Vygotsky Learning Theory

Jean Piaget, known for his interest in the Epistemology in children is seen as the pioneer of Developmental Psychology. Piaget 's Cognitive development theory led to a great deal of research work in the field of educational philosophy . But in the discipline of Psychology, every theory has been faced with a counter theory or an alternative. So is the case with Piaget 's theory. Lev Vygotsky, a soviet psychologist came up with the socio-cultural theory, which is another strong theory emphasizing child development and is seen as a major counter theory to Piaget 's work (Saul McLeod, 2004). Theories of these two cognitive psychologists have been compared and contrasted on different levels. This essay will look into the differences and similarities between their theories.

There are five different types of learning theories, behaviorism, cognitivism, humanism, social learning, or constructivism. All of them propose various ways through which learning is realized. However, there is no single set of learning theory, which if followed to the latter can grant a tutor a perfect outcome in the classroom. For many years, the study of learning has resulted in heated debates. It has been at the center of educational psychology. Even though psychologists agree on the significance of learning as a topic of study, they often fail to agree on the mechanics of how the process of learning occurs. Shunk et al. (2012), define learning as "the process of acquiring a relatively permanent change in understanding, attitude, knowledge, information, ability, and skill is

Vygotsky and Social Learning Theories) I believe that my theory has helped children grow and become more advanced learners. This theory helps students interact with a more knowledgable person to learn more and think more. I believe that social interaction will lead to changes in a childs behavior and thought process. "The sociocultural theory consists of several elements to help implement it."(Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky)

In this essay I will address Piagetian Theory, the cognitive performance of children from age seven to eleven, (the concrete operational period), and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development. This essay will begin by analysing Piagetian Theory. Cognitive development cannot

On the Contrary, Erickson (…………….) believed that there were eight stages of human development, he emphasised his development in terms of social and emotional development with each stage associated with social conflict or crisis while Vogotsky (………………) explain the theory of human development using the sociocultural theory. Vygotsky argued that children build their knowledge through social and cultural experiences. One of major criticism of Piaget theory of cognitive development is the use of strict stage time scale for each stage of development. Many researchers in their own opinion agreed that many children abilities overlap. (…………………

Piaget and Vygotsky provide their distinct differences in their theories; however they share many similarities. These two theorists expanded their beliefs in how they thought a child would progress throughout the years of growing. This brought many different opinions as well as some advantages to each of their theories. Some of the differences between the two theorists are derived from the theoretical experiences and language, culture, and education. Piaget and Vygotsky both shared a common knowledge from either having training or background as biologists. Also, they both had some interest in philosophy. Their views help enhance the similarities and differences providing in their theories.

The use of the cognitive approach became popular with the educational system. A swizz biologist, Jean Piaget` theory has been applied in classrooms. It concentrates on how children learn, at different stages of development: at the age 2-7 they learn through language and development and children at the age of 7-11 should be capable of solving hands on problems logically. The National Curriculum has applied this to the educational system, using learning through play. (The National Curriculum

Differentiation, with respect to instruction, means tailoring it to meet individual needs of the students. Teachers can differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction. Teachers differentiate the four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile. (Tomlinson 2000).

What I think is very important about his statement is that as teachers we need to make our subject interesting and tap into the variety of talents that our students have. We talk in class about having a hook so that the students buy in to the lesson. A great way to get the students to buy in to the lesson is to incorporate their talents by allowing diversity with the lesson. Traditionally, classes are taught using worksheets that aren’t creative or allow for student creativity. When I teach Romeo and Juliet, for example, instead of using a worksheet, I can have an assignment where the students can act, write, dance, draw, or use some other media to present key scenes to the class.

There are two theorists associated with cognitive development; Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget believes that things children learn and do are organized as schemes, groups of similar actions and thoughts are repeated in response to the environment. Vygotsky believes that thoughts and language are separate functions for infants and toddlers. This is important for me to know because when teaching my first graders using Piaget’s belief that children curiosity to adapt to their environment, will help me in setting up my classroom so as to provide the friendliest environmental atmosphere. Another useful belief of Piaget that I intend to use, is by exploring and manipulating physical objects, children gain a relationship with their physical environment.

What are some important features of young children’s education? Piaget’s theory and Vygotsky’s theory and their difference of opinions were interesting to compare. Piaget’s theory that children develop their thinking and understanding through their actions with the physical world compared to Vygotsky’s theory that children develop their thinking and understanding through their social experiences I think social experiences have a higher influencing factor on a child’s development. “Buds” and “Flowers” Vygotsky referred to these two items as how children develop by having interaction

This article aims to explore Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory. Piaget explicated people fundamentally improve their thinking in stage at distinct periods. In terms of Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory, it is inevitable to investigate the correlation between social interaction and individual cognitive development, the role of cultural tools in mental process, and the zone of proximal development(ZPD).

(refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1). All of them focus on the development of complex thinking skills. First at all, Piaget’s cognitive development theory is the most essential theory among others (Müller et al., 2009 and Scholnick et al., 1999 as cited in Lourenço, 2002, pp.281-295). This theory aims to explain the mechanisms and processes of children in understanding and discovering the world. There are 3 basic elements in theory of cognitive development which are schema, assimilation and accommodation.

According to Erikson, the primary motivation is social and reflects a desire to affiliate with other people and that development change occurs throughout the life span. Cognitive theories emphasize conscious thoughts. Piaget and Vygotsky are best known for cognitive theories. Piaget believed that children go through four stages of cognitive development as they actively construct their understanding of the world. Vygotsky’s had a sociocultural cognitive theory that emphases how culture and social interactions guide cognitive development.

The goal of the theory is to explain the mechanisms and processes by which the infant, and then the child, develops into an individual who can reason and think using hypotheses. To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience. Children construct an understanding of the world around them, then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment. Both Piaget and Vygotsky provided highly influential theories which had impact on the way children are taught. However, as with every theory and study, there are pro’s and con’s to be highlighted.