human growth and development

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky : Concepts of Development

Jean Piaget 's views about teaching and learning is based on his four stages of cognitive development . Each stage is essential for a child to become an adult . These stages are characterized by a cognitive structure which affects a child 's thinking . One stage is a mere reflection of a child 's understanding of reality , development from one stage to another is caused by the errors that are accumulated within child 's understanding of his environment . Whereas , Vygotsky 's views of learning has something

to do with child development as well . His theories were guided by the role of culture and interpersonal communication .Vygotsky observed how advanced mental functions developed chronologically within particular cultural groups , as well as individually through social interactions with significant people in a child 's life , particularly parents , and other adults as well . Through these interactions , a child came to learn the habits of mind of his culture , which includes speech patterns , written language , and other symbolic knowledge through which the child derives meaning and affected a child 's construction of his knowledge . His views are not far from Piaget 's yet the only matter that differs is his theories are more subjective and deliberate than Piaget 's and doesn 't have a particular stage of development . Vygotskian psychology is guided by the key premise of culture mediation which subjective in nature . Certain knowledge acquired my children reflects the culture they thrive into . Such development is called internalization which a child acquires a skill or attitude through his society . Societal factors influence a child 's development in an evident manner . The gap between a learner 's actual development is determined by independent problem-solving which leads to his potential development . Such notion is called the zone of proximal development . Development is affected my certain

cultural mediators such as words and symbols . This implies Vygotsky 's view on the nature of human development and interrelation between learning and development . Jean Piaget has a different concept of development which he represents through his four stages of cognitive development . Each stage is significant for a child 's understanding to develop and to be augmented as well . Through repeated actions , perhaps with variations or in different contexts or on different kinds of objects , the child is able to differentiate and integrate its elements and effects . Such process is called reflecting abstraction . At the same time , the child is able to identify the properties of objects by the way different kinds of action affect them . This is the process of empirical abstraction . Repetition of such process across a wide range of objects and actions , the child establishes a new level of knowledge and insight Such notion prepares a child to undergo a new cognitive stage . This dual process allows the child to constitute new ways of dealing with objects and new knowledge about objects themselves

Piaget and Vygotsky will have contrasting explanations of Ogbu 's involuntary minority notion , Vygotsky will have instill his notion...