Teaching is necessary to educate children and adults in order to open a wider world and understanding. However, everyone takes in educational concepts differently and all adults and children have different speeds in which they develop. This concept leads to a few proposed theories which were studied by Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget in the early 20th century, possibly changing the way educators and psychologists viewed the development of a child and adult although their work did not receive light until recently. Between these educators, there are theories which are effective and some that are not, arising many criticisms. Nevertheless, the changes made as a result of these theories are studied through the scenario of Mr. Gino and Mrs. Van by …show more content…
Gino is a secondary teacher who recently had the chance to observe the learning environment of Mrs. Vans primary school class. After these observations, he realised the importance of some elements such as engaging the students in class. As shown above and in Piaget’s theory, although group work can be important, independent learning must also be in place for children to learn. An example of this is assimilation, where students gain new knowledge and experience from their past mistakes building upon their preexistent schemas. As these schemas adapt to new knowledge over time, they evolve and it is stored in their long – term memory.
However, Vygotsky, on the other hand, mentioned that in order to educate someone it must happen in small groups with one better performing student indicating the importance of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978). The ZDP is the difference between a child’s actual development level and potential development level, undertaken by a child performing tasks with assistance from a more knowledgeable/capable peer or teacher (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2016). This notion is both effective on the social and cognitive development of a young child as the theory of play is also interconnected, helping the child to develop. The ZPD is very closely intertwined with the indication of scaffolding where teachers or others provide support towards the learner in order to enable a task to be completed successfully by adjusting to the
Importance of play is emphasized in much of Vygotsky and Piaget theories of cognitive development. Vygotsky, feels strongly that play provides children with a great amount of scaffolding, making it possible for the child to performs at the higher end of the ZPD (Zone of Proximal Distance). The ZPD working in concert with the related concepts of scaffolding can be of tremendous help to teachers and other adults- be it a parent or others to guide the children to coming to progress more efficiently. Scaffolding is used as a support system- but warns that when working with someone on a particular skill who is not skilled, the child is not likely to improve- however when working with someone who’s skills are so above theirs that the child is overwhelmed
At around 1 year, they may be starting to utter their first words ‘mama’ or ‘dada’. They will learn to put words together by the time they are 2 years of age and they may know up to 200 words. Between 2 and 3 they will start using plurals and negative. Their grammar may not always be correct. They could say ‘I throwed it’ and you could reply with ‘you threw it did you?’ This is a way of correcting what they are saying, without actually telling them that they are wrong and should say it this way.
In Vygotsky’s concept, zone of proximal development he explains that it is the distance between a child’s developmental level, which is determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance (Vygotsky, 1978, p174). This concept is highly used in education and in classrooms. For example, I work with a student who is eighteen years of age and has intellectual disabilities. During our morning routine he enjoys working on puzzles. He has a difficult time putting the puzzle together so I help him with clues and or prompt him to the puzzle piece that fits. He moves onto a new puzzle once I no longer have to give him clues or prompts. As I have tracked his progress he has needed less prompt than he did three months ago. The goal of this concept is that, as an adult collaborates with a child to help them move from where they are to where they should be with help by accomplishing the exercise through prompts, clues, modeling, and etc.
Across all aspects and various lenses of development it is evident that children from birth until adolescence require guidance. In contrast, some theorists such a Piaget suggest that children are vastly independent and do not require parental or adult assistance for majority of their development. However, theorists such as Vygotsky believe otherwise. As Vygotsky was discussed during lecture, his developmental theory surrounding the methods of which children learn was a main focus. Namely, the methods of which children learn with adult
Lev Vygotsky believed that social and cognitive development work simultaneously to build and evolve on one another. He believed that social, cultural and personal experience cannot be detached from each other and many things influence the way children learn and develop, not just their own experiences, thus Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. Vygotsky’s ideas were and remain controversial as he had no specific training in psychology or children’s development. His preeminent contribution to children’s development is his recognition of the value of progressing knowledge by means of interaction with educators, peers and family (Mooney, 2000, p. 83). The major ideas of Vygotsky’s theory are scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Scaffolding is a process Vygotsky described as the framework or temporary support for children’s learning. In order for scaffolding to be beneficial, it must be responsive to the child’s needs (Coon & Mitterer, 2013, pp. 106-107).
|3 – 6 months |Physical development of a 3-6 month old baby will start to develop they may start to have more control over |
2.1 Describe with examples the kinds of influences that affect children and young people’s development including:
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.
Interacting with peers is a successful way of developing skills, either with adult guidance or more advanced kids help the less-advanced. However, Vygotsky never used the term "scaffolding;" instead he phrased it as "Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)." ZPD is The difference between what the student can do with or without someone’s help but cannot yet do it independently.
Education is not the teacher but rather what the teacher does to encourage the transfer of knowledge. Students learn by an innate nature. It is this innate nature that drives humans to be curious and inquisitive enriching the learning process. Jean Piaget’s Developmental Stage Theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans come gradually to acquire, construct, and use it. According to
The essay is going to introduce short overviews of Piaget (1926) and Vygotsky’s (1978) theories to indicate their different approaches when considering cognitive development. Piaget (1926) developed a constructivist theory which is the basis for the other cognitive development theories that followed. He proposed the definition of schema which refers to children’s construction of shaping their thought and actions through the set of cognitive processes as assimilation, disequilibriums and accommodation. When encountering new experiences, children try to interpret them in terms of known cognitive schemas. In case of failing, they need to adjust their interpretation to the reality (Schaffter & Kipp,8th ed). Based on his assumptions, Piaget (1926) proposed that child as a lone individual progress through four main stages of cognitive development. On the other hand, Vygotsky (1978) presented sociocultural theory. Vygotsky (1978) concentrated on the social interaction between child and adult considering
Vygotsky’s concepts of zone of proximal development and the more knowledgeable other person has led to the idea of scaffolding. Scaffolding, which encompasses both ZPD and MKO, is seen in almost all classrooms in today’s society. Scaffolding is a temporary support mechanism that aids students when they need it and then relinquishes control when the assistance is no longer needed. According to Lipscomb, Swanson and West (2004), scaffolding is used in classrooms by the “development of instructional plans to lead the students from what they already know to a deep understanding of new material,” and “execution of the plans, wherein the instructor provides support to the students at every step of the learning process.” Scaffolding encompasses the role of the teacher. The teacher acts as the most knowledgeable other to the student and then assesses the current knowledge of the students. The teacher decides which knowledge level the students should be performing at, and that gap between current knowledge and abilities and their potential is the zone of proximal development. In order for
According to Vygotsky, zone of proximal development, or abbreviated as ZPD, is a learning concept that states a child cannot yet master alone even though they are close to having the necessary mental skills; they need guidance from a skilled partner to complete the task. This relates to his theory of general development because he believed social interaction plays an important role in the process of cognitive development and as stated above, ZPD requires human interaction to guide a child through what can be seen as a learning curve. With this project where a child has to do an easy puzzle (10 pieces or less) on their own versus a hard puzzle (50 pieces or more) with the help of an adult, Vygotsky would predict that the child will be able
The second component in the sociocultural theory is the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky believed that any training creates learning processes that lead to development and this system results in zones of proximal development. It's the thought that a child completes a task that he/she cannot do alone, with the help from a more experienced person. Vygotsky also described the ZPD as the difference between the actual development level as determined by individual problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with more experienced peers. The result of this process is children become more socialized in the dominant culture and it encourages cognitive development.
The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is the best known Vygotskian concept. To successfully apply it in a classroom, it is important to know not only where a child is functioning now and where that child will be tomorrow, but also how best to assist that child in mastering more advanced skills and concepts.