: A research perspective. Language Arts, 70, 502-511.
Piaget, J. (1969), The psychology of intelligence. NJ Littlefield, Adams.
Piaget, J. (1975), The development of thought: Equilibration of cognitive structures. New York: Viking.
Steinbergh, J. W. (1993. Chandra: “To live a life of no secrecy”. In S. Hudson-Ross, L.
M. Cleary, & M. Casey (Eds.), Children’s voices: children talk about literacy (pp.202-214) Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
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