Theories of Development Piaget

and Vygotsky
Edwin D. Bell
Winston-Salem State University
Topics
Aspects/issues of development
Piaget
Vygotsky

Human Development
Refers to how and why people grow and
adapt, and change over the course of
their lifetimes.
One of the first requirements of effective
teaching is that teachers understand how
students think and how they view the
world.
Issues of Development
Nature vs nurture is development
predetermined at birth, by heredity and
biological factors, or is it affected by
experience and other environmental
factors.
Continuous and discontinuous theories
how change occurs.
Piagets Basic Assumptions
Children are active and motivated
learners, i.e., they naturally curious
about their world (Ormrod, 2008).
Children construct knowledge from their
experiences (constructivism)
Iteractions with the physical and social
environment is critical for cognitive
growth (Ormrod, 2008)
Piaget Theory of Cognitive
Development
Constructivism
Schemes (schemata) patterns of
behavior and thinking.
Adaptation/learning is the process of
adjusting schemes to the environment by
means of assimilation and
accommodation Ormrod, 2008, Slavin,
2003).

Assimilation
Is the process of understanding a new
object or event in terms an existing
schema Ormrod, 2008)
Accommodation
Is modifying an existing scheme in light
of new information, or
Creating a a new scheme (Ormrond,
2008)

Equilibration
Situations that cannot be handled by
existing schemes produce a
disequilibrium. Restoring balance is
called equilibration. According to Piaget
learning depends on this process (Slavin,
2003).
Piagets Stages of Cognitive
Development
Sensorimotor Birth to 2 years
Preoperational 2 7 years
Concrete operational 7 11 years
Formal operations 11 years to
adulthood (Slavin, 2003)
Issues of Piagets Stages of
Development
reflexes inborn, automatic responses to
stimuli.
object permanence the fact that an
object exists even if it is out of sight.
Conservation the concept that certain
properties of an object remain the same
regardless of changes in other properties
(Slavin, 2003)
Vgotskys View of Cognitive
Development
It is based on two key ideas:
1. Intellectual development can only be
understood in terms of a childs historical
and cultural context.
2. Development depends on the sign systems
that individuals have available to them;
e.g., the cultures language, writing system,
or counting system (Slavin, 2003).

Vygotskys Basic Assumptions
Adults convey to children through
conversation how their culture interpret
and responds to the world.
Every culture transmits physical and
cognitive tools for daily living.
Thought and language become increasing
interdependent in the first years of life
(Ormrod, 2008).
Vygotskys Basic Assumptions
(continued)
Complex mental processes begin as social
activities, children transform the processes that
they use in social activities into their own
internal mental activities (Internalization).
A child can perform more challenging activities
when they have assistance from a more
competent person (Ormrod, 2008).
Similarities and Differences to
Piaget
In contrast to Piaget Vgotsky believed
that cognitive development is strongly
linked to the input that children receive
from others.
Similar to Piaget, Vgotsky that the
development of the sign system was
invariant for all children (Slavin, 2003)
How Development Works
Vgotskys theory suggests that learning
precedes development learning
involves the acquisition of signs by means
of instruction and information from
others. Development involves the childs
internalizing these signs so as to be able
to think and solve problems without the
help of others. self-regulation (Slavin,
2003, p. 44)
Private Speech
Turns shared knowledge into personal
knowledge
You can observe children talking to
themselves
Later that private speech become silent
and can be very useful in learning
complex tasks (Slavin, 2003)
Zone of Proximal Development
This is where learning occurs
Tasks that children cannot accomplish by
themselves, but could do with the help of
adults or peers (Slavin, 2003)
Scaffolding
Typically, scaffolding means providing
a child with a great deal of support
during the early stages of learning and
then diminishing support and having the
child take on increasing responsibility (
Slavin, 2003, pp. 45-46)
Implications of Vygotsky
Cooperative Learning among groups of
students with differing levels of ability
Emphasis on students taking more and
more responsibility for their own learning
References
Ormrod, J. E. (2008). Educational
Psychology: Developing Learners,
6th. Upper Saddle, NJ:
Pearson. Merrill, Prentice-Hall.
Slavin, R. (2003). Educational Psychology:
Theory and Practice and Practice, 7
th
.
Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.