...------------------------------------------------- Module: African Psychology (PSY 404) ------------------------------------------------- Lecturer: Mr. Mtemeri J. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Assignment: Compare and contrast the concept formation according to Piaget and Vygotsky. How applicable are their theories to the African context. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Due Date: 15 March 2012 Concept formation according to Muthivhi, (2009) refers to the development of ideas based on the common properties of objects, events or qualities using the process of abstraction. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) proposed the classical constructivist theories of concept formation or cognitive development. Their contributions to developmental psychology, albeit different, are similarly remarkable and unique. These two theories have some noted resemblances and differences. This essay will give an overview of these two theories, outlining their similarities and differences and their applicability to the African context with special reference to the Zimbabwean context. In Jean Piaget’s research, the main goal was to answer the question,...
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...Introduction Over the years there have been a countless number of theorists developing their own models on Cognitive Development, with the two most recognised being the theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. Although it is difficult to present the title of ‘superior theory’ to either one of these theorists, the merging of certain aspects of each scheme provides teachers with an ability to devise effective learning strategies that cater for individual students. As a direct result of these Piagetian and Vygotskian concepts, students possess the ability to develop and learn at a rate more specified to their learning ability. Review of Literature Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, the assimilation-accommodation model, is composed of four stages, sensorimotor (0 - 2 years), preoperational (2 – 7 years), concrete operational (7 – 11 years) and formal operational (11 – adult). Candida Peterson (2004) claims that within Piaget’s theory, each stage must be sufficiently achieved by the individual in order to advance to the next stage, although there is debate about whether we all do reach the final stage. Piaget believes that the most significant aspect of a child's cognitive development is the interaction between peers, rather than elders, the outside environment, as illustrated by Youniss (1982). Piaget recognised that the rate of cognitive development is determined by four factors, biological maturation, activity, social interaction and equilibration, as illustrated...
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...A Discussion of the Theories of Bronfenbrenner and Vygotsky Connie Hassan 2015 Abstract Child development is defined as a normal progression by which children change as they grow older by acquiring and refining knowledge, adjusting behaviours and mastering new skills. As children grow there are both quantitative and qualitative differences between them. Quantitative differences emerge in that children acquire more knowledge and grow physically larger and stronger. Qualitative differences in the way children think, behave, and perceive the world differently as they mature. Many theories of child development have emerged as researchers continue to try to support, contradict or integrate differing points of view. Theories of child development have reflected the thinking of the times in which they arose. Some more recently developed theoretical perspectives focus on children’s internal processes and others on external influences related to development. This essay will discuss two different theoretical approaches - sociocultural theory, which stresses that social interaction is fundamental in the role of physical, cognitive and social development, and ecological systems theory, which integrates a holistic approach to encompassing the key individual and environmental influences on child development. The focus of the discussion is a comparative analysis of a theory from each of these approaches. A Discussion of the Theories of Bronfenbrenner and Vygotsky According to Berk...
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...Juliette Gordon Low: Analysis of Development By: Mary E. Dean May 3, 2014 Lifespan Development Walden University Spring Quarter 2014 Prof. V. Salzer Juliette Gordon Low is most recognized for founding and running what is now known as Girl Scouts of America. Her insight and forward thinking for her time led to this astonishing achievement but what did it take for her to get there, who or what influenced her to rise above the conventional thinking of her time and forge to such great heights? In this analysis I hope to discover answers to that question while exploring age old concepts like nature versus nurture and comparing such development theories like Erickson’s stages of development and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Juliette Gordon Low, or Daisy as she was known in her childhood, was born October 31, 1860 into a life of privilege in Savannah, GA. Juliette was the second oldest of six children. Her father William Washington Gordon was born in the south and strongly believed in the true southern traditions such as owning slaves and that the South should succeed from the Union. While her mother, Eleanor Lytle Kinzie whose family helped to found the city of Chicago and believed intensely in abolition. These opposing views caused much anguish for Juliette’s mother during the Civil War and would play a strong influence on the family dynamics as Juliette grew up. While her parents described her has having a sweet personality and caring disposition her sibling...
