The major areas of development include biological, cognitive and social and emotional development. Both of these psychologists were concerned with the study of understanding the area of cognitive development specifically in children and were considered to be constructivists. Constructivism is the theory in which “learners actively construct their own knowledge based upon the things they know now and have known in the past” (TFL resources, 2006). This essay will seek to compare and contrast the theories of psychologists Piaget and Vygotsky and will critically look at their theories to judge which aspects are appropriate for the long term. Jean Piaget focused his research on studying children and observing their thought processes.
His theory relates to the points at which a child's thinking accelerates (18 months, 7 years and 11/12 years). Four stages are Sensori-motor (0-2years) Differentiates self from objects Recognises self Begins to act intentionally e.g. pull, push, throw, pull a string to make a toy sound Pre-operational (2-7 years) Learns to use language and recognise objects by image and words Thinking is egocentric, has difficulty in others point of view Classifies objects by a single feature e.g. groups all red blocks together regardless of shape Concrete operational (7-11 years) Can think logically about objects and events Achieves understanding of number at 6 years, mass at 7 years and weight at 9 years. Can order objects according to several features Formal operational (11 years and over) Can think logically about abstract propositions and test hypotheses systematically Becomes concerned with hypothetical, the future and ideological ideas Today’s education curriculum uses the category stages but it is thought and evidence accumulated that this theory is too rigid as many children manage concrete operations earlier than Piaget thought and some never need use formal operations.
His interest in children’s cognitive processes developed when he started to notice that children of similar ages made the same kinds of mistakes on test questions. After in depth research, Piaget developed the stages of cognitive development theory. This revolved around the idea that unlike adults, thinking and mental development of children changes qualitatively with age (Passer & Smith, 2013). In order to understand Piaget’s theory, it is important to understand its fundamental principles. The first, Piaget referred to using the term ‘schema’.
Language acquisition is the cognitive process where humans acquire the ability to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate with one another (Friederici 2011). It is known that as physical development occurs in infants, the voice box dropping down, enhanced control of tongue muscles and the ability to hear, language development and acquisition occurs (BBC, 1998). Also, cognitive development is related to language development, where the inner processes such as remembering, reasoning, problem solving and creating are forming mental activity that leads to the ‘knowing’ (Berk, 2013). Children build on these developmental processes with physical movement and touch, gathering perceptions of the world using all the sense organs (Berk, 2013). Piaget and Vygotsky both identified the most important source of cognition is the child itself.
Erikson’s theory includes eight stages, which I will state each stage without details. * Stage 1 trust versus Mistrust * Stage 2 Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt * Stage 3 Initiative Versus Guilt * Stage 4 Industry Versus Inferiority (Child Development Principles and Theories) Piaget's theory of cognitive development described and explained the changes in logical thinking of children and adolescents. Piaget proposed that children proceed through four stages based on maturation and experience. Piaget's theory is guided by assumptions of how learners interact with their environment and how they integrate new knowledge and information into existing knowledge. Briefly, he proposed that: * children are active learners who construct knowledge from their environments * they learn through assimilation and accommodation, and complex cognitive development occurs through equilibration * the interaction with physical and social environments is key for cognitive development * development occurs in stages (Education Portal) Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory focused on the role of culture and
Theories of development. Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) – Cognitive Piaget's theory was that children construct or build up their thoughts according to their experiences of the world around them. The child's conclusions or thoughts are known as 'schema' (building blocks of knowledge). The child will adapt their schema when new information is received. As a child develops, so does their thinking.
The children can learn the meaning of these words and then use them in their own play with other children. Furthermore, this then helps the children to learn important social skills like turn-taking and understanding that everyone has different abilities to do things. Another aspect of movement is motor skills, the control and use of the muscles in your body. ‘Gross’ motor skills use the larger muscles in your body like your arms and legs. Movements that require these muscles are running, walking, climbing, jumping; travelling techniques that were explained above and can have an impact on a child’s emotional development.
CYP Core 3.1: Understand child and young person development 1 Understand the expected pattern of development for children and young people from birth – 19 years 1.2 Explain the difference between sequence of development and rate of development and why the difference is important. The difference between sequence of development and rate of development is that sequence means that there is a definite pattern in the way children develop e.g. where a child learns to walk before they run this is classed as a sequence and the rate of the development means the speed the child develops at. It is important to know the difference between the sequence of development and the rate of development as you need to be able to recognise that a child has developed well in one area and another may have been skipped or is going slow and the child may need extra help in this area so it is good to recognise the difference. 2.3 Explain how theories of development and framework to support development influence current practise.
He was especially intrigued by how children represented thought or showed what they were thinking. Bruner argued against the prevailing notion that lack of readiness prevents young children from understanding difficult subject matter. He advocated a spiral curriculum in which children tackles challenging topics in age-appropriate ways even in the primary grades, revisiting these topics year after year and each time building and expanding on previous acquisitions. In a later book, Toward a Theory of Instruction (1966), Bruner suggested that children mentally represent events in three ways—first as physical actions (enactively), then as mental images (ironically), and eventually as language (symbolically). Through concrete manipulative and carefully designed activities, children can discover important ideas and principles on their own, first representing them enactively, then iconically, and finally symbolically.
Unlike Chomsky, Skinner believed in the nurture theory. He believed that we can explain language development with familiar learning principles, such as association, imitation, and reinforcement. Lenneberg combined both theories together. He agreed with Chomsky but stated that there is a deadline for acquiring language, or a “critical period” in a child‘s life. This critical period occurs around the same time as puberty, at about the age of 12-13.