Piaget’s Stage Theory
- Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
- Preoperational (2-7 years)
- Concrete operational (7-12 years)
- Formal operational (12-15 years)
However, the existence of separate stages, each with its own characteristic mode of thinking, and the limitations involved, has been refuted by a large body of research. It has, however, received much support by educationalists and it could be argued that they are the reason for the separation of schools into levels such as pre-school, primary and secondary.
A child progresses through these stages by building and modifying mental plans called schemata. Piaget's theory saw schemata as having intrinsic motivation; their very existence provides the motivation for their use. Existing schemata are applied to any new information encountered. If the information can be absorbed without modifying a schema, then the information will be assimilated. Otherwise the schema is adapted to accommodate the new information. In this way, the processes of assimilation and accommodation are used (unconsciously) to develop cognitive abilities in a systematic way. This is known as Adaptation Theory or the Constructivist Theory
'Object permanence' is a key concept in Piaget's theory. Observation of his own children led him to conclude that infants are unable to comprehend the existence of objects outside of their own perception. Piaget called this form of centration, egocentrism. The schema of 'object permanence' is constructed during the sensori-motor stage and Piaget saw the task of the pre-operational stage as 'breaking through the barrier of egocentrism'. In fact, thoughts and actions become less and less centred as the child progresses through Piaget's 4 stages.
Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory / Social Constructionist Theory
In brief Vygotsky tried to understand cognitive processes. He attempted to understand the formation of intellect by focusing on its process of development rather than its outcome. He believed that individual development could not be understood without reference to the social and cultural context within which development occurs.
Key concepts:
Culture: Vygotskys suggested that the intellect consisted of 'elementary' and 'higher' mental functions. Elementary functions are innate capacities such as attention and sensation. These develop to a limited extent through experience, but cultural influences are required to transform them into higher mental functions, such as problem solving and thinking. An individual would not progress further than the elementary functions, without culture. Vygotsky was referring to the body of knowledge, which is held by, for example, books and 'experts' (persons with large amounts of knowledge), and which is largely transmitted through language, when he used the concept 'culture'.
Language - which human social and psychological processes are fundamentally shaped by cultural tools.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) -One main key notion in Vygotskys approach to cognitive development is the zone of proximal development, meaning children who seem to lack certain skills when tested on their own may perform more effectively in the social context provided by someone with the necessary knowledge. Skills shown in a social situation but not an isolated one fall within the zone of proximal development .i.e. the gap between what you’re trying to teach and the current state of development in that area. If the gap is too large, instruction won’t be effective; too small and the learner won’t be extended, therefore teachers must have background knowledge of those they teach.
Scaffolded instruction involves an instructor or advanced peer working to support the development of the learner. The instructor should guide the learner in such a way that the gap is bridged between the learner’s current skill levels and the desired skill level. As learners become more proficient, able to complete tasks on their own that they could not initially do without assistance, the guidance can be withdrawn. Such instruction needs to take place in a social environment where the interactions reflect mutual respect.(The first reading "Towards maximising learning through online environments can be considered scaffolding).
Similarities and Differences:
Piaget believed that children are egocentric and separate from others for a long period of development (0-7 years) but gradually begin to socialize.
Vygotsky thought differently, stating that children learn a sense of self through interaction with others.
Piaget said that adults provide the stimulants and environment to learn but too much interference can damage a child's natural development.
Vygotsky believed that social interaction is crucial. The adult role in teaching is very important e.g. providing assisted learning.
Vygotsky also said that language is a tool for thought whereas Piaget believed that thought develops independently of language.
View on stages
Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that children's cognitive development took place as a sequence of hierarchical levels or stages, however these were distinguished by different styles of thinking.
However, Piaget proposed that 15 year olds were capable of concrete operational through and that their development stopped here, Vygotsky proposed that cognitive development was a lifelong process.
View on learning
According to Vygotsky's theory ‘ZPD’ had to do with a child’s current and potential abilities to do something. (Flanagan 1999 P.72). He believed that problem-solving tasks could be placed into three categories, which were as follows:
(a) those performed independently by the student “independent performance”
(b) those that could not be performed even with help; and
(c) those that fall between the two, the tasks that can be performed with help from others “assisted performance.” (www.teachers info site).
Vygotsky believed the concept of ‘ZPD’ recommended a better move towards to education and allowed a better understanding of the learning process. (Flanagan 1999 P.73)
Bruner built on Vygotsky's idea of the ZPD, by introducing what he described as scaffolding. Scaffolding is the help, which is given to a child that supports the child's learning. Scaffolding is similar to scaffolding around a building; it can be taken away after the need for it has ended. When a child is shown how to do something he can now accomplish this task on its own. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.154).
Piaget and Vygotsky hold contrasting views on teacher involvement. On one hand a Piagetian view suggests that direct teacher involvement may inhibit learning while on the other hand, Vygotsky's approach of scaffolding and guided discovery suggests that a guiding hand by the teacher is critical for effective learning.
