Answer to Question #188686 in Psychology for khutji

Question

A Compared to Piaget, Vygotsky places more emphasis on language and the

social environment in the intellectual development of children.

B According to Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development is an indication of

what the children have already mastered on their own.

Answer 1

Part a

Methods and approaches to teaching have been greatly influenced by the research of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Both have contributed to the field of education by offering explanations for children's cognitive learning styles and abilities. While Piaget and Vygotsky may differ on how they view cognitive development in children, both offer educators good suggestions on how teach certain material in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Piaget proposed that cognitive development from infant to young adult occurs in four universal and consecutive stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations. Between the ages of zero and two years of age, the child is in the sensorimotor stage. It is during this stage the child experiences his or her own world through the senses and through movement. During the latter part of the sensorimotor stage, the child develops object permanence, which is an understanding that an object exists even if it is not within the field of vision. The child also begins to understand that his or her actions could cause another action, for example, kicking a mobile to make the mobile move. This is an example of goal-directed behavior. Children in the sensorimotor stage can reverse actions, but cannot yet reverse thinking.

During a child's second and seventh year, he or she is considered to be in the preoperational stage. Piaget stated that during this stage, the child has not yet mastered the ability of mental operations. The child in the preoperational stage still does not have the ability to think through actions. Children in this stage are considered to be egocentric, meaning they assume others share their points of view. Because of egocentricism, children in this stage engage in collective monologues, in which each child is talking, but not interacting with the other children. Another important aspect of the preoperational stage is the acquisition of the skill of conservation. Children understand that the amount of something remains the same even if its appearance changes. A child in the preoperational stage would not be able to perform the famous Piagetian conservation problem of liquid and volume, because he or she has not yet developed reversible thinking – "thinking backward, from the end to the beginning".

Concrete operations occurs between the ages of seven to eleven years. Students in the later elementary years, according to Piaget, learn best through hands-on discovery learning, while working with tangible objects. Reasoning processes also begin to take shape in this stage. Piaget stated that the three basic reasoning skills acquired during this stage were identity, compensation, and reversibility. By this time, the child learns that a "person or object remains the same over time" (identity) and one action can cause changes in another (compensation). This child has an understanding of the concept of seriation – ordering objects by certain physical aspects. The child is also able to classify items by focusing on a certain aspect and grouping them accordingly.

Part b

The zone of proximal development (ZPD), or zone of potential development, refers to the range of abilities an individual can perform with the guidance of an expert, but cannot yet perform on their own. Developed by psychologist Lev Vygotsky, this learning theory may be observed in a classroom setting or anywhere else where an individual has the opportunity to develop new skills.

               

Stages of ZPD

There are three distinct categories where a learner may fall in terms of their skill set. For learning to take place, it's critical that the expert understands the learner's specific ZPD stage.

Task a Learner Cannot Accomplish With Assistance

Tasks that are outside of the learner's ZPD are those that are unable to be completed even with the help of an expert.

If the task isn't within the learner's ZPD, the expert may look to decrease the level of difficulty and find tasks that are more appropriate given the learner's skill level.

Tasks a Learner Can Accomplish With Assistance

When a learner is close to mastering a skill set required to complete a task, but still needs the guidance of an expert to do so, they are considered to be in their zone of proximal development.

In this situation, an expert may use various techniques to help the learner better understand the concepts and skills required to perform a task on their own.

Tasks a Learner Can Accomplish Without Assistance

In this phase, the learner is able to complete tasks independently and has mastered the skill set required to do so. The learner does not need the help of an expert.

When a learner has reached this stage, the expert may increase the task difficulty level in order to find the learner's next ZPD and encourage further learning.