Lev Vygotsky believes that it is important for the teacher to facilitate the child from the level of independent performance to the level of assisted performance through the zone of proximal development. Vygotsky’s Developmental Theory varies from that of Piaget in this one aspect. He gives a more important role for society’s influence in a child’s development than Piaget did. Indeed, Vygotsky believes that peer learning and teacher facilitation will enable a child to develop better.
Marsh states that it is important that the teacher gives tasks that are sufficiently difficult for the child to perform so that the child is motivated to achieve learning either by asking his/her peer or the teacher. The teacher’s instructions should motivate and not de-motivate the child from learning. Also, these tasks will be easier to perform if the child is helped through the zone of proximal development by the teacher.
Keeping in mind Vygotsky’s theory and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory; it is possible to involve children with learning activities that will enable them to develop their individual intelligences through cumulative effort. If one were to include activities that will be challenging, students can learn to strengthen those intelligences that are relevant to themselves.
In order to ensure that the activities within the classroom will allow for multiple intelligence progression, it is imperative that the teacher use Bloom’s taxonomy so as to monitor whether he/she has a healthy mix of activities that will cater to the needs of each child’s intelligence quotient in the classroom.
Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development lacks only one aspect and that is – it does not address the issue of society’s role in the development of a child’s knowledge and mental aptitude. Neither did his theory state the role of culture in the learning acquired by a child.
These theories are excellent as a guideline to understanding cognitive development of a child within the academic environment. However, as Barrow (1984) stated ‘these theories and generalisations have not been empirically validated’. So, it is wrong to take them to be the Gospel when it comes to understanding Cognitive Development amongst children. Instead they can be used as guidelines to improving the learning environment in our schools so that children can improve their knowledge and develop their personality so that they can handle their future better.
