Question

1. A 4 year old is playing in the sandbox using wet sand and saying he is making sand castles. He keeps filling the bucket without patting the sand down and then pouring the sand out from two feet above the ground.

a) How would an adult following Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory respond?

b) How would an adult following Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory respond?

c) Compare and contrast between Vygotsky and Piaget.

d) What would you do in this situation?

Please answer parts (a) to (d) completely and thoroughly.

Answer 1

a. An adult following the Lev Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory will respond by helping the 4-year old learn how to play with the sandbox and build sandcastles. Lev Vygotsky 's Socio-Cultural Theory is based on the acquisition of skills and knowledge in the external social environment. This learning takes place via the guidance of those present in the external environment. Adults, who have already acquired the skills and knowledge that they can teach the younger generations, help in the widening of the zone of proximal development. The external social environment is defined by parents, caregivers, peers, and the culture, that according to Vygotsky, will help in the development of higher-order functions in the growing child. So, the adult, being advanced in handling sandboxes, will teach the right way to play with sandboxes, thereby progressively widening the zone of proximal development of the 4-year old.

b. An adult following Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory will respond by making the child understand the concept of conservation. It is important to know that in the Preoperational Stage of Cognitive Development, conservation or the logical thinking ability of children between ages 2 to 7 years that a certain quantity will remain the same irrespective of adjustment of the container, shape, or apparent size develops in only a few children. So, the adult can help the 4-year old understand the concept of conservation of number, length, mass, weight, volume, and quantity. It so may happen that the child understands conservation by self-discovery through symbolic play. This is because Piaget found that children explore the external environment independently.

c. Vygotsky considered the child to be a "social" being, who's cognitive development is facilitated by social interactions and members of society like parents, peers, culture, etc. According to Piaget, the child is more "independent", who's cognitive development takes place via self-oriented, self-focused activities. According to Piaget, children's learning is facilitated by active self-discovery. On the other hand, Vygotsky considered that children's learning is facilitated by instruction and guidance of social figures in the external environment. According to Piaget, cognitive development is universal. According to Vygotsky, the cognitive development of children is different across different cultures and time.

d. In this situation, I would have guided the 4-year old (incorporating Vygotsky's theory) for making the sandcastle and using the sandbox. I would have made efforts to make the child understand the concept of conservation (incorporating Piaget's theory). I would have instructed the child and build the sandcastle following the correct way so that the child learns by observation.