Comparing the Two Theories of Cognitive Development Essay -- Papers Ps

Comparing the Two Theories of Cognitive Development There are three main types of cognitive development. There is Piaget's theory, Vygotsky's theory and the Information processing approach. The two theories that I am going to compare and contrast are Piaget and Vygotsky's theories. There are many differences between these two theories, but there are also many similarities too. Piaget suggests that cognitive development takes place as a result of experiences which force the child to accommodate new information, creating new schemas and occasionally leading to a qualitatively different kind of thinking- moving from one stage to another, but these changes need to depend on readiness. However, Vygotsky placed more of an emphasis on the importance of social context in transforming elementary into higher mental functions, and the role of the ZPD in understanding how this transformation takes place. Piaget's theory, also known as the 'discovery learning theory', brought up two ways in which schemas became more complex, assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is basically the process of fitting new information and experiences into existing schemas, and accommodation is the process of changing the existing schemas when new information cannot be assimilated. An example of this could be when a child has a schema "wings, beak and being able to fly" (a normal bird). Every new instance of a creature with the same characteristics is assimilated into this schema. But when that child sees an aeroplane in the sky, the child asks what it is. The aeroplane challenges the current schema. This new information cannot be assimilated into the ... ...cross cultural research based on Piagets theory. Piaget produced the first comprehensive theory of children's cognitive development. The theory has been more extensively developed than any other it has changed our ideas about children and has had a general influence on educational practice has. Also the good theories should generate research and Piaget's theory has certainly done so. Piaget's theory under emphasizes the role of language and social interaction in cognitive development. Vygotskys theory focuses on the process of cognitive development rather than the outcome, and this is harder to test. Vygotskys ideas on cognitive development have had considerable influence. Although Vygotsky produced very little direct empirical evidence, other researchers have provided support for his ideas and their application.

Tim O.Briens, the Things They Carried Critical Essay

Dan Gaumer Gaumer 1 Prof Montgomery English 104 10/22/12 Hard Times of Norman Bowker Have you ever found yourself carrying something heavy for a long period of time? Do you remember feeling pain, or wanting to drop the object because it was too much to bear? Tim O’brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, is about men in the middle of the Vietnam War just trying to survive. These men, like all soldiers, carried many things ranging from the physical items of war to the emotional and mental weight that comes along with the horrors of war. They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried. †(O’brien,7) I believe in this novel, O’brien gives many great and detailed examples of PTSD, even in his own life. This novel is more than just about the Vietnam War. It is about what a solider goes through on and off the battlefield. It’s about the art of a real war story. Most importantly it’s about what soldiers carried, physically, ment ally, and emotionally; during, before, and after the war.The soldiers that made it back home suffered from many mental issues, mainly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Many people who go through traumatic events have difficulty adjusting and coping for a while. But with time and taking care of yourself, Gaumer 2 such traumatic reactions usually get better.In some cases, though, the symptoms can get worse or last for months or even years. (Staff, Mayo Clinic,†Definition†) Thoughts of sorrow and loss overwhelm the Vietnam veterans upon their return back home. Crushed from the horror of war, they come back to even bigger disappointments and sadness. Instead of the mellow lives they lead before they left for war and the presence of warm and caring ever yday life, most of them encounter empty beds, cold family ambiance and overall loss.Already physically and emotionally defeated, they can’t seem to pick up their lives where they left off. Even in instances of supportive partners, the inevitable horrors of the war haunt them in sleep or come back to them in daydreaming. They all came back with multiple disorders, PTSD with the common symptoms. â€Å"The war was over and there was no place in particular to go† (131). Various examples of this disorder are found in a few chapters such as â€Å"Speaking of Courage† and â€Å"The Man I Killed. † For Vietnam veterans, nothing could replenish the zest for life they had before the war.According to O'Brien's text, upon their arrival home the veterans imagine, even hallucinate, what things would have been like if they had not suffered through the war. Examples of such occurrences exist in the stories â€Å"Speaking of Courage† and â€Å"The Man I Killed. â €  Norman Bowker in â€Å"Speaking of Courage† daydreams of talking to his ex-girlfriend, now married to another guy, and of his dead childhood friend, Max Arnold. He lives out over and over his unfulfilled dream of having his Sally beside him and of having manly conversations with Max.He cannot stop day dreaming and dwelling in the past. Gaumer 3 Unemployed and overwhelmed by inferiority and disappointment, Bowker lacks a motivating force for life. Emotionally stricken, he only finds satisfaction in driving slowly and repeatedly in circles around his old neighborhood in his father's big Chevy, â€Å"feeling safe,† and remembering how things used to be when there wasn’t a war. These recurring events also spring memories of the beautiful lake where Norman used to spend a lot of time with his now married ex-girlfriend Sally Kramer and his high school friends.The lake invokes nostalgic and sentimental memories both of his girlfriend and his long gone – dr owned – best friend, Max Arnold. However, now for Norman the past seems an idea, or like Max would say, that everything exists as a â€Å"possible†¦ idea, even necessary as an idea, a final cause in the whole structure of causation† (133). Thus, his ex girlfriend, his friends, the lake, the gatherings, his father and all the rest exist as ideas in Norman's head now that all of his past exists only as flickering thoughts in a big jumbled chaos in his head.All of this has symptoms of PDST all over it. He only possesses the solitary capability of bragging about the medals he won or he should have won. Even that does not bring him comfort since he imagines talking to Sally: † ‘How's it being married? ‘ he might ask, and he'd nod at whatever she answered with, and he would not say a word about how he'd almost won the Silver Star for valor† (134). Nothing fulfills Norman Bowker anymore. Instead, a terrible confusion has taken over his mind in the form of blur and chaos. He desperately needs someone to talk to: â€Å"If Sally had not beenGaumer 4 married, or if his father were not such a baseball fan, it would have been a good time to talk† (134). Unfortunately, he keeps questioning and answering himself in order to justify and compensate the loss and to make some sort of sense out of the entire situation. He loans to impress Sally with some dumb tricks of telling the exact time without even looking at a watch, just as much as he wishes for a father-son conversation. So that he can make his father proud, if nothing else, that his son won seven medals during the war.He does not have anybody to comfort him in moments of self-blame, for example when he cannot forgive himself for not winning the Silver Star because he â€Å"couldn't take the goddamn awful smell† (136). He evokes the â€Å"shit experience† from his war days. He goes on to comfort himself, by pretending what considerate thoughts his father mig ht have: â€Å"If you don't want to say anymore -,† to which immediately Norman answers himself: â€Å"I do want to†(136). He tries to maintain calm and balance-minded while thinking of being camped in the shit field.He cannot stop thinking of the cruel war incidents that he witnessed, and therefore, he cannot forget the death of his friend Kiowa, who died in an explosion in the shit field: â€Å"There was a knee. There was an arm†¦ There were bubbles where Kiowa's head should've been†¦ He was folded in with the war; he was part of the waste† (142,143, 147). Not only can Norman not stop thinking about the cruelties, but he also cannot forgive himself for letting go of Kiowa because he blames himself for not being able to save his Gaumer 5 friend's life, of which as a consequence Norman did not win the Silver Star.It seems like Norman carries the shit experience with him for life. Other characteristics of PTSD in this story are Norman's inhibited social skills. Instead of placing a fast-food order through the drive-through intercom he honks at the waitress and once he gets his order, he does not move away until after he eats his hamburger and then presses the intercom again to inform the waiters that he finished his hamburger. From this novel I’ve come to figure out the realism of the true things soldiers carry during and after the war.There is the weight of the physical items, than there are the weight of the mental issues that come along with fighting in war. Issues like PTSD, which the story of Norman Bowker gives various good examples of. And the proving the very real pain that goes along with it by him eventually committing suicide. In my opinion, in this novel, O’brien gives many examples of PTSD, even in his own life. The results of the trauma suffered in the war together with the emotional baggage: grief, terror, love, and longing, proves how PTSD can affect a soldier.

