Jean Piaget vs. Lev Vygotsky.

Theories of Cognitive Development by Piaget and Vygotsky

Jean Piaget 's and Lev Semionovich Vygotsky 's theories on cognitive development both play a significant role in addressing the intellectual growth of children (Lain , 2006 . Psychologists and educators alike , rely on these theories in constructing the standards by which children are being brought up and taught today . Essentially , cognitive development is the process by which our intellectual ability grows and progresses Slavin (2003 , maintains that cognitive development , is the gradual and ly changes that occur making ones mental process more complex and

sophisticated (as cited in Lain , 2006 , Cognitive Development section , para .1 . As the children 's learning process is crucial to the development of their learning ability and critical thought process educators must have a good grasp of these theories to fully address the children 's individual learning needs

Jean Piaget 's theory is marked by several developmental stages that define the child 's corresponding cognitive level . On the other hand , Lev Vygotsky developed the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD ) based on the assumption that children learn more quickly under the guidance of a more experienced adult (Maccarelli , 2006 . Considered as constructivists both renowned theorists believed that children learn by formulating new ideas by combining old ones . The Hawai 'i Department of Education E-School also claims that , constructivists believe that learning is affected by the context in which an idea is taught as well as by students ' beliefs and attitudes (as cited in Davison , 2006 , Piaget vs Vygotsky : The Cognitive...