Essay on Learning Style Through Cognitive Development of Children

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development can be difficult to comprehend because not everyone reaches the same stage at the age Piaget states. The stage that I question the most is the preoperational stage. To me, this stage combines too many different functions into one big stage. A lot of the time, two year olds can only say one word at a time, so I do not necessarily think it should be included in a stage that also includes seven year olds (P1). I want to teach second through fourth grade, so my students will most likely fall into the concrete operational stage. Knowing that my students can reason inductively but not abstractly or hypothetically can become an issue because I do not want to make things too easy or too hard (1A). Not all of my students will be at the same developmental area, so looking through Piaget’s stages, I need to find ways to adapt lessons for those students, which I will not know until they are in my class (1B).

Erikson’s outlook on psychosocial development is great to look at for teachers because as a teacher, you are the one seeing how students interact with each other. His theory also determines what stage a child is in based on age. While that is true for most children, teachers need to take into account situations (P2). As a teacher, I know I will encounter students that have a troubled home life, so they will have trouble trusting me, or they will still fall into the initiative vs. guilt stage if they never had playtime or “responsibilities” as preschoolers (2A). I feel like I would have to look at the situation and background of my students to determine what psychosocial development stage they’re in (2B).

The one thing I struggle with believing or disbelieving is learning styles. I know there’s a lot of studies about why they are considered fake or meaningless, but there are still parts that I think are true. I personally have a hard time listening in class, so to make sure I pay attention, I will doodle so that my hand is physically moving. That helps me stay focused and engaged rather than just drifting off. But hearing that learning styles are not true, shocked me.

I understand why they are considered not to be, but there has to be some truth to it. Or, maybe some students prefer one style over another (P3). When I am a teacher, I want to incorporate all the leaning styles into my lesson so that all of my students will be able to actively be engaged and focused during class. I would most likely use powerpoints that are not just words but also pictures and videos, and I would do hands on activities (3A). The most difficult thing with learning styles is that all of my students are different even if learning styles aren’t considered true. All of my lessons and activities have to be adapted so that all of my students enjoy the lesson and learn from it. Finding a balance for all of my students will be the hardest part (3B).