The context for my observation about student learning and perception of what learning is, was a kindergarten student in an elementary school in Greensboro . To prepare for my observation, I went through a series of developmental stages identified by Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson to be aware of and attempt to observe, and I created some questions to help me later familiarize the student with the idea of ​​learning. There are a total of 25 students in the class, with a capacity of 24, with mixed abilities, including physical and learning difficulties. The class also has a teaching assistant to help the teacher, Mrs. F, with students who need individual support. One of these students Mrs. F wanted me to observe was JJ, due to his behavioral problems. My time with JJ, through observation, interviewing and reflection, has given me a better understanding of how learning happens and what learning is from a child's perspective. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In my observation, I have noticed several concepts and theories about early childhood development. I first took note of JJ's physical development. His actions indicated that the cerebral cortex of his brain was potentially not fully developed. I observed the possible delay in the frontal lobe of his brain, when he did not follow Mrs. F's directions. The classroom was directed to completing an activity, while some of the other students finished their breakfast. The project consisted of coloring an apple, cutting it out, pasting the cutout onto a sheet of cardboard and writing “Apple”. I saw JJ go to the trash can to throw away his untouched breakfast and as he walked back to his seat he started talking to one of his classmates and started laughing. Mrs. F noticed the laughter and asked him to sit down and complete his work, otherwise she would lose the right to recess. JJ sat down and resumed talking to another classmate. His decision-making and risk-taking behavior can be explained by the fact that his frontal lobe potentially develops more slowly than his peers. Subsequently, I was able to identify many of Piaget's developmental theories in JJ's attempts to complete his task. The tasks consisted of coloring, cutting and gluing an apple and writing the word on the picture. JJ started cutting his apple first, which many children have trouble following in sequence. Mrs. F had to remind him that he needed to color before cutting. JJ looked at his classmates' work and then continued coloring his apple. After a cut, JJ told Ms. F. that he "couldn't do it" as tears streamed down his face. With Mrs. F.'s encouragement and step-by-step guidance, JJ was able to complete his work. Piaget's theory of intellectual development explains JJ's behavior. His balance was thrown off when he was unable to cut out the shape of the apple. He became frustrated with the desire to move from disequilibrium to equilibrium. Mrs. F. motivated JJ to restore his balance. JJ created a framework to allow him to make sense of his experience by organizing and understanding cutting and forming a pattern of cutting shapes. This was the first time JJ had used scissors to cut out the shape from a piece of paper. He adapted by changing his pattern of tearing up pieces of paper. He assimilated the use of scissors to cut and adapted his patternexisting tear to use scissors to cut out shapes. Practical activities provide experiences that Piaget believed were necessary for development. Differences in experience and maturation in children cause them to move through stages at different rates. This activity also demonstrated JJ's zone of proximal development. Vygotsky believed that a child's ability to complete a task with the assistance of a more competent individual determined the level of potential development. This level was observed in JJ's ability to finish his morning activity with the help of Mrs. F. Mrs. F did not JJ work for him. Instead, she gave him instructions and encouragement that would allow JJ to develop new skills to practice independently, illustrating the effective use of scaffolding. I then observed where JJ was in Piaget's developmental stages after the students moved on to the next activity. Students were divided into four different learning stations: Reading, Writing, Art, and Alphabet Games. JJ's first learning station was the alphabet games section, which required working with another student to find matching letter pairs. Mrs. F sat on the carpet with JJ and helped guide him to the answers. Mrs. F explained that some letters were uppercase and some were lowercase. When Mrs. F attempted to match letters that did not match, she pointed out the differences between the letters, which prompted him to pay more attention to the letters before matching them. Mrs. F never matched pairs for JJ, but praised him every time he successfully matched a pair. JJ's behavior and age fall within Piaget's preoperative phase. At this stage, perception dominates the child's thinking. Classifying letters into uppercase and lowercase was a challenge for JJ. During the final moments of my observation with JJ, the class sat on the large rug for circle time. As Mrs. F read a story to the students, I noticed JJ's energetic and outgoing skills. When the teacher asked students questions about the story, he answered particularly loudly. As the story was read, he had difficulty sitting still and had to be reminded several times to sit on his butt, not his knees, to raise his hand silently, and to use his inner voice. JJ said something under his breath and put on the shirt of a student in front of him to get his attention. The student fell backwards and JJ automatically flinched and removed his hand from his shirt. In these actions, JJ demonstrated the cognitive, emotional, and social challenges that are commonly observed in developing children. JJ couldn't stop himself from moving and talking impulsively during Circle Time. His ability to try to control himself indicates newfound growth in his memory and spatial understanding created by rapid development in his hippocampus. JJ speaking softly was a way to train himself to follow the rules. This behavior is identified in Vygotsky's egocentric speech stage in his theory of language development. At this stage, children often talk aloud to themselves while doing tasks or solving problems, demonstrating their thoughts. JJ is making sense of the world through his “inner speech.” JJ's actions of wearing his classmate's shirt provide insight into his aggressive and moral development. JJ's lack of malicious intentions and intended actions to satisfy his need for attention from his peers characterizes his aggression as proactive. When JJ flinched and pulled his hand away, he showed signs of remorse and awkward emotion in his actions,after seeing that he had injured a classmate. JJ has developed a moral concept of right and wrong through his judgment of social conventions, preventing his urge to wear someone's shirt again. After circle time, students were able to choose what they wanted to play. I watched JJ sit away from the students, as they clustered around a box with a variety of Lego pieces, building their own creation. I observed a student approach JJ and ask him what he was doing. JJ did not respond until the student walked away and was prompted by Ms. F to respond. Erikson's theory of emotional development helps contextualize JJ's growth. Erikson's theory, in the essential conflict between initiative and guilt, can explain JJ's calm resulting from guilt. His response, influenced by the teacher, is a form of scaffolding, which is a vital aspect of Vygotsky's social learning theory. Once my observation was complete, I proceeded to interview JJ by asking him some questions regarding learning. I asked him what he learned in class today. He responded by saying “Nothing.” Then I asked him what his favorite part of school was and he responded by saying, "I like preschool, centers, fun things, even learning, that's why I love physical education." Next I asked him what he thought learning was. He replied, “It's about going to school, going to class, being quiet on the floor, doing the homework on your own.” Then he asked me why I was in his class taking notes. I explained to him that I was completing an assignment for school. JJ replied, "You should be a teacher, I think you'll be good at it." In conclusion, when JJ was questioned about his learning process, the things he said led me to believe that his learning process is based on autonomy. Which reflects Erikson's theory of Initiative versus Guilt, especially when JJ mentioned that another part of the learning was for him not to get into trouble. Another example of JJ's independence was when I asked him what he learned and he replied "doing my own homework." JJ's response in explaining what learning is to him shows how important following the rules was instilled in him after being repeatedly caught not doing what he was told. This thought process demonstrates the "preoperational" stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. The only set of rules that a child at this stage is aware of are his own. It is logical that the child believes he is following the rules correctly. JJ's lack of knowledge that any set of external rules may apply to him influences his behavior. His inability to take on any perspective other than his own creates a world that functions based on how he chooses to represent the world. JJ expressing his feelings that “I would be a good teacher” demonstrates how his social interactions have influenced his development of the concept of learning. Vygotsky believed that development resulted directly from internalized social interactions. Social interactions play a critical role in the journey from being externally regulated to internally regulated in cognition. Through social interactions, children become more competent in using language and begin to regulate their mental processes. This is demonstrated in my conversation with JJ, which led to his statement that I am a good teacher. Our dialogue-driven interview activity provided a structure for the exchange of ideas that led to advanced development. “Every function.