VYGOTSKY'S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CLASSROOM”

Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development in the Classroom



Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development in the Classroom

Cognitive development is incredibly important when dealing with children because understanding their mental progress and growth is an essential when working with them. Cognitive development is the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision making from childhood to adolescent (Theory of cognitive development, 2009). Being that a child's thought process is completely different from an adult, many child psychologists have developed their own personal theories on how this procedure occurs.

Cognitive development refers to the way an infant perceives, thinks, and gains an understanding of his/her world through the interaction of genetic and learned factors like processing, reasoning, language development, and memory (Theory of development, 2009). This has been studied by many theorists (Erickson, Piaget, Vygotsky, etc) in various ways that all contribute to our understanding of how children develop. One example of an issue debated within this theory was the emergence of the intelligence quotient, or IQ test, brought on by Lewis Terman. These tests are used to determine were a child is mentally by obtaining scores that place them in a particular category. IQ tests however are often criticized for being too narrow as well as too biased in regards to race and gender (Cognitive development, 2009). Another example debated within this issue is how behaviorist B.F. Skinner argued that all children are easily influenced and they gain intelligence through positive reinforcement.

Vygotsky's view on the nature or devolvement of intelligence is that learning proceeds development, cognitive development is connected to input from others, and he also stressed that social interaction is instrumental in cognitive development (Slavin, 2009). He bases his theory on two different ideas which are intellectual development can only be the historical and cultural contexts children experience and that their development depends on the sign systems (Slavin, 2009). Sign systems help children become more familiar with certain ways to communicate such as children learning how to speak their language from their parents or caretaker.

According to Vygotsky, when children retain information and become able to decipher problems on their own, they are exhibiting self regulation. The first step in mastering self regulation is when children understanding that all actions have a meaning. For example infants learn at a young age that crying will often get them what it is they are crying for, whether it is food, a toy, or to be held. The second step involves the infant practicing these types of things (crying, arm gestures, etc.) in order to get what they want.

Vygotsky believe that infants and children do not skip any stages during their progression. They both also agree that children's egocentric speech allows development to occur. Lastly they both believe that development can be initiated by cognitive conflict (Maccarelli, 2006). Vygotsky's theory of development however, is that he believed that development proceeds from the individual to the social world and egocentric speech suggest that children are not able to consider ...