TechGuy psy | Homework Helper

I’m trying to study for my Psychology course and I need some help to understand this question.

I personally think that Vygotsky’s view is a better approach for getting the most out of our children. I appreciate Piagets’s outline as a general guideline for our children’s cognitive development, but I do not think we should base our methods of teaching solely on his four stages. I believe children are like adults in that every single one is different and to maximize their potential there should be some individual techniques applied to take into account each child’s strengths and weaknesses that for whatever the reason maybe whether it be nature or nurture the child has developed, in order for us to maximize the child’s potential. I think simply utilizing the Piaget’s diagram as a one size fits all is not the best way to help grow the child’s cognitive abilities. If our teachers, caregivers and professionals just took used this system they would treat all children the exact same and that is not the case children come at different levels and stages due the variances of each of their environments. I think Vygotsk’s ZPD approach is better suited for getting the most of a child’s development, because it takes into account each one of their personal stages and then can expand of their certain level. I suppose this this takes more effort and resources though, and it is just easier to paint with a wide brush when it comes to educating, which is why their is more of a one size fits all curriculum in our public schools.

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vygotsky’s model is a teaching method that helps students learn more by working with a teacher or a more advanced student to achieve their learning goals. His model also teaches ”zone of proximal development” which is the set of skills or knowledge a student can’t do on her own but can do with the help or guidance of someone else. It’s the skill level just above where the student currently is.

If I were explaining his model to a parent, caregiver, or professional, I would give them this example. Say there is a kindergartner who is learning how to read and write. He knows all the letters of the alphabet, but he can’t yet read or write words. No matter how much guidance he was given, he could never read a novel on his own at this point, but with a teacher’s help, he can learn how to read and write short words like “at,” “boy” and “dog” because this skill is within is ZPD. It would have taken him much longer to learn this skill on his own, but it’s still simple enough that he can understand it if he has someone to explain it to him. The student’s ZPD is reading and writing short words, and the teacher who helps him learn them is the scaffolding.

Piaget’s model focuses on cognitive development which is the process in which a child’s understanding of the world changes due to their age and experience. His model is broken down into four stages. Sensorimotor: this stage occurs from birth to two years of age. Children intros stage understand their environment by touching, sucking, chewing, and manipulating objects. Stage two is the preoperational stage and this occurs during from age two to seven. Language happens here and form that they are able to describe people, things, and feeling. Third is the concrete operational stage from ages seven to twelve. Children develop more logical thinking in this stage, for example, say the child’s neighbor has friendly dog and every time they pet him they get itchy eyes and sneezing uncontrollably. They might conclude that they are allergic to the dog. Formal operational is the last stage, from age twelve to adulthood. The final stage of Piaget’s theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas. At this point, people become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around them.

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HERE’S AN EXAMPLE

I personally think that Vygotsky’s view is a better approach for getting the most out of our children. I appreciate Piagets’s outline as a general guideline for our children’s cognitive development, but I do not think we should base our methods of teaching solely on his four stages. I believe children are like adults in that every single one is different and to maximize their potential there should be some individual techniques applied to take into account each child’s strengths and weaknesses that for whatever the reason maybe whether it be nature or nurture the child has developed, in order for us to maximize the child’s potential. I think simply utilizing the Piaget’s diagram as a one size fits all is not the best way to help grow the child’s cognitive abilities. If our teachers, caregivers and professionals just took used this system they would treat all children the exact same and that is not the case children come at different levels and stages due the variances of each of their environments. I think Vygotsk’s ZPD approach is better suited for getting the most of a child’s development, because it takes into account each one of their personal stages and then can expand of their certain level. I suppose this this takes more effort and resources though, and it is just easier to paint with a wide brush when it comes to educating, which is why their is more of a one size fits all curriculum in our public schools.

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE 200 WORD RESPONSE I NEED >>> Hi Aaron,

I agree with you that rigid stages are not necessarily the best way to conceptualize development. I prefer a model that considers learning along a spectrum, and takes into account the nuances of individuals, which I agree is more closely aligned with Vygotsky’s theory. I also appreciate your point about maximizing each student’s zone of proximal developing requiring a lot of resources; schools are very underfunded, and I would imagine it’s difficult enough for most teachers to maintain order in their class, let alone implement individualized lesson plans for each student based on their abilities. Overall though, the ZPD seems like a powerful concept for anyone who works with children to consider.