Cognitive Load Theory, Vygotsky, and Piaget's approaches to learning

¶ … teaching i.e. Development, environmental and Cognitive Load Theory in light of scholarly references. With this analysis a theorist with greatest coherence with my preferred approach is chosen selected. Cognitive theorists have been long concerned with the changes in student's understanding and comprehension that results out of learning. All cognitive theorists believe that learning must be meaningful; they only differ in their schematic structures of cognitive development. An important component in cognitive learning is the relationship between short-term and long-term memory here are the cognitive theories of learning.

DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Vygotsky a Russian linguist proposed the social developmental theory of learning. He believed that social interaction has a profound influence on cognitive development. The main theme around which his theory revolves is, biological and cultural development does not occur in isolation. (Driscoll, 1994). Vygotsky's approach was different from that of Piaget, who believed that cognitive development comprises of four main periods cognitive growth and development; these are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and formal operations. Piaget suggested that development has a stopping point in goal while Vygotsky believed that development is a process that should be analyzed not an outcome to be obtained. To him, the development process that begins from birth continues during the entire lifetime till death and is too complex to be classified into stages. (Driscoll, 1994). Vygotsky believed that this life long developmental process is dependent upon the social interaction and learning from the social habitat. In reality, this social learning leads to cognitive development. He put forth this phenomenon as the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky described in the following words:

the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978). Conversely, students can perform a task either as a group effort or under an adult guidance that could not be otherwise achieved alone. The Zone of Proximal Development bridges the gulf between what is already learnt and what can be learned. Vygotsky believes that learning occurs in this proximal development zone. Therefore he has focused on the linkages between people and the cultural back grounds in which the people coordinate, correlate and interact as they share their experience. This indulges them in a constant learning process. Humans use speech and writing within a certain culture to mediate environs. He believes that the internalization of these tools leads to higher thinking skills. Vygotsky also believed that thought and language cannot exist without one another.

ENVIRONMENTAL THEORY

Piaget was the father of environmental theory of learning. His name was Jean Piaget and he was 20th century's most influential researcher in the developmental psychology. Piaget was a child wonder who published his first journal at the age of 11. He believed that what distinguishes human beings from other animals is our ability to abstract symbolic reasoning. His works have often been compared with Vygotsky's who believed in social interaction for cognitive learning. Piaget believed that human development especially before adolescence is qualitative; which means it changes in kinds, rather than being quantitative. This implies that younger children were not less knowledgeable but answered questions in a different manner because they thought differently. His theory comprises of two major aspects, the process of coming to know and secondly the stages experience as we move through while gradually acquiring this ability. Being a biologist by profession, Piaget was keen on how an organism adapts to its environment. Piaget described this ability as intelligence. He was of opinion that mental organizations called schemes controlled the behavior of an individual who uses it to determine his action and represent the world and designate action. Piaget proposed that infants are born with schemes that begin to operate as 'reflexes' as soon as the child is born. Unlike humans, these reflexes control the behavior throughout the lives of animals. While in humans' infant use these reflexes to adapt to the environment, and soon the reflexes are replaced by constructed schemes. Piaget described two processes adapted by individuals, namely assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is a process of transforming or utilizing the environment so that it can be composed in coherence with already existing cognitive structures in the human brains, conversely, making a reference point with respect to the environment; while accommodation is a process of changing the cognitive structures with a motive of accepting something from the environment. Both these processes are used throughout life as person increasingly adapts to the environment in a complex meshwork of schematic development. When schemes take a more complex form they become structures. In turn when structures become complex they are organized in a hierarchical manner i.e. more specific and less vague and patchy.

CONCLUSION

In light of above theories and scholarly opinions, I believe the best teaching approach would be Vygotsky's developmental theory for cognitive learning in children. Environmental theory though extremely plausible and useful for understanding learning process is of minimal use in instructional terms as compared to the Social developmental theory. Where as Cognitive Load theory is best suitable for adult advance learners.

CONCLUSION

Marcy P. Driscoll, Psychology of Learning for Instruction, Needham, Ma: Allyn & Bacon, 1994.

P. Seattler, The Evolution of American Educational Technology, Egnlewood, Co: Libraries Unlimited, 1990.

L.S. Vygotsky, Mind and Society: The development of higher mental processes, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978.

Cognitive Load Theory, retrieved online on October 31, 2005 at http://tip.psychology.org/sweller.html

John Sweller, 1998, Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning, Cognitive Science.