Therefore Piaget’s theory has three main implications for education, the concept of readiness, curriculum and teaching methods. Readiness is related to the limits set on learning by the child’s current stage of development. The Piagetian curriculum would include logic, maths, science and space. The view on how teachers should teach each subject is by using teaching materials that consist of concrete objects that children can easily manipulate.
In contrast to the main view on the Piagetian curriculum, Ginsberg (1981) argues that basing a curriculum on the teaching of Piaget’s stages is a misapplication of his theory. He believed it more useful if the curriculum was modified towards knowledge of the various stages, without them limiting teaching methods. An example of this is how Piaget’s theory suggests that there are definite sequences in which concepts should be taught e.g. different types of conservation appear at different times. This example falls in line with Ginsberg’s beliefs, but it is not used as a basis of teaching by many schools.
The Piagetian perspective places great emphasis on the role of the teacher on the child’s learning, the teacher must take into account that children learn from active self-discovery rather than from passive observation. Teachers must also mould their teaching around concepts such as disequilibrium and egocentrism.
Disequilibrium is needed for the child to advance to the next stage of cognitive development. For this state to appear in students teachers must provide a balance between actively guiding and directing children’s thinking and providing opportunities that allow them to explore themselves, although the common notion is providing children with the materials and letting them ‘get on with it’.
Teachers should encourage children to learn from their peers as listening to the views of others helps break down egocentrism. This belief also appears in Vygotsky’s theory in the form of collaborative learning.
Although Piaget’s theory is influential to education- Piagetian theorists and the education system differ on their definition of a successful education. According to Piagetians, teachers should focus on the learning process rather than its end product (exam results). Rather than feeding children information that is only relevant to exams, they should encourage children to ask questions, experiment and explore.
Vygotsky defines intelligence as the capacity to learn from instruction. In accordance with this, Vygotsky believes that teachers should guide pupils in paying attention, concentrating and learning effectively, therefore scaffolding them to competence.
A modern example of how teachers apply the concept of scaffolding to education is ‘reciprocal reading’; this is used to improve the student’s ability to learn from text. In this method, the teacher and student collaborate in learning and practicing four skills: summarizing, questioning, clarifying and predicting. The teacher’s role in the process is reduced over time.
Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that teachers’ having rigid control over children’s learning is not effective. He believed that teachers control over their student’s activities is what counts. According to Tharp and Gallimore (1988), that is how a teacher helps a child move through the ZPD. They believed that teaching only occurs when assistance is offered at points in the ZPD where performance requires assistance.
Teachers can assist the child’s performance by working sensitively and contingently within the ZPD. Contingency is an idea developed by Bruner. Wood and Middleton (1975) investigated contingency by watching mothers help their children build a puzzle. The mothers showed contingency by giving child the help that was proportionate to the level of difficulty the child was in.
As stated earlier, Vygotsky shared Piaget’s view on the importance of group learning (collaborative learning). Educators in present time have realised that group learning can offer effective means of reaching for guiding children through their ZPD. This may be due to the nature of group work: it allows children to use language, provide explanations, and work co-operatively or competitively, therefore producing cognitive change.