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...Piaget Versus Vygotsky Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) proposed the classical constructivist theories of cognitive development. Although often compared, the concepts differ significantly. Indeed, the purpose of this essay is to argue that Piagetian theory marginalizes the social contribution to intellectual development and that, consequently, the Vygotskian approach offers a more accurate and comprehensive analysis. This paper will begin with an explanation of the theories of cognitive development propounded by Piaget and Vygotsky followed by a definition of constructivist and social constructivist theory. The superiority of Vygotsky’s theory will be established via a critical examination of Piaget’s stages of intellectual development, his perspective on language acquisition, and the methodology of his classic tests. Piaget maintained that cognitive development is a continuous progression of assimilation and accommodation and that these complementary processes lead to adaptation. Knowledge is constructed progressively via a sequence of behaviours or mental operations, what Piaget termed schemas. Piaget proposed that children develop mental representations of the world based on physical or mental actions, which they execute on the environment. These initially reflex behaviours are repeated while intrinsic motivation encourages the child to apply schemas to different situations. Assimilation occurs when the new experience is incorporated into an existing...
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...NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST RESULT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN HEKASI, GRADE SIX PUPILS, BONKOKAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT MEASURES GRADUATE SCHOOL AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES October 2015 NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST RESULT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN HEKASI, GRADE SIX PUPILS, BONKOKAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT MEASURES CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE Introduction The national government through the Department of Education (DepEd) takes charge of the educational programs, projects, goals and objectives of the country's educational system particularly the elementary and secondary. Department of Education (DepEd) designs educational innovations to keep abreast with the needs of the changing times. We all know and aware that our government is doing their best to improve the plight of our educational system and that is why big allocations of budget is given to the DepEd yearly. National Achievement Test is an examination annually conducted by the Department of Education ( DepEd) to public and private elementary and secondary schools in the Philippines to measure the knowledge of the pupil in five areas, in which HEKASI is included. The annual NAT examination results is one of their materials in assessing the effectiveness of education...
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...Beyond the Individual Social Antimony in Discussions of Piaget and Vygotsky Michael Cole, University of California, San Diego James V. Wertsch, Washington University, St. Louis Ever since the publication of the first translation of Vygotsky's Thought and Language (reborn as Thinking and Speech 25 years later) there has been an ongoing debate about the relationship between the ideas of Vygotsky and Piaget. In the brief space available, we have no interest in arguing the virtues of one man's ideas over the other. Instead, we will suggest that by and large commentators on the differences between these two thinkers have placed too narrow an emphasis on their ideas about the primacy of individual psychogenesis versus sociogenesis of mind while neglecting what we believe is a cardinal difference between them: their views concerning the importance of culture, in particular, the role of mediation of action through artifacts, on the development of mind. Standard discussions of the difference between Vygotsky and Piaget place a crucial difference in the proximal locus of cognitive development. According to the canonical story, for Piaget, individual children construct knowledge through their actions on the world: to understand is to invent. By contrast, the Vygotskian claim is said to be that understanding is social in origin. There are (at least) two difficulties with this story. First of all, in principle, Piaget did not deny the co-equal role of the social world in the construction...
