Cognitive Development Perspectives of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky

Mickey D.

Order the writing of a tailor-made Psychology Essay

Free quote online

Essay Format .doc

Cognitive Development Perspectives of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky

Download

Read an extract

Themes

Cognitive development perspectives, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, young children's learning patterns, children's cognitive development

Reader
Abstract
Contents
Extract

Abstract

Teacher preparation with regard to teaching students is a very sensitive issue and there is need to consider the cognitive development perspectives of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. These two theorists provide different perspectives about young children's learning patterns, but they both have impacts on how teachers should prepare to teach the children. Knowing children's cognitive development allows teachers to satisfy the learning needs of the children.

Teacher preparation with regard to teaching students is a very sensitive issue and there is need to consider the cognitive development perspectives of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky
Piaget holds the view that cognitive development happens through a series of schemes, which are basic building blocks of thinking
On his part, Vygotsky holds that people's mental structures and processes are attributable to social interactions with others
Piaget's theory gives a meaningful insight that can help teachers prepare to teach, according to the stage of development of the learner
The teacher must understand the students' capacity of equilibration, a complex balancing act that involves organizing, assimilating, and accommodating
In his social interaction theory, Vygotsky argues that the zone of proximal development is a stage where learners can be directed to learn more complex things
The arguments for Piaget's theory stated above notwithstanding, the adaptation theory may not be sufficient in all cases

Get this table of contents for free after login.

Extract

[...] (2008). Developmental psychology: Incorporating Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories in classrooms. Journal of Cross- Disciplinary Perspectives in Education, 67. Chaiklin, S. (2003). The zone of proximal development in Vygotsky's analysis of learning and instruction. Retrieved from http://people.ucsc.edu/ ~gwells/Files/Courses_Folder/documents/chaiklin.zpd.pdf Genovese, J. E. C. (2003). Piaget, pedagogy, and evolutionary psychology. [...]

[...] He essentially believes that cultural tools, such as language are critical in development and that learning and development happen within the area of proximal development (Woolfolk p.77). The focus of these theorists is the development of mental capabilities throughout the learning period. Going by their approaches, both theorists believe that education should be aimed at developing higher mental functions as opposed to merely filling students with information. Therefore, teachers must be responsive to the capabilities of the learners as they prepare to teach. The teacher should recognize that he is responsible for transforming the ability of the students through what he teaches. [...]

[...] This goes hand in hand with the idea of the area of proximal development that is proposed by Vygotsky. In his social interaction theory, Vygotsky argues that the zone of proximal development is a stage where learners can be directed to learn more complex things. By focusing on the zone of proximal development, teachers can prepare their lessons well. Vygotsky defines the zone of proximal development as distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Chaiklin, 2003). [...]

[...] For instance, Piaget's perspective concerning the stages is deemed inconsistent with the reality of how children and older people think. His hypothesis that everybody goes through are the four stages of cognitive development in the same manner is somewhat flawed. There is lack of consistency in the way children reason and the stages model (Woolfolk p.65). The problems are due to the shortcomings of the evolutionary model that he essentially uses in creating the developmental stages. Evolution fails to happen in some cases, rendering the classification of people into developmental stages null and void. [...]

[...] Evolutionary Psychology 127-137. Simatwa, E. (2010). Piaget's theory of intellectual development and its implication for instructional management at presecondary school level. Educational Research and Reviews, 366-371. Woolfolk, A. (2013). Educational Psychology, 12th ed. USA: Pearson Education, Inc. [...]

doc