Psychological Theories in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Psychological Theories in Education - Essay Example In recent years, the focus has been on creating a socialization process which assists the novice educators in understanding and applying general insights relating to teaching and learning. Thus, it can be seen that various theoretical approaches and practices were suggested by several psychological theorists in the history of education. In the 20th century, one most prominent researcher in developmental psychology has been Jean Piaget (1896-1980) who was mainly interested in the biological influences on how people come to know or learn and considered himself a genetic epistemologist. He is one of the most significant education theorists who has dealt with the cognitive as well as constructivist strategies of learning and contributed heavily to the various aspects of education through his significant theories. The Piagetian theory of cognitive development and constructivist learning theory have both had a significant impact in the field of education. Jean Piaget is the central contrib utor of Cognitive constructivism which is mainly based on his work. The two major aspects of his theory are the process of coming to know and the stages one moves through as one gradually acquires the ability to know. In an analysis of Piag... to the physical and mental stimuli is of significant value for human beings to survive in any kind of environment and this process of adaptation incorporates both assimilation and accommodation. According to Piaget, every individual holds mental structures. It is through assimilation of external events, and conversion of these events to suit one's mental structures that one gains the ability to adapt to the physical and mental stimuli. Furthermore, it is important to realize that the mental structures themselves lodge to new, strange, and frequently changing aspects of the outer environment. The second principle of Piaget, termed as organization, is concerned with the nature of the adaptive mental structures which he explained through the first principle. According to Piaget, the organization of the mind is in multifarious and integrated ways. It is important to understand the theories of Piaget in relation to the mental development of the child. "Piaget's theory has two major parts: an "ages and stages" component that predicts what children can and cannot understand at different ages, and a theory of development that describes how children develop cognitive abilities." (Cognitive Constructivist Theories). Piaget's theory of cognitive development is the major foundation for cognitive constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. According to his theory of development, humans cannot be 'given' information which they immediately understand and use, but instead, they must 'construct' their own knowledge. They build their knowledge through experience which facilitates them to create schemas which can be understood as mental models. Through the complimentary processes of assimilation and accommodation, these schemas are changed, engorged, and made more sophisticated.

Jazz History George Gershwin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jazz History George Gershwin - Essay Example He started his musical training at the age of 13, and was so enthusiastic about it that he dropped out of the school at the age of 15 to work at Tin Pan Alley, a music publishing firm owned by Jerome H. Remick. "Since I found you" and "Raggin' the Traumeri" were the first two songs that George tried to publish but wasn't so lucky. Later on, he was able to get his song "When you want 'em you can't get 'em when you've got 'em you can't get 'em" published but wasn't able to make much impression on the public. First real fame came to him when Al Jolson popularized his song "Swanee" in 1919. Another notable success for him was in 1920, when he was hired to write music for "Scandals". Eventually, George and his elder brother Ira, together, were one of the dominant songwriters of the Broadway. His works such as, Oh, Kay! (1926), Funny Face (1927), Strike Up the Band (1927 & 30), Girl Crazy (1930) and Of Thee I Sing (1931) are one of the few that are worth mentioning. But his most outstanding work was "Rhapsody in Blue" for Paul Whitman Orchestra which opened a new era in the music by bringing Jazz into mainstream music and established it as a credible music genre. Later on he composed "Concerto in F" for New York Symphony Society, which is also considered one of his wonderful works amongst others such as "An American in Paris" and "Second Rhapsody". One of the interesting works he did was folk opera by the name of "Peggy and Bess" along with co-writers, Ira Greshwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, which made its way to Broadway on 10th October, 1935. Disaster struck in July, 1937. George was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was operated. He could not survive and was pronounced dead on 11th July, 1937. His last song "Love is here to stay", is here to stay in the hearts of every one who knew him. In conclusion, Gershwin has always been inspired with the classical European music and he elegantly combined it with something that originated in the gatherings of the African-American communities and managed to bring it into opera houses and Broadway while at the same time inspiring many others. Few of them such as Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Bing Crosby and Sting have recorded many of his songs. Many musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and many more have admired his work by depicting it in their work. In an article by John Rockwell in New York Times, 1987, praises Gershwin by citing Paul Simon's example as how this folk-rock artist carries forward the legacy of the great legend in his work "Graceland". Furthermore, in the same article he says, "If Gershwin didn't push the boundaries of classical music forward in his concert pieces(sic), he at least aspired to transcend the song forms and the limited harmonic language he started with. And that is something that today's ambitious pop art-song composers like Mr. Simon, David Byrne, Stevie Wonder and even Bruce Springsteen could profitably learn from him." In 2007, Library of Congress created Greshwin Prize in the memory of Gershwin brothers, for the artists with lifetime contribution to popular music. So far Paul McCartney (2009), Stevie Wonder (2008) and Paul Simon (2007) have been the three recipients. Works Cited "George Gershwin." The Official Website of George and Ira Gershwin. 2007. Web. 23 Nov, 2010.