Vygotsky believed that it was adults and the Childs peers, which had the responsibility in sharing their greater collective knowledge with the younger generations. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.149-150). This type of learning supports a discovery model of learning and places the teacher in an active role while the students’ mental abilities develop naturally through various paths of discovery. Vygotsky argued that through social activities children learnt cultural ‘tools’ and social inventions. These included language, rules, counting systems, writing, art, and music.
Vygotsky believed that the history of the child and the history of the child’s culture needed to be understood because it overrides the cognitive schema process that Piaget described. (www.Teachers info site). Piaget believed that the sequence of how children experience the stages was universal, but acknowledged the rate at which each child moved through these stages was flexible and relative upon factors such as maturity, social influences, and other factors. Because of the difference in the skills needed for each level, Piaget believed that children should not be forced into learning 4 the knowledge of the next stage until the child was cognitively ready. (Flanagan 1999 P.57) However, Vygotsky believed that instruction came before development and that instruction lead the learner into ZPD.
Vygotsky, like Piaget, believed the relationship between the individual and the social as being a necessary relational. However, Vygotsky believed that it was adults and the Childs peers, which had the responsibility in sharing their greater collective knowledge with the younger generations. He did not believe it was possible for a child to learn and to grow individually and the culture and the environment around the child played a big part in their Cognitive Development. (Flanagan 2001 P.72). He also believed a child was unable to develop the way he or she had without learning from others in the environment in which they were raised. In contrast, Piaget maintained that children were naturally inquisitive about their own abilities and about their environment (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.129) and that children advanced their knowledge because of biologically regulated cognitive changes. (Flanagan 2001 P.57). Whereas, Piaget believed that a child was only possible of learning the processes in each stage at any time (Flanagan 1999 P.60) and overlooked the role of the child's activity with relation to thought processes. For Piaget, children construct knowledge through their actions on the world. By contrast, Vygotsky’s stages, unlike Piaget’s, were that of a smooth and gradual process. That understanding is social in origin. For Vygotsky the cultural and social aspects took on a special importance which is much less symmetrical than Piagets theories.
View on language
Language for Vygotsky was a system of symbolic representation, which had been perfected over many previous generations and allowed the child to "abstract" the world. It provides the symbols for the child's equations concerning the world;
Language came into three separate categories, which were Social, Egocentric, and Inner. For Vygotsky language was what made thinking even a possibility. Language is the difference between thinking on an elementary level and on a higher level.
Piaget and Vygotsky had many contrasting views which included Piaget believing that cognitive changes precede linguistic advances, unlike Vygotsky who proposed that language allowed the child a far greater freedom of thought and lead to further cognitive development. (Flanagan 1999 P.59) Piaget believed in the development of thinking and that language moved from individual to social. (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P.84). However, Vygotsky believed that language moved from the social to the individual. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.150).
For Vygotsky speech moved from social speech (communicative) to inner egocentric speech. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.150) He believed that children began by voicing a personal dialogue and then moved to social speech. He argued that it became internalised as an adult. In contrast, Piaget claimed that egocentric Speech was simply an accompaniment to a child’s actions (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P.84) and that egocentric speech went away with maturity. However, even though they both had different opinions on the purpose of egocentric speech both agreed on the importance that it played in cognitive development.
In summary, Vygotsky was critical of Piaget's assumption that developmental growth was independent of experience and based on a universal characteristic of stages. Vygotsky believed that characteristics did not cease at a certain point as Piaget did. When one thing was learned, it was used from then on. It did not stop just because a child entered another stage of development. Everything was progressive. Vygotsky also disagreed with Piaget's assumption that development could not be impeded or accelerated through instruction. (Flanagan 1999 P.57) Vygotsky believed that intellectual development was continually evolving without an end point and not completed in stages as Piaget theorised. Piaget’s stages only approach up to, and end with, approximately age fifteen. This theory does not seem to have any major factors after approximately age fifteen.
There are factors that can disrupt the Stage theory or the Constructivist theory. A child with autism, brain dysfunction or special needs would not be capable of going through all of Piaget’s development stages as a number of studies have shown (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.137). Not all adults in all cultures reach the formal operational stage of development and are none the less able to live a fulfilling life without doing so.
Due to experiences Piaget had over the years he changed the way he thought and modified his techniques of research to include a greater emphasis of the role of the child's activity. Vygotsky although critical of Piaget, realised the importance of the information that Piaget had gathered and in spite of his criticisms, Vygotsky built his educational theories on the strengths of Piaget's theories.
After evaluating Piagets and Vygotsky's theories on cognitive development I believe there still more which we can continue to learn and build on with both Piagets and Vygotsky's ideas and theories, especially when applied in education.
Bibliography
Flannagan, C. (1999). Applying Child Psychology to Early Child Development. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited
Ginsbury, H. Opper, S. (1979). Piaget‘s Theory of Intellectual Development. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Hayes, N. (1999). a Access to Psychology. 5th ed. London:
Hodder & Stoughton Educational.
Hayes, N. (1991).b Psychology. London: British Psychological Society.
Jarvis, M. Chandler, E (2001). Angles on Psychology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited
Thomson, H. Meggit, C. (1997). Human Growth and Development. Abingdon: Bookpoint Limited
Sources of Reference
Accessed 10/12/01
Accessed 10/12/01
