Piaget and Vygotsky

Piaget: Cognitive PsychologistPiaget: Cognitive Psychologist

Development Precedes Learning

Three principles of DevelopmentThree principles of Development

1. It occurs at different rates.

2. It occurs in an orderly fashion.

3. It occurs gradually.

How We LearnHow We Learn

Schemes: We put things into patterns to learn.

Adaptation: We try to fit new information into existing schemes.

(Disequilibrium or

Cognitive Dissonance)

Accommodation: We have to change our thinking

Constructivist ThinkingConstructivist Thinking

Need disequilibrium to grow!

Therefore, we need to give students curriculum that is developmentally appropriate (DAP).

It means teaching through activities that lead to discovery.

• Children must create and construct their own understanding. Therefore, it is important to teach children knowledge and skills when the children are developmentally ready and willing and able.

Piaget’sPiaget’s

Four Stages of Intellect

Sensorimoter: 0-2 yearsSensorimoter: 0-2 years

Nothing exists unless visible. By age 2, object permanence. Able to use symbols to replace visuals.

Preoperational: 2-7 yearsPreoperational: 2-7 years

• Primitive thinking and egocentric. Not able to think in reverse.

Concrete Operational: 7-11 years. Think logically if concrete situation. Can think in reverse. Less egocentric. Understand sequence.

Formal Operational Stage: 11-Formal Operational Stage: 11-adulthood.adulthood.

Think abstractly. Can shift what might be (hypothetical). Capable of inductive reasoning. Able to use observations to identify general principles.

Adolescent egocentrism. Focused on own ideas and beliefs. Elkind’s imaginary audience.

Activity: Part 1Activity: Part 1

• Select an event in which you experienced a “disequilibrating event.” Describe the event.

• How did you respond to the event? Characterize your response in terms of Piaget’s ideas about accommodation and assimilation.

Activity: Part 2Activity: Part 2

• Describe alternative ways in which you could have responded, Characterize those alternatives in terms of Piaget’s theory.

• How would working with peers assist a student to experience disequilibrium and re-quilibrium?

VygotskyVygotsky

Learning Precedes Development

We learn continuously, sometimes simultaneously and almost always through social interaction.

Important Words of VygotskyImportant Words of Vygotsky

• Private Speech: our way of making shared language personal.

• Zone of Proximal Development: capable of learning with help (Bruner).

• Self-Regulation: ability to think and solve problems with the help of others.

• Scaffolding: giving support so that students can succeed in their zone of proximal development

How to Provide Scaffolding:How to Provide Scaffolding:

• Cooperative learning

• Peer tutoring

• Sociocultural Interaction

• Assessing beyond recall and comprehension

ActivityActivity

• Form a content-area group and try the activity on page 59 of your textbook:

• “Reflecting on the Chapter”– Junior High and High School

• First Activity