Heinz Werner

Kat Ruzicka

Heinz Werner (1890-1964)

• Vienna, Austria

• Mistaken class incident at University of Vienna

• Doctoral dissertation on psychology of aesthetic enjoyment combines music and psychology interests

• 1926: Comparative Psychology of Mental Development published while at the Psychological Institute at Hamburg

• 1933: Dismissed from Hamburg by Nazis because of his Jewish faith

• 1936-1943: research psychologist at Wayne County Training School in Michigan studying children with learning disabilities and brain injuries

• 1943: full-time teaching position at Brooklyn College

• 1947: Professor of psychology and education at Clark University

Studies at the Psychological Institute of Hamburg

• Gestalt psychology– Gestalts: whole forms– Closure : tendency to see whole,

meaningful patterns

• Leipzig School– Organismic-developemental:

focuses on the development of the whole, acting, feeling organism

– Influenced Werner’s study of patterns among various cultures and humans and other species

Orthogenic Principle

Whenever development occurs, it proceeds from a state of relative lack of differentiation to a state of increasing

differentiation and hierarchic integration (Werner & Kaplan, 1956, p.

866)

Orthogenic Principle

Differentiation

Hierarchic integration

Self-Object Differentiation:Teleological process by which children separate

themselves from the environment

Sensorimotor-affective

Perceptual

Conceptual

Experiences the outside world through their own immediate

actions, sensations, and feelings

Begin to perceive things apart from themselves and develop a

measure of objectivity; BUT perception is still colored by

their own actions and feelings

Gains detached and objective view that qualifies/quantifies without reference to personal

feelings; scientific

Microgenesis:

• While development is teleological, we can still use our more primitive form of thinking for new experiences– Microgenetic mobility

developmental process that occurs each time we confront a task

Eyes on the Sky, Alfred Gockel

Eidetic Imagery

allows children to describe a picture or object so vividly and precisely even after they are no longer looking at it

http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/

Physiognomic Perception: perceiving and reacting to stimuli according to their dynamic,

emotional, expressive qualities

• Children lack clear self/environment differentiation– As opposed to Geometric-technical: perceiving objects

in terms of their objective, measurable qualities

VS.

Synesthesia:one specific stimulus may arouse not only the specifically

corresponding sensation, but a second sensation united with the first (Werner, 1948)

• One type of stimulus evokes the sensation of another– High pitch flute: small, scurrying animal– Low bassoon: plump, slow, large animal

• developmentally primitive; exist prior to differentiation of the senses into separate modalities

Symbol Formation• Symbol: a word, image, or action that represents something else

• Language initially emerges out of an undifferentiated matrix of bodily, gestural, and emotional processes

• Symbols not only influenced by culture’s labels but also out of bodily-organismic activities (motoric actions, physical and vocal gestures, and feelings)

Onomatopoeia

Motoric Imitation

Physiognomic Speech

Experiment

• Major Premise:– How do the variables of age, gender, and socio-

economic differences play into Werner’s concepts of physiognomic perception and the occurrence of synesthesia in a child?

• Minor Premise:– Can the possible correlation between these

variables and the child’s response to an altered environment be applied as a successful tool for engaging the child and classroom management?

Critical Questions

• Will the younger or older children respond better to the Werner-based curriculum (i.e. a curriculum that relies on the validity of Werner’s theories of physiognomic perception and synesthesia)?

• Do the girls or boys respond better to the Werner-based curriculum?

• Will children from different socio-economic backgrounds respond differently to the Werner-based curriculum?

• Will a more “animated” and verbally-descriptive approach to the lesson be more effective in engaging the child?

• Should appealing to a child’s physiognomic perception be used at all as a way to maintain classroom control?

Procedures

• Two different schools will be chosen to represent the upper and lower ends of the socio-economic spectrum

• an older class and a younger class will be used to represent the age variable.

• The gender variable will obviously be dependent on the classes themselves, and may not be as strictly controlled as the other two variables.

• Using the Stretch-N-Grow music-themed curriculum, a group of 10-20 children ranging from the ages of 2-5 (pre-K) will be led through the exercise.

Stretch-N-Growthe Fabulously Fun Fitness Program for Kids!

• Promotes exercise and wellness for toddlers and Pre-schoolers

• 15-30 minutes classes that implement basics of workout: – Stretching– Warm-up– Endurance– Aerobics– Cool-down

• Discussion of Wellness issues (nutrition, hygiene, etc.)

Stretch-N-Grow

6 components to fitness fulfilled with use of props:

• Strength• Flexibility• Endurance• Balance• Agility• Coordination

What does Stretch-N-Grow have to do with Werner?

• “structured exercise routines to stories and music that engage the children and make it fun”– Eidetic imagery: rowing boat, building barns, etc.– Synesthesia: fast/slow locomotor activities; up/down movement– Motoric imitations (onomatopoeia): animals, muscle names– Physiognomic Perception: “sleeping noodle” transition or bad

choice noodle

• Program success relies on the validity of Werner’s theories

• Also makes the assumption that children learn better when they enjoy the activity

Hypothesis

Based on Werner’s theory that a physiognomic perception is more in prominent children and a more geometric-technical perception in adults, it can predicted that the children in the younger age range will respond more positively to the Werner- implemented curriculum than the older children. It is also hypothesized that the girls as well as the children from a lower-income home will respond more actively.

