by Jarred James Breaux

Created on: August 16, 2009

Two of the most influential psychologists in education are Jean Piaget & Lev Vygotsky. Both psychologists developed theories into understanding how individuals learn and both psychologists recognized the increase of knowledge with the progression of age. Together, these theories are the basis of modern education.

LEV VYGOTSKY

Lev Vygotsky, a social constructivist, created a sociocultural cognitive theory to explain how interaction between one's culture and society simulates cognitive development. Vygotsky said that knowledge is distributed throughout a society and that knowledge can be advanced through cooperative activities. Basically, the best way to expand one's understanding of the world is to reference the various resources available and interact with people of greater understanding. His sociocultural cognitive theory ties into his cultural development theory where he says development occurs first between the child and the others (interpsychological) and then within the child (intrapsychological).

Within Vygotsky's sociocultural cognitive theory is the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky believed that children follow the examples set by adults. Over time, children will gradually develop their own abilities to perform certain tasks. The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the gap between what a child is able to do on his or her own and what the child can do with guidance from an adult. The lower level of the ZPD is where the child works independently on certain tasks. The upper level of the ZPD is where the child is able to do more advanced work with the assistance of an adult or a more-skilled child. Vygotsky believed this collaboration of assistance is important in the determination of a child's growth. A similar approach is known as scaffolding adjusting assistance to a person given the level of current performance.

Being a social constructivist approach, Vygotsky's theory places an emphasis on the social context of learning as well as the construction of knowledge by means of social interaction. Vygotsky believed that formal education was an integral part in the array of collaboration to aid a child in growth. Parents, peers, the community, and technology all interact to influence the child's development.

JEAN PIAGET

Jean Piaget's Cognitive Development theory identifies the process of coming to understand the world through active involvement and the stages individuals move through to acquire this ability. In the process of actively

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