Similarities of Piaget and Vygotsky’s Theories
Both cognitive development theories of Piaget and Vygotsky believe that learning is a continuous process, starting from birth until the death of a person. Hence, learning based on both models should be from people’s daily experiences and events in life, work, and classroom throughout their life. In both theories, knowledge is considered internal to a learner. They believe that kids play a central role in exploring and comprehending plans and that kids are active learners; hence, discovery and exploration are vital for kids’ cognitive development. Both theories trust that children’s cognitive development starts with inconsistency. As they believed that conflict in a child’s life creates an inducement for her/him to start thinking about a way out or solutions to the issue (Huang, 2021). For instance, in Piaget’s perspective, when a kid discovers that a new concept does not align with his earlier knowledge, one should then look for a new solution to strike a balance.
Furthermore, both Vygotsky and Piaget share the concept of the game’s significance in the psychological facet, social and educational of humans. Based on Piaget, people gain knowledge via their interactions with their surroundings and utilize those ideas to create a sense of this universe via cognitive schemes. Similarly, Vygotsky notes that learning starts with social relations with other persons and individuals internalize the processes and may utilize them independently (Lemos & Prado, 2021). Lastly, both authors trust that language is critical for children’s cognitive development even though from different perspectives. Vygotsky perceived that language plays a critical role in shaping the thoughts of children. Piaget considers that language offers labels for experiences of children in the classroom.
Differences between Piaget and Vygotsky’s Theories
Vygotsky and Piaget’s models differ in the way they build knowledge. In the case of Vygotsky, besides seeing the kid as an active learner who establishes his/her knowledge, stresses considers the social, which assists mediators to change education and reality. In Piaget’s perspective, learning occurs individually for each person. An inconsistency between the known and the new leads a person to strike a balance. Vygotsky’s theory states that learning may result in growth and it happens after development while Piaget asserts that learning happens after cognitive development. Vygotsky and Piaget differ in how they approach innovation learning. Vygotsky’s model supports advanced guided and directed innovation in the classroom while Piaget’s model supported innovation learning having little instructor intervention/engagement (Lemos & Prado, 2021). Piaget’s theory support pupils to discover their world and invent knowledge while Vygotsky constructs opportunities for pupils to learn with a teacher and peers that are more capable.
Piaget claims that egocentric speech declines when a kid advances from the pre-operational phase to the concrete operations phase. Egocentric speech articulates the pre-functional egocentric feelings, thoughts, and thinking patterns of a kid. While Vygotsky’s perspective, the egocentric speech will not disappear even though changed into internal speech. Further, egocentric speech acts as the critical change between internal and social communication. Vygotsky’s view, internal speech reflects verbal thoughts, and individuals think verbally to guide their behaviors and judgment right through their lives. According to Piaget, key processes in learning and development are equilibrium, adaptation, schema, accommodation, and assimilation, which will aid in learning and knowledge discovery for children. Nonetheless, Vygotsky focuses on the zone of proximal development, dialogue, cultural tools, and scaffolding where students learn through social interactions with their peers and teachers (Huang, 2021). Further, Piaget put a strong emphasis on developmental phases comprising pre-operational, operational, concrete operational and formal functions while Vygotsky has no general developmental phases recommended in his model.
The Implications of Piaget and Vygotsky’s Theories
Both Vygotsky and Piaget believe learning is what results in higher-order thinking development. However, Vygotsky employed an active theory approach that considers social interactions whereas Piaget adopted a constructivist view focusing on an individual. Teachers may utilize effective instructional plans focusing on the models of Piaget and Vygotsky to improve student accomplishment in school at the basic level (Kholiq, 2020). Nevertheless, before implementing these models in classrooms, teachers and managers should ascertain an understanding of the models and Vygotsky and Piaget’s lives.
Piaget’s theory implications for teaching are that teachers and administrators should study how their students think. The systems children utilize to get a specific response or solution. Teachers should align their teaching plans with their pupils’ cognitive level, for example, modeling, inspirational set, and assignments. Pupils at the elementary level are given priorities in doing modeling and simple assignments such as drawing anything they like at home or in school. The students should learn that despite the object changing physically, some of its features would stay the same. For example, as a VPK teacher gives her pupils modeling clay and instruct them to mold it, the shape can change even though the modeling clay maintains its color (Kohnstamm, 2021).
Furthermore, for pupils to develop their constancy conservation capacities should provide children with chances to spot disparities and similarities at both abstract and physical levels. Most of the pupils in my classroom aged 4 years and above develop their constancy conservation by playing games and doing tasks such as molding clay into different shapes and matching pictures. Hence, encouraging children aged four years to spot disparities and similarities in objects improves their constancy conservation in the classroom. There must be a stress on active engagement from the pupils in the classroom. In a classroom, students need not be taught to think or act like adults. As a VPK teacher, I have taught my pupils aged 4 years how to spell words, sing, and memorize sounds while they are learning. This has permitted them to gain interest in reading and even singing in class (Kholiq, 2020). Educators should accept and operate with differences of children in the pace that they construct teaching models.
However, the theory of Vygotsky provided the implications for teaching where pupils need to practice activities in the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Educators and administrators must scaffold to avoid doing the work or activity for a pupil but only provide them with direction and guidance. A teacher needs to engage pupils in classroom discussions to create active teaching in the classroom. Teachers must be modeling, explaining, illustrating, and applying a guided approach in the classroom, for example, making a molded shape for their children to imitate or a picture for them to copy (Taber, 2020). Teachers who model what they desire their pupils to do will be better at working through the allocated activities.
Further, pupils at various developmental levels may be placed in teams together to assist each other to learn. Thinking aloud is a tactic that instructors permit pupils to talk through the new ideas aloud may be applied to children aged four years to embrace speaking and singing. An administrator should see pupils engaged in small teams to facilitate social interactions among the pupils aged four years and above to learn from each other. The small groups will involve children singing, reading, or playing together (Tzuriel, 2021). Vygotsky stresses that a teacher should embrace social interaction as it contributes immensely to their pupils’ learning.
References
Huang, Y. (2021). Comparison and contrast of Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 3(5), 1-18.
Kholiq, A. (2020). How is Piaget’s theory used to test the cognitive readiness of early childhood in school? Indonesian Journal of Early Childhood Education Studies, 9(1), 24-28.
Kohnstamm, D. (2021). On the methodology of learning studies relevant to Piaget’s theory. Jean Piaget, Children and the Class-Inclusion Problem, 3(8), 117-128.
Lemos, M. D., & Prado, H. D. (2021). The similarities, differences, and contributions of Piaget and Vygotsky to teacher education. Brazilian Journal of Development, 7(4), 38740-38748. Web.
Taber, K. S. (2020). Mediated learning leading development—The social development theory of lev Vygotsky. Springer Texts in Education, 3(9), 277-291.
Tzuriel, D. (2021). The socio-cultural theory of Vygotsky. Mediated Learning and Cognitive Modifiability, 9(5), 53-66.