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Research Findings of Piaget, Vygotsky, and Skinner

Master of Education, University of the People

Written Assignment Unit 2

Educ 5410

Child Development

Instructor

Dr. Tonya Tate

November 23th, 2022.

Piaget (Cognitive Vygotsky (Social cultural Skinner (Behaviorism)

learning) learning)

View of Knowledge Children are actively Student-teacher and Peer- They emphasize changes

constructing their peer relationships are in behavior that are a

knowledge by creating important when generating result of stimulus-

products or artifacts, thus, and facilitating new ideas, response associations that

they are not limited to perspectives, and cognitive are made by the learner

receiving knowledge from strategies (Zhou & Brown, (Zhou & Brown, 2015,

their parents or teachers 2015, p. 34) p.6).

(Zhou & Brown, 2015,

p.13)

View of learning Learners go through four Functions such as They believe that

major stages and at each Problem-solving, logic, behavior is learned

stage they demonstrate new and propositional and but that they can also

intellectual abilities and hypothetical thinking are be unlearned and be

increase their strongly influenced by replaced by new

understanding of the world culture (Zhou & Brown, behaviors. For learning to

(Zhou & Brown, 2015, p. 2015, p. 33). take place, the desired
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13). response must be

rewarded through

positive reinforcement

(Zhou & Brown, 2015,

p.6).

View of Motivation Learners are more likely to Learners are active Rewards and

be engaged in learning through their learning punishments are used to

when these artifacts are environments through encourage desired

personally relevant and scaffolding or their behaviors or stop

meaningful to them (Zhou adoptive culture. (Zhou & inappropriate ones.

& Brown, 2015, p. 13) Brown, 2015, p.34) (Zhou & Brown, 2015,

p.6)

Implications for The teacher's role is to Uses a learner-centered Contracts and

teaching facilitate learning by approach where a learner consequences are

providing students with can effectively progress enforced by teachers to

opportunities to explore within their potential help learners focus on

and experiment (Zhou & toward a learning outcome behavior change (Zhou

Brown, 2015, p.16) and construct knowledge &) Brown, 2015, p.8).
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through social interaction

(Zhou &Brown, 2015, p.

34).

Theorists Piaget, Vygotsky, and Skinner are some of the most well-known theorists in the

world, who share different perspectives regarding their view of knowledge, learning motivation,

and implication for teaching. Teachers are familiar with all these theories and are constantly

implementing them in the classrooms today. The comparison chart I have created, allows me to

investigate the minds of each theorist and compare their ideas.

Piaget believes that intelligence is a process that occurs due to biological development and

interaction with the environment, thus, it is not a fixed trait (McLeod, 2018). Piaget’s view of

knowledge is that children constantly create ideas and construct their knowledge instead of being

limited to receiving knowledge from their teachers or parents (Orey, 2010, p.37). His view of

learning is that students pass through four major stages and each stage demonstrates new

intellectual abilities and increases their understanding of the world (Zhou & Brown, 2015, p. 13).

These four stages are; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

They cannot be skipped because intellectual development must always follow in this exact

sequence. For instance, in the first stage, sensorimotor involves the use of motor skills where

children learn and explore through touch, smell, sound, and taste, thus, the reason they place

objects in their mouth. As they become older, their cognitive development increases. Learners

are more likely to be engaged in learning when these artifacts are personally relevant and

meaningful to them (Zhou & Brown, 2015, p. 13). Since children are motivated to learn by

nature, they do not need rewards as motivation, unlike Behaviorism which does (Marcin, 2018).
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Implications for teaching would be for teachers to facilitate learning by providing learners with

opportunities to explore and experiment (Zhou & Brown, 2015, p.16). A good example of this

would be providing learners with materials such as pencils and rubber bands to create a floating

device. Learners use their critical thinking skills to create an object that can float instead of

simply following instructions word for word which would not be as effective in their learning

development.

Vygotsky believes that student-teacher and peer-peer relationships are important when

generating and facilitating new ideas, perspectives, and cognitive strategies (Zhou & Brown,

2015, p. 34). He brings forward the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development which is the area

of understanding just outside of what they know but is capable of learning (Stevens-Fulbrook,

2020). They are strongly influenced by the culture which creates functions such as logic,

propositional and hypothetical thinking and problem-solving (Zhou & Brown, 2015, p. 33).

Social interactions and influences from the community play a significant role in children's

development. Learners In my class are constantly learning from one another and picking up new

terminology and ideas that they have never heard of before due to the interaction and all the

different cultures that exist.

Skinner’s view of knowledge is that learners’ changes in behavior come from stimulus-

response associations that are made by the learner (Zhou & Brown, 2015, p.6). Behavior is not

only learned, but it is also unlearned and replaced by new behaviors. The best way to motivate

learners is through reinforcements and punishments which are used to encourage desired

behaviors or stop inappropriate ones. If a student shares their toy with a fellow student, then a

teacher should reward them through positive reinforcement so that the student can repeat that

behavior. Teachers can also create a contract that explains what their expectations are for each of
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their students in the class, such as coming to class on time, raising their hand to ask a question,

and respecting others. If a student does not abide by any of the rules, then there are consequences

such as less playground time or no pizza Fridays. These kinds of incentives can help motivate

learners to do what is expected of them in their class which could help them to adapt to good

work ethics that could be beneficial to their future.

Conclusion

All three theories show differences in how they approach learning and what they believe is

most effective for children’s development. Whether it is through social interactions, personal

experiences, or learned behaviors, there are so many different perspectives to learning which

provides us with a deep perception of the way we learn and how we understand things.
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References

Marcin, A. (2018, March 29). Piaget Stages of Development: What Are They and How Are They

Used? Retrieved from; https://www.healthline.com/health/piaget-stages-of-Development

McLeod, S. (2018). Jean Piaget's Theory and Stages of Cognitive Development. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

Orey, M. (2010). Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology. Jacobs

Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland. Retrieved

from.https://textbookequity.org/Textbooks/Orey_Emergin_Perspectives_Learning.pdf

Stevens-Fulbrook, P. (2020, July 02). The Complete Guide to Lev Vygotsky's Learning

Theories. Retrieved from https://teacherofsci.com/vygotsky/

Zhou, M. & Brown, D. (Spring 2015). Educational Learning Theories. Educational Psychology

Commons. Retrieved from https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1000&context=education-textbooks