Essay Comparing Piaget And Vygotsky

When comparing the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, thought is given about the profound impact their theories have made on child development and learning. It is interesting how they both approached this topic from different perspectives and emphasized different methodologies. Educators, scholars, and parents have used their philosophies to understand how children learn and to create strategies to teach them. While their theories do share some similarities, there are some differences.
Piaget’s theory is based on his belief that as a child grows and matures, they go through four stages of cognitive development. He believed in cognitive structures, which he defined as a primary interconnected psychological system that enables children to process information by building on previous knowledge. He discovered that children develop schemata, (plural of schema), which are like compartments of prior experiences and knowledge that are stored in the brain. Piaget may be known for his theory of the four stages of development. During Piaget’s observations, he noticed that as a child matured, they were able process and analyze concepts differently. He believed that everyone’s cognitive development went through stages, and they went through these stages in the same order. The four stages are as follows: Sensorimotor Stage (during infancy, babies
Both believed that children are active learners and nature plays a significant role in their cognitive development. According to Piaget, children could not cognitively develop if they did not engage in learning, interacting, and cooperating with others. Similarly, Vygotsky understood that all higher learning was initiated through social relations and communication. They also believed that learning occurs in stages and as a child matures their cognitive ability goes from simple to complex. They agreed that children learn while building on prior