Education, study and knowledge

Piaget vs Vygotsky: similarities and differences between their theories

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Teaching methods and orientations have been strongly influenced by theories of Jean piaget Y Lev vygotsky. Both authors have contributed to the field of education and psychology, offering explanations on how the learning and the cognitive development in early ages.

Piaget and Vygotsky may differ in some respects in their theoretical proposals, but both offer teachers and educators give good recommendations on how to maximize the learning process in the childhood and the adolescence. Despite the fact that Piaget and Vygotsky are often presented as rivals, both theories have been of great use to the fields of psychology and education. This comes to demonstrate the complexity of the cognitive development of human beings.

Jean Piaget's Theory of Learning

The Learning theory by the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, considered the father of constructivism, he focuses on the cognitive development of children and adolescents. His theory describes and explains the changes that occur in logical thinking at these ages. Piaget suggested that cognitive development occurs following a series of stages of maturation and experience: sensory-motor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations.

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If you want to know more about the stages of Piaget's cognitive development, you will find all the necessary information in this article by the psychologist Adrian Triglia: “Jean Piaget's 4 stages of cognitive development”.

Piaget reveals to us in his theory that thanks to the interaction with the environment we acquire new information. But as a constructivist psychologist and pedagogue, in his research he realized that children have an active role in obtaining knowledgeIn other words, he considered them "little scientists" who actively build their knowledge and understanding of the world.

A schematic summary of his theory

In summary, the key points of his theory are cited below:

  • Cognitive development occurs following a series of universal stages.

  • Children are active learners who build knowledge from interaction with their environment.

  • They learn through assimilation and the accommodation, and complex cognitive development occurs through balance.

  • Interaction with the physical world is key to cognitive development.

If you want to delve into Jean Piaget's theory, this other article by Bertrand Regader It will be of great help: "Jean Piaget's Theory of Learning”.

Sociocultural Theory of Lev Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky is also one of the most influential and important authors in the field of education and psychology. The Sociocultural Development Theory Vygotsky's affirms that individuals learn through social interactions and their culture. Vygotsky explains that the dialogue It is an important psychological tool in the development of a child's thinking, and as children grow and develop, their basic language becomes more complex.

Language is key in human development, because This is produced through processes of exchange and transmission of knowledge in a communicative and social environment. That is, the transmission of cultural knowledge is carried out through language, which is the main vehicle of the development process and is what decisively influences development cognitive.

Furthermore, as a constructivist psychologist like Piaget, he believes that children learn actively and through practical experiences. Now, Vygotsky thinks that learning is built through social interactions, with the support of someone more expert. Not like the Swiss psychologist, who claims that knowledge is built individually. Vygotsky was important in order to understand the Collaborative learning and to learn more about the influence of the sociocultural environment on the cognitive development of children.

His theory in a few strokes

Some of the basic principles of Vygotksy theory are as follows:

  • Children develop through informal and formal conversations with adults.

  • The first years of life are fundamental for development, since it is where thought and language become increasingly independent.

  • Complex mental activities begin in basic social activities.

  • Children can accomplish more difficult tasks with the help of a more skilled individual.

  • Tasks that are challenging promote growth in cognitive development.

If you want to delve into this important theory, you just have to click here: "Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory”.

Similarities between both theories

The theories of Vygotsky and Piaget have similarities, but there are also some differences. First of all we are going to start with the similarities.

Both Piaget and Vygotsky are two constructivist theorists, although the latter is considered the main precursor of the social constructivism. They both think that children are active learners who actively organize new information with existing information. Therefore, Piaget and Vygotsky postulated that knowledge is built by each subject and is not the result of an acquisition of responses.

Both authors think that cognitive development declines over time. They also believe that cognitive development begins with conflict. For example, in the case of Piaget, when the child realizes that a new idea does not fit with a prior knowledge, and then it is necessary for it to seek a new answer to allow the Balance.

Furthermore, both Piaget and Vygotsky share the idea of ​​the importance of the game in the psychological aspect, pedagogical and social of the human being. Lastly, they both think that language is important for cognitive development, but from different perspectives.

Differences between both theories

After seeing the similarities between the theories of these two authors, let's move on to the differences:

1. Knowledge construction

As we can see, both authors are constructivists, but Vigotsky differs from Piaget in the role played by the environment and culture. For Vygotsky, in addition to seeing the child as an active subject that builds knowledge of him, emphasizes the consideration of the social, which contributes with mediators, to transform reality and education. These mediators have a guiding role to assist them in the learning and development process.

In Piaget's case, learning occurs individually. It is the conflict between what is new and what is known that leads the individual to seek balance.

2. The stages of development

Piaget's theory treats cognitive development by universal stages. On the other hand, for Vigotsky there are no such stages, since when building knowledge through social interaction, each culture is different and therefore cannot be generalized.

This means that, for Piaget, the potentiality of cognitive development depends on the stage in which the subject is. On the other hand, for Vygostky, the potentiality of cognitive development depends on the quality of the interaction and the Zone of proximal development of the subject.

3. Role of learning

Vygotsky thinks that development depends on learning and children learn through history and symbolism. Instead, Piaget thinks otherwise. That is, learning depends on development. Piaget affirms that intelligence comes from action and does not give as much importance to external influences.

4. The role of language

Piaget states that the egocentric speech manifests the inability to adopt the perspective of the other and, as it does not adapt to adult intelligence, egocentric speech disappears. For Vygotsky, egocentric speech helps children organize and regulate their thinking.

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