Pearson Education Essays

Pearson Education Essays Pearson Education Essay Pearson Education Essay The similarities between the two are, that they both have the view that action is important in cognitive development. But where they differ is that Vygotsky believes that instruction is an essential part of learning where Piaget believes that it is more the motivation of the child and less adult participation.  With the ZPD, some situations may inhibit the learning, for e.g., when the teacher asks too many questions or where the child is in a group of dominant peers. In the classroom there is less opportunity for activity in which the teacher can test the individual childs ZPD. Donaldson criticised Piagets claims that the pre-operational child cannot cope with tasks like conservation, because they lack the logical thought processes. She found that the if worded differently, and using equipment or situations that were more relevant to that childs life then the experiments would show different results- results that prove that a pre-operational child was more intelligent than Piaget had previously published. Rose and Blank (1974) and Samuel and Bryant (1984) also carried out experiments that considered the forming of questioning. McGarrigle and Donaldson in 1974 carried out an experiment using a character called Naughty Teddy. This experiment was to show that when an adult asks if something has been altered a child is more likely to say yes, when it is not the case but if naughty teddy was to alter something then the child would usually come up with the correct answer as it was not be influenced by trying to answer what the adult wants it to hear. Other research has found that children develop certain cognitive structures earlier than Piaget claimed. Bower (1981) found that infants 5-6 months old showed surprise when an object that had been hidden behind a screen was no longer there when the screen was lifted. He also demonstrated that babies of eight weeks tracked an object when it moved behind a screen by showing with their eyes where it should emerge. I believe that critics to Piaget and Vygotsky have encouraged more people to examine their theories, however I believe that Donaldson at the time of her publication, blew Piaget out of the water. She argued that children are not at any stage as egocentric as Piaget has claimedchildren are not so limited in ability to reason deductively as Piaget and others have claimed andhis (a childs) language-learning skills are not so isolated from the rest of his mental growth8. Due to theorists such as Donaldson who challenged Piagets theories, Piaget is now looked at as more of a pioneer of his time rather than for his accuracy in his stages of development, however there are Piagetian theorists that follow the main ideas of Piaget, such as Doise and Mugny but they take account of the social context of peer interaction within which the child operates. Vygotsky, like Piaget is appreciated immensely for making huge advancements in the field of cognitive development, theorists like Bruner have included their ideas but moved on to base his own conclusion. I believe that criticisms have affected the standing of their theories, however the majority of present day theorists base their ideas loosely from either Piaget or Vygotsky, so even nearly a hundred years later after Vygotskys writings they are still as relevant today as they were then. Bibliography Bee H, Boyd D, (2000), The Developing Child, London: Pearson Education Inc.  Curtis A., OHagen M., (2003), Care and Education in Early Childhood, London:  Routledge Falmer  Donaldson, M, (1978) Childrens Minds, London : Fontana.  Flanagan C, (1997), Letts Study Guide Psychology, London: Letts Educational  Smith K.P, Cowie H, Blades M, (2003) Understanding Childrens Development, Oxford:  Blackwell Publishing.