Piaget or Vygotsky?

In class we studied Jean Piaget. He is considered an "ages and stages theorist". I had previously studied Piaget in my nursing class as well.

I included examples of Piaget's stages:

1. Sensorimotor: birth until 2, feelings, movement, uncomfortable Ex: An infant is cold so they cry.

2. Preoperational: ages 2 to 7, beginnings of symbolic thinking, egocentrism, animism, explains world through intuition Ex: "The sun is playing hide and seek with the clouds"

3. Concrete operational: ages 7-11, conservation, mental operations that are reversible Ex: A child recognizing that 4 marbles close together and 4 marbles spread apart are the same.

4. Formal operational: hypothetical deductive reasoning, adolescent ego centrism Ex: Thinking of different positions when writing a paper.




Also in class we learned about Lev Vygotsky

He is concerned with social and cultural interactions. His assumptions are:
1. Learning occurs along a developmental trajectory
2. Cognitive skills are structured by language
3. The importance of social relationships and culture

ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)
Level of knowledge, achievement, skill, performance which we can only achieve with support


Piaget or Vygotsky?
Of the two theorists of cognitive development that we discussed in class, Piaget and Vygotsky, I find that I resonate more with Piaget. I chose Piaget because I like the structure but also flexibility in the stages. It gives you an idea of what children are like at certain stages but also gives an age gap (ex ages 2 to 7) so it shows that children can be individual in their psychological development as well. I believe it would help a teacher better understand where students are at. Therefore, teachers could structure lesson plans around the stage where the students are at in psychological maturity to ensure students are able to understand the material and be successful in class.

The point I found difficult to grasp by Vygotsky is "cognitive skills are structured by language", no language, no thinking. However, I appreciated the importance he placed on relationships such as mentor-protege, coach-athlete, teacher-student. I appreciated this point because I have learned a lot from teachers and coaches, not only about subject matter, but also some were role models. However, even though I find this relationships important, I believe students can learn on their own and problem solve. Support from someone else is not always necessary as I believe it may decrease problem solving or critical thinking.


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