Cognitive Theorys Piaget vs Vygotsky

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Cognitive development Cognitive development is a term for the development of thinking skills, which will also include problem solving and reasoning. There have been a number of psychologists, with a difference in theories regarding cognitive development, all interested in understanding why development occurs and the reasons children think and reason differently at specific ages Goswami (1998). Jean Piaget has been extremely important in psychology’s history with regards to his theory on cognitive development; this has influenced our understanding of how children develop the ability to think and reason. One of the first to challenge Piaget’s theory was Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. His theories have many differences to Piaget’s but there are also a number of aspects of their theories which are similar. A. Piaget and Vygotsky had an interest in the study of cognitive development, with a view to explain how, when and why this development occurs, although their views to how this occurs will often differ. A connection between language and cognitive development has been found by both Vygotsky and Piaget; Piaget believed that thought drives language, whereas Vygotsky’s understanding was that language drives thought (Bailey et al 2009). It is also thought by both psychologists that use of speech and language plays an important part in cognitive development. Speech and language, in addition to the concepts used by younger children to order the world, are thought to be used differently than in older children and adults as they will change as they grow and develop. Another of the similarities within both theories is that cognitive development does not take place within vacuum, as other factors such as interaction with the environment enables the construction of knowledge. Vygotsky and Piaget have both had significant implications for education; Piaget (1952) stated that
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