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...Skinner formed the Operant Conditioning theory, which is defined as the modification of a player’s behaviour through punishment and reinforcement to achieve greater learning and development (Case & Bereiter, 1984). These punishments and reinforcements are either positive or negative as they result in an increase or decrease of a specific behaviour (Porter, 2007). Reinforcement is either the receiving of something pleasant (e.g. a chocolate bar) or the removal of something unpleasant (e.g. no longer having to run laps of the field). Conversely punishment is the receiving of something unpleasant (e.g. giving a player press-ups) or the removal of something pleasant (e.g. less free time at the end of the session). As all players’ values are different, the reinforcements and punishments need to suit the individual accordingly. A smile, for example, may not fulfil the emotional needs of a player, whereas a monetary reward may (Cassidy, Jones, & Potrac, 2009). The direct method used by many coaches is described as dictatorial. Characteristics of the direct method involve the coach in providing the information, demonstration and direction to the players. The coach gives little acknowledgment to the varying needs of the athletes (Cassidy, Jones, & Potrac, 2009). “There is little negotiation between coach and athlete” as the coach controls the flow of information (Dick, 2007, p. 158). This method is predominantly used when coaching beginners. The theory of operant conditioning informs the...
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...Social Theories Susan Church Psychology 104 Marc Mestyanek Nov. 19,212 I. Social Cognitive Theory * Bandura II. Socio-cultural Theory * Vygotsky III. Psychosocial Theory * Erikson IV. Compare and Contrast Penevel, William R., Wertsch, James V. Educational Psychologist. Vol 30(2), Spr. 1995 Special Issue: Lev Vygotsky and Contemporary Educational Psychology. This article compares the similarities and differences of Erikson’s psychosocial theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Cooper, Patricia. Teaching Young Children Self- Regulation through Children’s Books. Early Childhood Educational Journal. April 2007, Vol. 34 Issue 5. Pg. 315 – 322 This article discusses issues of education and Erikson and Vygotisky Gajdamaschko, Natalia. Theoretical Concerns: Vygotsky on Imagination Development. Educational Perspectives. Vol 39 N. 2 pg. 34 – 40 2006 This article discusses Vygotsky views and theories Douvan, Elizabeth. Erik Erikson: Critical Times, Critical Theory. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. Fall 97, Vol. 28 Issue 1 pg. 15 - 21 This article gives a brief oversight of Erikson’s work and his theories. Rottschefer, William A. Some Philosophical Implications of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory of Human Agency. American Psychologist, Vol 46 (2). Feb. 1991 pg. 153 - 155 Analysis social learning and Bandura’s cognitive social theories Filippova, Eve and Astington, Janet. Children’s Understanding of Social Cognitive and...
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...The importance of play Young children’s play is directly or indirectly appointed to their experiments, activities, experiences and events. The essay illustrates the attitude of play in different perspectives and how they links to Te whariki. The comparison of Sri Lanka socio cultural perspective and one of New Zealand socio cultural perspective describes follows. In the summary, the learning outcome referring to examples will be talk about. The definitions of play have stated many theorists. During the 20th century, children’s plays have been closely observed by theorists. Play defines as playing and growing are parallel roads to life. Playfulness describes the child’s creativity and action. Through play a child acquire self reliance to represent of his inner and outer worlds. (Wood, & Attfield, 2005). That children “learn through play” is a concept that has established to show the importance of play. It is the belief that play is necessary for a healthy grow and development. Play literate states that children declare their current interests and needs through play activity. Children control the environment, materials to acquire skills to going after exploration and practice. (Piaget, 1962). Play provided an ideal way of observe children’s natural interests, behaviours and moods. The children learn when they are ready. It describes the importance of choice of a child, and that ready is to understand to adults that the child is ready to early learning. The essential...
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... | |Co-requisites: N/A | |Other requirements: N/A | B. Course Description: This course provides theoretical knowledge as well as practical strategies on educational psychology that student teachers will need to become effective instructors. Various theories of development, teaching, and learning such as human development, cognitive and behavioral development, learner differences, information processing, and learning environments are presented with clear examples and illustrations. Importantly, based on this psychological background knowledge students are able to build up a framework for connecting theory and any educational situations they will deal with later in their own teaching practice. C. Course Objectives: |No. |Course Objectives...