Control Group Lesson Plan:“Exercise to Stay Alive”

#5 “Stayin’ Alive”Who is ready to get strong healthy bodies? We need to move our bodies every day to make strong muscles and bones. Let’s get our muscles warmed up. Come on let’s march to make our bones strong, let’s jump to help our muscles, bones, and our heart get healthy. Let’s run in place to get our hearts beating fast. Is your heart beating fast? Let’s do some jumping jacks. Let’s march it out so that our hearts can catch up. I feel so strong, how ‘bout you, can you show me your strong muscle?

#6 “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (Bean Bags/Noodles)Scatter bean bags and have kids hold like a torch and balance on the top to bring back to you. Have them call out a healthy food that matches the color that they are returning

#7 “Just What I Needed” (Bean Bags and Resistance Bands)Put bands around ankles and scatter bean bags and have the kids kick them around the room. Towards the end of the song have them pick up and return the bean bags. Leave bands on feet.

#8 “The Tide is High” (Poly spots w/resistance bands)Set up rows of spots where kids get good resistance- straight line of spots, zig zag to side step, straight line and let them jump.

Experimental Group Lesson Plan:“Barnyard”

#5 “Mud Song” (Warm Up Story)We are going to the farm today, and the farmer needs our help. Let’s go help him fix the barn: lunges while sawing wood. Triceps extension to hammer. Deep squats and tummy twists for painting. Skip to the barn to milk the giant cow- stand on tip toes and do over head reaches and calf raises. Carry milk to the top shelf of the refrigerator: front deltoid raises. Now we have to get the eggs from the chickens. Let’s be real quiet and tip toe so we don’t wake them up. Tip toe into the chicken pen and do squats, calf raises, side reach and tummy twists to gather the eggs. Jump back as the chickens try to peck you. Look, there is a hay trailer. Let’s have fun and go: pulsing squats and jumping while going over the bumpy road. Flat tire- push ups to air the tire up.

#6 “Wild and Free” (Scarves or streamers)Barnyard animals are throwing a barn party. Do various locomotive movements with scarves- skip, hop, dance, etc. Act out animals- bear crawl for cow, gallop with scarf on gluteus maximus for horses, lunges and flapping for chickens, crawling for pigs, jumping for goats, etc. Quick, people are coming and we need to need to clean up before they catch us! Use scarf to sweep the floor, dust the shelves up high. Jump high to get the spider webs. Do lunges to clean up around the barn.

#7 “Hittin’ the Hay” (Hula hoops w/Animal clip art and close pins)All of the animals got out of their pens because of the party. Scatter animals all around the room. Have hula hoops with one picture of each animal in each hula hoop. Have children bring each animal to correct hoop using clothes pin. They must act out the animal they pick up.

#8 “2StepN” (Noodles with pom-poms)Gallop with noodle between legs like riding the horse. Ride around the barn, jump over the fence, jump around as the horse begins to buck. The horse works so hard- let him drink water (push-ups to drink water). Gallop to the field to eat some grass and do triceps extensions and have the horse eat from the field. Gallop back to the barn.

Data Collection Tool

Name Age Gender

Observations

Participation

Y / N

Animation of Object

Y / N

Onomatopoeia

Y / N

SynesthesiaY / N

Notes:

Miss Bloomingdale’s Miss Bloomingdale’s AcademyAcademy

Rainbow AcademyRainbow Academy

Results: Age

Late 2s/ Early 3s (Out of 19 total)

0

5

10

15

20

Participat

ion

Anim

ation

Onom

atop

oeia

Syne

sthe

sia

Par

tici

pan

ts

Pre-K (Out of 20 total)

0

5

10

15

20

Parti

cipat

ion

Anim

ation

Onom

atop

oeia

Syne

sthe

sia

Results: Gender

Girls (19 total)

0

5

10

15

20

Participat

ion

Anim

ation

Onom

atop

oeia

Syne

sthe

sia

Part

icip

ants

Boys (20 total)

0

5

10

15

20

Parti

cipat

ion

Anim

ation

Onom

atop

oeia

Syne

sthe

sia

Results: Socio-Economic

Rainbow Academy (Out of 19 total)

0

5

10

15

20

Parti

cipat

ion

Anim

ation

Onom

atop

oeia

Syne

sthe

sia

Par

tici

pan

ts

Miss Bloomingdale's (Out of 20 total)

0

5

10

15

20

Parti

cipat

ion*

Anim

ation

Onom

atop

oeia

Syne

sthe

sia

Conclusion

- ALL of my hypotheses were WRONG!- Younger < Older

- (amt. of participants are equal but more instances of Physiognomic perception and Synesthesia)

- Boys > Girls- While girls participated more, the boys displayed more instances of

Physiognomic perception and Synesthesia)

- Socio-Economic are =- Not much difference in the graph; participation appears to be more

at Rainbow Academy, but BOTH visits to Miss Bloomingdale’s were rainy days- the kids were WILD!!!

- BUT all children across the board (age, gender, and socio-economic class) had higher levels of participation, animation, onomatopoeia, and synesthesia in the experimental trial

Limitations

• Simultaneous teaching and recording data– Dynamic nature of program– Had to stop the class to regain control and integrity data collection

was affected

• Miss Bloomingdale (parent-paid) vs. Rainbow Academy (school-paid)

• Assumption that no participation correlates with having a more geometric-technical mind– Younger children demonstrated characteristics of sensorimotor

stage– While older children participated more in the experimental trial,

those that did not participate in control or experimental did demonstrate physiognomic perception and synesthesia in their independent play

Implications

• Appealing to a child’s creativity is essential to their learning; if a children is enjoying an activity, they are more able to appreciate what it has to teach

• The teacher’s enthusiasm for the subject has a profound effect on the student

• Classroom management does not have to be enforced with a disciplinarian tone, but can be