This section will focus on Social Development and will define two educational theories – the Theory of Mind and Constructivism. These two theories are very informative to teacher's and parents who are curious about how children develop social skills.
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Let's talk about the ways that children learn and socialize!
The first theory – the Theory of Mind – outlines the ways in which a person understands thoughts, beliefs and feelings. Not only understanding yourself, but understanding others is important to the social development of children’s personalities and work ethic in the classroom.
Similarly to developing emotional intelligence, having the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes is something we want our children to be able to do in order to learn empathy and compassion.
According to Omrod - the important Child Psychologist who created the Theory of Mind - if children can do this successfully, they will have more developed interpersonal skills as adults (Omrod 63).
Caregivers can stimulate Omrod’s Theory of Mind by:
Some games and resources that you could use to play with your children:
Similarly to developing emotional intelligence, having the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes is something we want our children to be able to do in order to learn empathy and compassion.
According to Omrod - the important Child Psychologist who created the Theory of Mind - if children can do this successfully, they will have more developed interpersonal skills as adults (Omrod 63).
Caregivers can stimulate Omrod’s Theory of Mind by:
- Promoting questioning of the world around us
- Let your children play the role of parent and give them responsibilities
- Encourage play dates and social interaction with peers
Some games and resources that you could use to play with your children:
- Role playing and drama games: http://dramaresource.com/games
- Science experiments at home: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html
- Headbands: Place an emotion card on your forehead and have your children act out this emotion for you. Switch places once you guess the right answer. You could easily theme this game to suit a birthday party or any type of lesson!: http://www.abc.net.au/children/jakers/caregivers/downloads/jakers_activity_drama.pdf
The second theory that is integral to understanding how children develop socially is Constructivism. This theory states that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experience and reflection (Constructivism: Teaching and Learning).
This theory begs children to tie in previous experiences with new information so that the new material can be more readily absorbed. Similarly to the Theory of Mind, this is a question based way of learning that promotes inquiry.
This theory begs children to tie in previous experiences with new information so that the new material can be more readily absorbed. Similarly to the Theory of Mind, this is a question based way of learning that promotes inquiry.
The teacher/parent is always the guide.
Some activities you can do with your children:
- Nature walks and illustrating what they see (example below)
- Experiments and studies to promote questioning
- If children get intrigued by what they see or hear, encourage them to research it further, either at school or at home using the internet or books
When children nourish their curiosity, they flourish!
Work Cited:
"Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning." Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004. Web.
Ormrod, J.E. Educational Psychology Developing Learners. Uppersaddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. 2008. 63-91.
"Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning." Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004. Web.
Ormrod, J.E. Educational Psychology Developing Learners. Uppersaddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. 2008. 63-91.