Bentham (2002) suggested that Piaget studied the cognitive development in children and according to Piaget children developed in four stages; Sensori-motor, Pre-operational, Concrete operational stage and Formal operational stage.
Piaget believed that learning is a process of gaining knowledge and skills through experiences and practice. The brain resembles a filing cabin and every new information learnt is stored in folders in this cabinet for later use 'assimilation' These existing records are then used to analyse new information A sub folder is made within one of the existing folders for this new information. 'schema'. However, …show more content…
However, Piaget focused on the thought process of a child, whereas, Vygotsky strongly believed that cognitive development occurred through social interaction and language, thus his theory is known as the social development theory.
According to Vygotsky, with guidance and encouragement from a more knowledgeable person even a difficult task can be accomplished. This is known as 'Zone of Proximal Development' or 'Scaffolding': the term used by Bruner. Similarly Bruner also believed that social experiences contribute in mental development. This is evidently used in todays teaching: learning partners are incorporated into lessons where pupils are encouraged to discuss ideas with the, pupils are given opportunities to work in pairs or small groups during activities, language intervention groups with teaching assistants, teachers give input and guidance before an activity so that the child can achieve, breaking tasks down so it's