Maslow & Piaget

How do Piaget's Theory of Developmental Needs and Maslow's Theory of Hierarchy of needs each help you understand student needs and aid you in skillfully guiding learning experiences? 

I think both Piaget’s Theory of Developmental Needs and Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of Needs play a big role in understanding the needs of the students. Piaget’s Theory of Developmental Needs helps to explain the stages of development at approximate ages. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs explains the students learn needs in relation to other needs that may affect learning.

Piaget

Piaget’s Theory of Developmental Needs focuses on children and their stages of cognitive development. He defines four different stages: Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, Concrete Operational and Formal Operational (Huitt, 2003). Children in middle school and high school fall into the Concrete Operational and the Formal Operational stages. In the Concrete Operational stage “intelligence is demonstarted [sic] through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects” (Huitt, 2003). The Formal Operational stage is “demonstrated though the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts” (Huitt, 2003). According to Huitt (2003) only 35% of high school graduates get to the Formal Operational stage. It does not appear that individuals automatically move from the Concrete Operational stage to the Formal Operational stage based on biological development, a special environment ins needed for most individuals to attain Formal Operations (Huitt, 2003).

It’s important to understand all the stages of development when teaching and to recognize where your students fit. Most students in secondary school will fit into the Concrete Operational stage so it’s important to develop lessons that rely on concrete objects and symbols. As the students get older and continue on in their education the lessons should become more abstract. As a teacher you want to know where your students are in their developmental needs because you don’t want to teach down to your students (i.e. expecting a senior class to be satisfied with a lesson on memorizing the times tables) but you also don’t want to teach over your students heads (expecting a sixth grades class to understand graphing on an x-y-z plane).

Maslow

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs focuses on what you need as a person. There are eight total levels to Maslow’s Hierarchy, broken into two different groups. The first group of needs are deficiency needs. These are the basic needs in life and each level must be met before moving on to the next (Huitt, 2007). The levels are (from bottom to top): Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Belongingness and Love Needs and Esteem Needs (Huitt, 2007). The second group of needs are growth needs. The levels are (from bottom to top): Cognitive (the need to know and understand), Aesthetic, Self Actualization and Self Transcendence (Huitt, 2007). Individuals progress up the levels as they go through life and any “information that is not diretly connected to helping a person meet his or her needs in a very short time span is simply left unattended” (Huitt, 2007). For example, if an individual is worried about where they are going to sleep that night they are not going to be worrying about fitting in and being loved. Before they can worry about staying safe, being loved, or learning they must have a place to stay.

It’s important to be aware of these needs in the classroom. While I’d like to think that each student is always at the Cognitive or Aesthetic stage of needs I know that that is not the case. Students have many worries that can range from fitting in at school to not having enough food at home. It’s critical to know where your students stand so that you can better help them (or at the very least have an idea of what the problem might be). While Physiological and Safety Needs are generally not needs that teachers can influence I think that teachers can influence Belongingness and Esteem. I feel that the primary influence for these two levels should come from outside the school however if a child has a deficiency at these levels a teacher should work with the student to see that these needs are being met.

Both Piaget’s and Maslow’s theories have an important influence on teachers today. It’s important to take into consideration the needs of the student outside just the content that will be taught. That will help make students more successful in all areas of life.

Picture a classroom of 25 students in a subject/grade level you would like to teach. How does this knowledge of these needs affect how you see these students and plan to teach them effectively?

After considering Piaget’s theory I would make sure to take into consideration the levels of my
students. As I would like to teach Algebra that puts me in the 8^th and 9^th grade range which means that my students would be primarily at the Concrete Operational stage, though some could be moving into the Formal Operational stage. I would make sure to concentrate on the concrete concepts, but still leaving a little bit of room in the lesson plan for abstract concepts as well. Huitt (2003) recommends “that parents and teachers challenge the child’s abilities, but NOT present material or information that is too far beyond the child’s level.” I couldn’t agree more with this statement. I want to challenge my students to be better and to think a bit beyond, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed buy topics they aren’t ready to get into yet.

Maslow’s theory is harder to consider because the basic needs aren’t needs that I have a lot of control over. Should I notice any deficiencies in the basic needs I will do what I can to help the student overcome them. The Cognitive and Aesthetic levels of Maslow’s theory are the two levels I would have the most influence in as well as putting them on the path to Self Actualization and Self Transcendence. My focus for the class overall would probably be on content and applications but the real goal in mind should be to help the student realize their own potential of what they can do. I know for me the teachers who pushed a little harder and expected a little more got better results from me, and helped me realize that with a little hard work I can do anything I want. I want to be that kind of teacher. I don’t want to just stand in front of the classroom and lecture and have that be the that. I want to take the struggling student and help them be successful and I want to take the already successful student and show them that there is still more that they can do.

I think there are two other things to take into consideration here. First, it’s important for teachers to remember that each class is going to be different, even in the same grade at the same school and what works for one might not work for another. Second, socioeconomic status plays a big part in classrooms today. You are much more likely to find kids struggling with the basic needs in Maslow’s theory in an inner city than out in the suburbs. Identifying where my students stand will help to make me a better teacher.

Works Cited

Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved January 20, 2013 from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/piaget.html 
Huitt, W. (2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved January 20, 2013 from, http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/regsys/maslow.html