Signature Assignment Portrait Of An Early Learner Essay

Vygotsky may have overplayed importance on social influences because he suggests that child’s cognitive development occurs through social interactions, for example children do internalisation of problem solving via mutual interactions. However, if social learning is the essence of cognitive development then learning would be a lot faster than it is. Thus Vygotsky ignores the biological aspects that aid or restricts the cognitive development such as the development of brain and maturation. Therefore Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is different to

DeVries, R. (2000). Vygotsky, Piaget, and education: a reciprocal assimilation of theories and educational practices. New ideas in psychology, 18(2-3), 187-213)

As of today we have had seven chapters presented. Those chapters are three, five, seven, eight, nine, eleven, and fourteen. Each of those chapters we have covered a lot of material within a those few weeks. In chapter three we learned about Piaget’s Theory, Vygotsky’s Theory, Erikson’s Theory, and parenting styles. Piaget’s Theory is the ideal way to guide intellectual development is to provide experiences that are only slightly novel, unusual, or challenging. Vygotsky’s Theory states that understanding that people have mental states, such as thoughts, beliefs, and intentions, that other people can have a different mental state than you do.

In this stage children begin to learn and discover the world that is around them while they are developing their motor skills and reflexes (Siegler, 2005, p.29). In this stage children discover the world through their own ‘feel’ and ‘touch’. All of the reflexes they are discovering are natural skills/reflexes that a newborn is born with. They keep these for a short period as they develop more fully in later stages. Following the sensorimotor stage, comes the preoperational stage. Children who are at this stage in development are only able to see the world through one perspective. They miss an abundance of key details that an older child may have caught (Siegler, 2005, p.30). The next stage that a child goes through is known as the concrete operational stage. In this stage children have begun to develop the ability to have and perceive different perspectives, but they still continue to have trouble understanding and dealing with abstract situations (Siegler, 2005, p.29). The final stage in Piaget’s Stages of Development theory is the formal operational stage. At this stage of development adolescents and adults should be able to understand and apply abstract theories and ideas. They can also create and reason with things that are not ‘real’, they understand complex ideas that might not make perfect logical sense (Siegler, 2005, p.30).

To begin with, Piaget’s theory on the four stages of cognitive development has been highly researched. He put little to no emphasis on social factors in his theory and came to the conclusion that children do not think like adults and do not learn from them but by interacting with their physical environment. Vygotsky, on the other hand, differed from Piaget’s thought and believed children learned mostly from others and he called this process, Scaffolding. According to Eutopia website, scaffolding is a teaching strategy that provides individualize support based on the learner’s zone of proximal development (Eutopia, 2015). Proximal development is the distance between the actual developmental level as determine by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determine through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers (Bruner,1982). He believed knowledge comes from experiences within their culture and strongly thought that learning came from the outside in. On the other hand, Piaget theory stated that children are only able to perform in certain cognitive stages. He found that human understood whatever information that fit into their view of the world. When information does not fit, then individuals examine and accommodate the new information, is similar to Piaget’s theory on

Vygotsky believed similarly to Piaget that knowledge develops from interaction with the environment, but that children learned almost as apprentices, developing knowledge about things already there. Vygotsky believed that the community and culture plays a central role in the process of “making meaning” and the social learning precedes development meaning that the child’s environment influences how and what they think about. Vygotsky stated that internalized language drives cognitive development which according to his theory happens at around 3 years of age. Thought and language in Vygotsky’s theory are two separate systems from birth which then become interdependent at 3 years old, thought becoming verbal and speech becoming representational. When this happens, the child’s monologue internalises to become inner speech.

Piaget developed a theory about the way children learn, which included three main focuses. Schemas, adaptation processes that enable the transition from one stage to another, and the stages of development. These stages are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational. Sensorimotor is from birth-18 months old and is where object permanence comes into play. This includes behaviours such as learning through the senses and reflexes and manipulating materials. Pre-operational is from 18 months to 6 years old and is known as the egocentric stage. This stage is when children form ideas based on their perceptions and overgeneralise based on limited experience. Children at this stage can usually only focus on one variable

Ginsbury, H and Opper, S. (1979) Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Inc.

Some debate exists regarding the similarities, or rather what are considered the similarities, between Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories (Ferreira Alves, 2014; Lourenço, 2012). The underlying theoretical constructs are argued to be more similar, explaining the differences as non-consequential to the potential practical applications (Lourenço, 2012). Although Piaget subscribed to autonomy and internal thought processes as the engine for cognitive development, he too understood the importance of social interaction (Lourenço, 2012).

When we think of cognitive development theories that are widely discussed among educators, the names Piaget and Vygotsky seem to appear. This is so, because they are both renowned psychologists in the fields of cognitive development. As students grow and mature, one could see the changes and aspects outlined by each theorist among their class. As a result, we could analyze the aspects of each theory as they are applied in the classroom among each student. Educators then have insight into the instruction planning process, as they know what developmental supports each child may need; thus making conducive and appropriate classroom instruction.

Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories were both concerned with qualitative tools that can be demonstrated in the development of children’s learning. Both theories consist of stages. Depending on the theorist, the child develops learning at stages within a socially external or internal environment. Piaget and Vygotsky believed that advance in thought happens when an individual experiences a trouble or obstruction. Piaget and Vygotsky believed that reflexes assume an imperative part being developed. They both believed in the capacity of an individual to adjust to the world. Piaget nor Vygotsky

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the most influential researchers in the area of developmental psychology during the 20th century. Piaget originally trained in the areas of biology and philosophy and considered himself a "genetic epistemologist." He was mainly interested in the biological influences on "how we come to know." He believed that what distinguishes human beings from other animals is our ability to do "abstract symbolic reasoning." Piaget 's views are often compared with those of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), who looked more to social interaction as the primary source of cognition and behavior. This is somewhat similar to the distinctions made between Freud and Erikson in terms of the development of personality. The writings of Piaget (e.g., 1972, 1990; see Piaget, Gruber, & Voneche) and Vygotsky (e.g. Vygotsky, 1986; Vygotsky & Vygotsky, 1980), along with the work of John Dewey (e.g., Dewey, 1997a, 1997b), Jerome Bruner (e.g., 1966, 1974) and Ulrick Neisser (1967) form the basis of the constructivist theory of learning and instruction.

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are prominent influential figures in the field of developmental psychology. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast their theories of development, as well as identified what can be gained through a better understanding of the theories.

Piaget and Vygotsky are theorists that offer theoretical viewpoints on how a child develops. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development is recognised as Piaget’s Stage Theory and it deals with four stages of development. Each stage has its own mechanisms and characteristics that take place. They are all detached by an approximate

f. Vygotsky emphasized the role of culture and experience and believed that what drives cognitive development is social interaction, a child’s experience with other people. He believed that his theory could be applied to all ages and not in stage developments as did Piaget. Where Piaget emphasized universal cognitive change, Vygotsky emphasized individual development.