Week 2 Unit 1
Week 2 Unit 1
Week 2 Unit 1
Jean Piaget (a Swiss-born theorist) and Lev Semanovich Vygotsky (a Russian-born theorist) are two most
important and influential with international acclaim in this area.
MAIN IDEAS OF PIAGET’S THEORY
• Jean Piaget is famous for his theories regarding changes in cognitive development that occur as
we move from infancy to adulthood.
• Cognitive development results from the interplay between innate capabilities (nature) and
environmental influences (nurture).
• Children are lone scientists
• Children progress through four distinct stages, each representing varying cognitive abilities and
world comprehension: the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years), the preoperational stage (2 to 7
years), the concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years), and the formal operational stage (11 years
and beyond).
• A child’s cognitive development is not just about acquiring knowledge, the child has to develop
or construct a mental model of the world, which is referred to as a schema.
• Piaget emphasized the role of active exploration and interaction with the environment in
shaping cognitive development, highlighting the importance of assimilation and accommodation
in constructing mental schemas.
Stages of development
By the beginning of the concrete operational stage, the child can use operations (a
set of logical rules) so they can conserve quantities, realize that people see the
world in a different way (decentring), and demonstrate improvement in inclusion
tasks. Children still have difficulties with abstract thinking.
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
• During this stage, children begin to think logically about concrete events.
• Children begin to understand the concept of conservation; understanding
that, although things may change in appearance, certain properties remain
the same.
• During this stage, children can mentally reverse things (e.g., picture a ball of
plasticine returning to its original shape).
• During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think
about how other people might think and feel.
• The stage is called concrete because children can think logically much more
successfully if they can manipulate real (concrete) materials or pictures of
them.
The Formal Operational Stage
Ages: 12 and Over
• The formal operational period begins at about age 11.
• As adolescents enter this stage, they gain the ability to think in an
abstract manner, the ability to combine and classify items in a more
sophisticated way, and the capacity for higher-order reasoning.
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
•
Vygotsky's Concept of More Knowledgable Other (MKO)
• The concept of the zone of proximal development, also known as the zone of potential
development, is used to explain a child's potential for cognitive development and
ability when they are guided through a task, rather than asked to do it in isolation.
• If a child is presented with a task that is slightly above their ability level, the zone of
proximal development (ZPD) refers to their ability to do it with the assistance of a
more knowledgeable person. This theory explains why some skills present themselves
in a more social context when the child is unable to display them by themselves.
• The zone of proximal development can be described as the distance between the
actual developmental level when assessed independently and the level of potential
development when assessed in collaboration with peers or mentors or under the
guidance of a teacher.
Zone of Proximal Development Stages
• The ZPD can be broken down into three distinct stages in terms of a learner's skillset. In order to improve the
ability of the learner the more knowledgeable person must understand what stage they are in.
• Techniques for instructional scaffolding might include using visual aids (such as
diagrams), providing examples, working one-on-one with the student and
providing feedback.
• The aim of scaffolding is to create an environment in which the student feels
comfortable asking questions until they can perform the skill without any help.
benefits of scaffolding include:
• Vygotsky viewed language as an essential tool for communication and that culture and
behaviour was understood through language. Vygotsky also highlighted the critical
role that language plays in cognitive development.
• Vygotsky's theory says that social interactions help children develop their ability to use
language. According to Vygotsky, there are three stages/forms of language in the
development process:
• Private speech - private speech that is directed to the self but has not yet been
internalised