Sunday, August 2, 2009

Article in Review: "A Brief Guide to Developmental Theory and Aesthetic Development" by Karin DeSantis and Abigail Housen

Before I describe the stages of aesthetic development as defined by Abigail Housen, it is imperative to take a look back at earlier developmental theories that have paved the way for such a categorization of behaviors in terms of visual properties.

Developmental theory is grounded in the knowledge that learning occurs as a result of individuals interacting with their environment (people, people's behavior, objects, products of the natural world, etc.) and reflecting upon this interaction (2). Experience is the catalyst for learning; individuals learn by understanding the world around them and the experiences had within this world. "In other words, for learning to occur, an individual does something, experiences and thinks about the results of the action (including verbal 'actions'), and decides what these results mean to her/him" (2).

Ultimately, the search for knowledge occurs when an individual encounters "some kind of dissonance--when individuals see something that they do not understand or cannot do, or when a strategy on which they rely does not achieve the desired goal" (3). The process of understanding can be linked to a process of

a) assimilation (taking in information from experiences and then applying it); and
b) accommodation (changing existing mental strategies as a result of new perceptions within one's environment).

The process of development call equilibration is the way one seeks to resolve the conflicts between existing perceptions of the world or ways of thinking about the world and the information presented by new experiences (4).

The concepts of assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration all neatly fall in line with the principles set forth by Dewey. It is by previous experiences that our current experiences gain form, color, and meaning.

Piaget:

Jean Piaget's theories on cognitive development find their articulation in a sequence of stages. These stages:

1) are in a predictable, measurable order;
2) are equally important;
3) have their own unique characteristics;
4) each bring a new level of thought and meaning; and
5) are contiguous, meaning that individuals move from one stage to the next, never skipping any single stage (5).

The four main stages Piaget defines in the cognitive development of children are as follows (5-6):

1) Sensori-motor Stage: Ages 0-2 years. At this stage, infants understand the world strictly by using their senses, through their movement, and seeing how these two sources of knowledge relate to one another. Children learn by taking action on physical things, usually repeating their actions in the process of attempting to control that experience (5).

2) Pre-operational Stage: Ages 2-7 years. During this stage children move away from only relying upon their senses and movement to using symbols and words as they develop the skill of representation. Words, especially, replace actions and things that are not physically present. Children at this stage use imaginative play. They also lack the cognitive ability to place themselves in another's shoes.

3) Concrete-Operational Stage: Ages 7-12 years. Abstract thought on real experiences is the hallmark of this cognitive stage. The catalyst for this capacity to exercise abstract thought is always physical objects.

4) Formal-Operational Stage: Ages 12+. The adolescent at this stage begins thinking in terms of the hypothetical, can speculate, and thinks in terms of ideas rather than just physical objects. Egocentrism, or the lack of "the cognitive flexibility to take someone else's position," has passed, as the adolescent can now view things from another's perspective (6).

Certainly, the theories set by Piaget inform our understanding of how children develop cognitively. Knowing these stages of development can not only help VTS facilitators to select images that will target the cognitive behaviors dominant for a certain age group but it also can assist facilitators in understanding the responses generated by their audience. As with any educational endeavor, the more you understand the cognitive composition of your students, the better able you will be in teaching in a way that has meaningful influence both intellectually and emotionally.


Vygotsky:

Lev Vygotsky, rather than studying how children come to think, focused his research on how other individuals in a child's life can contribute to their intellectual growth--what is called the social development theory. For Vygotsky, all learning starts with the interaction of a child and those individuals who are the primary people in his/her life (parents and teachers). In order for learning to occur, facilitated interactions must happen between the child and one of the central people in his/her life. Initially, the child simply observes these interactions, but in time he/she takes in these interactions and they become components of the strategies by which he/she lives (7).

Over time, as a child continues to encounter and perform behaviors seen around them, they develop mental scripts to guide their social interactions. Learning then occurs first on a social plane (interpersonal) and then on a personal plane (intrapersonal) as the child begins to verbalize his/her experiences. "This process leads finally to learning that is no longer wholly dependent on interactions, but also requires that the individual be able to reflect on a range of her/his existing 'menus' or cognitive strategies" (7).

Vygotsky also claimed that learning generally occurs when a problem "is both within the range of an individual's existing capabilities and involves the support or assistance of an adult or more capable peer" (8). What Vygotsky labeled the zone of proximal development is the distance between where a child actually is developmentally and that child's potential developmental level.

Vygotsky's theories, more so than Piaget's in my opinion, apply very clearly and closely to the work done in VTS lessons. The idea that facilitated interactions can succeed in creating mental guidelines for behavior seems of vast importance. The zone of proximal development is thereby a tool through which VTS facilitators can map out a group's learning potential (perhaps too hard to target a single individual) and strive to obtain some progress. Once again, the only stumbling block here is coming to an understanding of the cognitive composition of a child or group at a given moment, so as to make movement forward developmentally. Can this be done in a VTS lesson? If so, how?

1 comment:

  1. A good re-cap of the theories going on here. Hopefully this was evoking some memories of museum education class? I would agree that Vygotsky is a closer match to VTS than Piaget. In many ways Piaget's use for us is in knowing where and how we can provide an entree to the ideas of visual literacy, but it is the social interaction that ultimately creates the meaningful experience.

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