This week we looked at cognitive development with respect to Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories. In short, Piaget states that humans develop in a series of stages with each stage being distinctly different than the other stages. Piaget’s stages of development are related to specific age ranges with all individuals progressing through each stage without exception. Vygotsky proposed that knowledge is not individually developed but is a product of social interaction.
It would seem to me, and I am sure most people, that human cognitive development is a combination of both theories. If people didn’t develop in some sort of stages than could we expect well socialized and supported youth to be as cognitively developed as an adult? On the other hand, can we expect youth to develop to their fullest on their own without support and socialization?
Medina’s chapter on exploration was fun to read. We are powerful explorers. Our ability for reasoning is what allowed us to survive or early forays out of the trees and our natural curiosity is part of what has allowed us to understand the world as well as we do.
