In a general sense, psychology is a science that studies human and animal behaviours, and the reasons of these behaviours. The symbolic foundation date of psychology is 1879. In this year, Wilheml Wundt (1832-1920) established a psychology laboratory in Leipzig. Psychology is accepted to have started as a science with the establishment of this…

Toward the end of his short life, Lev Vygotsky found himself teaching teachers in a remote part of the USSR. Though his influence as a developmental psychologist is well-established, little is known about his approach to teacher development. This article applies the researcher's core concept, the zone of proximal development to teacher education.…

In reading the last section of their primary text, "Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide" by Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner (2007) in his Adult Learning and Development class, the author continued to feel as though he was being self-assured of his previous learning experiences once again. The final section of the text focused on…

Explains the place of learning in human development from the perspective developmental contextualism, where development involves changing relations between the developing person and his or her changing context. Demonstrates that learning is no more nor less important than other focal functions at a given level; any impact is through being part of…

Calls for a coalition of different research methods and strategies to better understand learning and development. Describes two such strategies: (1) testing-the-limits decomposing age-graded differences in upper limits of plasticity; and (2) experimental simulation of development, a coordinated sequence of theory-guided research steps. Both…

Describes the work of Maria Montessori, starting with her career in medicine which gave her the unique perspective to probing the frontiers of the inner intellectual life of children. Explains how she felt every student possessed untapped potentials. Discusses how her concept of the potential of the absorbent mind of children is being…

Nonuniversal theory can be used to reframe the learning-development dichotomy into a spectrum of important changes, ranging from small-scale learning events to large-scale developmental shifts. Using the universal-to-unique continuum as an organizing framework, several change mechanisms can be identified as necessary for movement through…

Sees learning as a component of development. Explains how cognitive growth can result from dialectical interactions among modes of learning and attentional mental capacity, and that these modes and components of attention relate to contextual function areas which, being neuropsychological units, can be clarified as to function by connectionist…

This paper is concerned with findings and results of recent experimentation in learning in music, and with studies in philosophy as they relate to aesthetics in music. Because the importance of music in the growth and development of the child has been underestimated, music educators are urged first, to utilize to the fullest extent the inherent…

Argues that what matters is not the difference between learning and development, but the dynamic relationships that form the key to understanding. Examined two models of these relationships: (1) a semantic approach, distinguishing five dimensions along which learning and development can be compared; and (2) a mathematical nonlinear growth model…

This article suggests that the principle of object-relatedness, introduced by Vygotsky and expanded by A. N. Leontiev, can be used to conceptualize human subjectivity within a profoundly social view of human development. This is achieved by reformulating the premises of cultural-historical activity theory to include the notion that material…

Criticizes the operant approach to the study of life span development from a theoretical behaviorism view. It is argued that the operant approach is too limited in its scope to enhance significantly the conceptualization and understanding of life span development. (Author/DB)

Based on the papers presented at the 1996 Symposium of the Jean Piaget Society and highlighting the extent to which Piaget's ideas have served to scaffold contemporary thinking about every aspect of conceptual development, this volume examines the nature of conceptual development, its foundations, and the sources of its novelties. The chapters…

A paradigm for learning economic concepts based on cognitive development and learning theory is offered as a guideline for teaching and research. Discussion is divided into two sections. The first section establishes the model's theoretical framework, which is based on two propositions. The first of these is that economic knowledge is not a fixed…

Reviews theoretical frameworks and psychological processes underlying the perception and cognition of musical understanding. Suggests unifying ideas and processes based on a developmental learning framework applied to teaching methods and curriculum. Supplies six guidelines for music education practitioners who are sequencing learning activities…