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... for a child’s environment to not contain some sort of social experience, they would have to be socially isolated by either being alone or by ignoring their surroundings. Throughout this essay I will be assessing the role of social experience in each theory and evaluating the extent it has played in a child’s development. ‘Behavourism’ is a conditioning theory, which involves consequences for behaviour. Depending on the desired behaviour, the child is either rewarded or punished for how they behave according to the particular behaviour. The ‘Constructivism’ theory is a school of though that children build their own learning depending and through their own experiences and activities. In the ‘constructivism’ theory, children follow a set of stages in development. The ‘Social Learning Theory’ teaches that children learn by example, by observing others they understand and learn how to behave. The last theory I will be exploring is ‘Social Constructivism’ theory believes that children build their development with cultural tools such as language and their social interactions. Despite the clear differences between these four theories, when examining them closer, I have found that they also have similarities. In all of the theories I have mentioned, the environment to which children are developed in is considered very important, the difference between them lies with how valuable the social...
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...behaviour * Explanations for the success and failure of dieting * Neural mechanisms in eating behaviour Cognitive development * Paget’s theory of cognitive development * Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development * Applications of cognitive developments theories to education Relationships * The formation of romantic relationships * The maintenance of romantic relationships * The breakdown of relationships * Sexual selection * Sex differences in parental investment * The influence of childhood on adult relationships * The influence of culture on romantic relationships Discuss attitudes to food and/or eating behaviour (24 marks) Social learning theory emphasises the impact that observing people has on our attitudes and behaviour. As children's’ parents usually provide food for them, it seems obvious that parental attitudes to food will affect their children's attitudes to them. Children also learn what to eat by watching their parents. This can be explained by social learning theory. This occurs when children observe their parents eating. In this sense, the parents act as eating role models. Observing parents getting rewarded by enjoying eating certain foods, the children learn to imitate these food preferences as they expect to receive similar rewards by doing so. This theory would therefore argue that children should show similar preferences as their parents having learned these preferences from them through a process...
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...has made towards our understanding of how children from birth to five learn and develop competencies in the processes of observation, problem solving, exploration, experimentation and prediction, thinking and decision making. Introduction The aim of this essay is to evaluate the developmental theories of ‘Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy’ (PSRN) and an ‘Exploration and Investigation’ aspect of ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World’ (KUW) in Foundation stage children. This essay will explore Piaget and Vygotsky and their points of view on PSRN and issues which arise from development and it will consider current research and documents relevant to practice and the implications and recommendations for early years practice. Furthermore key concepts of emergent numeracy, mark making, counting and number development will be explored. The skills of observation, problem solving, exploration, experimentation and prediction, thinking and decision making fall into all six aspects of children’s learning and development and these skills led themselves to science and teaching as well as PSRN on which this essay is going to focus on. Theoretical approaches Piaget’s constructivist theory saw children as actively constructing their knowledge of the world, for themselves, and as being active seekers of solutions to problems (Martin 2007). It could be agreed as practitioners acknowledge the importance of child-led activity as being essential for meaningful learning and development...
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... A Child’s World: How We Discover It There is one thing even more vital to science than intelligent methods; and that is,the sincere desire to find out the truth, whatever it may be. —Charles Sanders Peirce, Collected Papers, vol. 5 Did You Know . . . Basic Theoretical Issues Issue 1: Is Development Active or Reactive? Issue 2: Is Development Continuous or Discontinuous? Theoretical Perspectives * Theories are never “set in stone”; they are always open to change as a result of new findings? * Children shape their world as it shapes them? * Cross-cultural research enables us to determine which aspects of development are universal and which are culturally influenced? * An experiment is the most definitive way to demonstrate that one event causes another? * The results of laboratory experiments may be less applicable to real life than experiments carried out in a home, school, or public setting? These are just a few of the interesting and important topics we will cover in this chapter. Here, we present an overview both of major theories of human development and of research methods used to study it. In the first part of the chapter, we explore major issues and theoretical perspectives that underlie much research in child development. In the remainder of the chapter, we look at how researchers gather and assess information so that, as you read further in this book, you will be better able to judge whether research findings and conclu- Perspective...
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