Use Google Translate for Teaching English

Imagine this: You are teaching English to a group of Spanish speakers, but you dont speak Spanish. The group is having difficulty understanding the present perfect tense. What can you do? Well, traditionally most of us have done our best to explain things in simple English and provide numerous examples. Theres nothing wrong with this approach. However, as many Spanish-speaking English teachers probably know, it can be helpful to quickly explain the concept in Spanish. Then the lesson can turn back to English. Instead of spending fifteen minutes trying to explain the present perfect in English, a one-minute explanation has done the trick. Still, if you dont speak Spanish - or any other language that your students speak - whats a teacher to do? Enter Google Translate. Google Translate offers the most powerful, free online translation tools available. This English teaching article focuses on using Google Translate to help out in difficult situations, as well as provide ideas on how to u se Google Translate in class in lesson plans. What does Google Translate Offer? Google Translate offers four main tool areas: TranslationTranslated SearchTranslator ToolkitTools and Resources In this article, Ill discuss how to use the first two: ​Google Translate - Translation, and Google Translate - Translated Search in class. Google Translate: Translation This is the most traditional tool. Enter text or any URL and Google Translate will provide a translation from English to your target language. Google Translate provides translation in 52 languages, so youll probably find what you need. Google Translate translations are not perfect, but they are getting better all the time (more about this later). Ways to Use Google Translate - Translation in Class Have students write short texts in English, and translate them into their original language. Using Google Translate for translation can help students catch grammatical errors by spotting these errors in the translations.Use authentic resources, but provide the URL and have students translate the original into their target language. This will help out when it comes to difficult vocabulary. Make sure that students use Google Translate only after they have first read the article in English.For beginners, ask students to first write short texts in their mother tongue. Have them translate into English and ask them to tweak the translation.Provide your own short text and let Google Translate into the class target language(s). Ask students to read the translation and then try to come up with the English original text.If all else fails, use Google Translate as a bilingual dictionary. Translated Search Google Translate also provides a translated search function. This tool is extremely powerful for finding accompanying content to help students take advantage of authentic materials in English. Google Translate provides this translated search as a way to find pages written in another language that focus on the search term you provided in English. In other words, if were working on business presentation styles, using Google Translate translated search I can provide some background materials in Spanish or any other language. Translated Search in Class When stuck on a grammar point, search on the grammar term to provide explanations in learners mother tongue(s).Use as a means to provide the context in learners mother tongue(s). This is especially useful if students arent familiar with the topic area. They can become familiar with some of the ideas in their own language as well as in English to help strengthen the learning experience.Use translated search to find pages on a particular topic. Cut and paste a few paragraphs out, have students then translate the text into English.Google Translate translated search is fantastic for group projects. Often youll find students dont have ideas, or are not sure where to begin. Sometimes, this is due to the fact that they arent too familiar with the subject in English. Let them use translated search to get them started.