Constructivism: Piaget And Vygotsky

Piaget’s (1936/1953) stages of cognitive development. In his theory of cognitive development, Piaget (1936/1953) asserted that children have a natural ability to construct meaning about the world around them. Piaget (1952) believed that children build their knowledge of the world around them using schema, which he defined as “a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning” (p. 7). In other words, schema act as blocks of knowledge on which children build their capacity to understand the world around them. Piaget (1952) supposed that all individuals seek to exist in a state of equilibrium, in which their schema and environment are balanced and they can

A central concept in Piaget’s theory is that of the schema. It is defined as an internalized representation of the world or an ingrained and systematic pattern or thoughts, action, and problem solving. Our schemata are developed through social learning or direct learning. Both processes involve assimilation, which is

Piaget and Vygotsky both believed that young children actively learn from their hands-on, day-to-day experiences. Jean Piaget portrayed children as "little scientists" who go about actively constructing their understanding of the world. His theories hold the essence of developmentally appropriate curriculum since Piaget believed that children undergo cognitive development in a stage-based manner, such that a very young child would not think about things the same way that an adult might. He referred to the knowledge and the manner in which the knowledge is gained as a schema. In order to build on the cognitive stages that children experience, informal learning opportunities, formal instructional sessions, and the utilized curriculum must all dovetail with a child's current cognitive stage so that assimilation of the new knowledge may occur. Working with what the child knows and experiences, parents and teachers create bridges to the next cognitive stage that are characterized by the child's accommodation. Piaget argued that optimal learning took place in this manner and that adults should avoid thinking that they can accelerate a child's development through the age-based, maturity-referenced stages. This is because a child works toward establishing an equilibrium between the assimilation and application of new knowledge and changing their behavior to accommodate their newly adopted schemas.

Children are constantly learning new information from many sources, but where is it that they receive the majority of their learning experience? Dr. Jean Piaget and Dr. Lev Vygotsky were both contributors to the theory of cognitive development. They both believe children are influenced by their environment, however both have different views of how a cognitive development occurs. Understanding the way children learn and take in information is essential to their development. With assistance for the text Development Through the Lifespan by Laura E. Berk (2014), this paper will examine the theories of both Piaget and Vygotsky in regard to cognitive development and teaching methods of children in mid-childhood.

Many psychological researchers such as Lourenco (2012) argue that the development theories of Piaget and Vygotsky are too fundamentally different to be amalgamated. Others, such as Bruner (1966) and Glassman (1994), support the similarities (Butterworth & Harris, 2002), and state that together, they could give a more substantial understanding of development. This essay will focus on some of these similarities and differences. Consideration will be given to each of these approaches in regards to environmental relationships between the child and development, the methods used to undertake the subject of development and the theory of dialogue will be also be considered as another key focal point.

According to Piaget, the cognitive development mean the children construct an understanding or a meaning of the world around them. Then they would experience difference between what they already know and what they had discover in their environment. While I was completing my classroom, I saw few elements of Piaget’s cognitive development. These elements were schemas, assimilation, and accommodation. A schema is mental concept that informs to the individual what to expect from different situations. Schemas can be developing through experiences. For example, the children always are expecting that the teacher decide what is wrong and right in the classroom. Because they have seen many times that the teacher who put order in the classroom. Assimilation

Theorists have researched certain stages in a child’s development depending on when they reach or transition into at a certain level of cognitive ability. This changes usually correlates with the child’s age because they believe it has to do with physical maturation. However, some theorists see this development as continuous and consequential. So by having specific age stages can be inconsistent because children can develop at different rates. This is because children have their own individual factors that could be influencing their development such as their memory capacity or changes within their specific domain that, again, can occur at different times.

Throughout my life thus far, I thought that I had experienced a lot in, but as I’ve learned, everyone goes though the same awkward little things as me. Learning about the ways we develop through life has helped me to understand that everything that happens is just apart of life.

Jean Piaget considered that children’s way of thinking is different from the adults. It is a kid's nature to understand those things that they do not know. In this theory, Piaget accounted the intellectual development of the child. Moreover, he coined that children gain information by adding (assimilation) and adjusting (accommodation) their prior knowledge (schema) (Cherry,

The four stages of development theory were based on years of observation of children, including his own, all in their natural environment as opposed to in laboratories as some of his predecessors had. Firstly, he envisioned a child’s knowledge as composed of Schema’s, basic units of knowledge used to organise past experiences and understand new ones defining a child’s conclusion or thoughts. Schema’s had two processes, assimilation which is the taking in of new information by relating it to things already known, and accommodation, where the schema itself changes to accommodate new knowledge. Wadsworth (2004) suggests that schemata be thought as ‘index cards’ filed in the brain, each one telling an individual how to react to incoming stimuli or information. Piaget’s observations also led him to believe that cognitive development took place in clearly defined stages of development that were closely linked to age. This led to the opinion that certain learning events could only occur within these critical

When you think about cognitive development, you cannot help but to think about two specific contributors to this area of study, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. First, let us discuss what exactly is cognitive development. Cognitive development is the process of how thought is constructed. This includes language learning, problem solving, reasoning, decision-making, as well as any other mental abilities. Cognitive development begins in childhood and continues to develop all the way through adulthood. Piaget and Vygotsky theories on cognitive development are recognized and accepted worldwide. Although they have different opinions about cognitive development they also have some similarities in their theories.

Two infamous developmental psychologists, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, have shared their knowledge on children’s cognitive development. Both psychologists had their own vision of what stimulates and helps a child grow. Jean Piaget 's theory was shaped through the thinking and understanding of how knowledge is built through a series of four stages; preoperational, sensorimotor, formal operational and concrete operational. He believed that the development was with the child themselves. On the contrary, Lev Vygotsky 's theory is shaped through adult social interactions and cultural roles. He believed that a child 's development is met based on their social environment and interactions with adults. Though both Piaget and Vygotsky had their

The three adaptive processes for cognitive development are assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium. These are three agents

Piaget’s theory also allowed us a way to accept and understand that children's cognitive behavior is intrinsically motivated. Social and other reinforcements do influence children's cognitive explorations but children learn because of the way they are built. In Piaget’s mind cognitive adapts to the environment through assimilation. Also accommodation is a type of biological adaptation (Flavell, 1996). According to Piaget in order to characterize cognitive development in humans we need to understand co-present in cognitive activity which is cognitive structure (Flavell, 1996). Piaget was the first psychologist to try explaining describing cognitive development. His argument is that intellectual advances are made through the equilibration process that has three steps: the first step is for the cognitive equilibrium to de at a low development level; then, cognitive disequilibrium has to be induced by discrepant or inassimilable phenomena and lastly cognitive equilibration has to be at a higher developmental level.

In the world of psychology, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are considered to be very prominent figures in the area of cognitive development. Both of these men considered themselves a constructivist, which entails a viewpoint that is concerned with the nature of knowledge. In their lifetime, both of them made contributions in the area of education and even after death, their theories still influence teaching methods. The purpose of this paper is to show some similarities as well as differences in the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and what can be gained by having a better understanding of their theories.