Three psychologists of the 20th century developed three different theories of child and cognitive development. Two of these (Montessori and Piaget) said that children learn and develop in sequence. Vygotsky said that children learn using their social environment. He believed that a child’s community holds a major role in how children learn to “make meaning” of the world around them.
Each psychologist’s theory has had a strong impact on the education of today’s early childhood education methods. Montessori said that children should be allowed to direct their learning to the point that, if they are in an independent work period, they should not be required to interrupt it for a group activity.
Piaget said that the cognitive development of a child involves changes in their cognitive process and abilities as they age. Early cognitive development influences later progression into how the child adapts their mental operations as they get older.
What Do They have in Common?
Between Piaget and Montessori, both psychologists believe that young children begin to work on the refinement of their movements early. At 3.5 to 7 years (covering the developmental periods for both professionals), children begin to develop drawing and writing skills.
While Vygotsky didn’t divide child development into age groups, he did believe that a child could progress to this stage if that was what was culturally expected of him. If the majority of children in a certain age group know a certain skill, then one of them, or a teacher-figure, will act as the MKO for that child and he will inevitably also learn that skill.
In all three theories, the psychologists say that every child begins to learn about their world by using their senses. Vygotsky calls it “making meaning.” Piaget says that children obtain knowledge or their environment through the five senses.
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is similar to Montessori’s Planes of Development and Piaget gives each developmental stage a name (sensorimotor, preoperational, formal operations).
Likewise, Vygotsky’s ZPD has an outer ring that denotes all the information that a child is not yet ready to learn. Montessori’s planes of development show that some learning may be out of reach of children at various stages. Piaget does the same thing, noting that there are things children can’t learn until they reach a certain cognitive level.
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How These Theories Manifest in the Classroom
Children are social creatures. When they start school, they are one of 20 or more other students who are ready to begin formal learning.
Montessori created a model for learning that is known the world over. Montessori-based schools exist in most communities around the world. Individual classrooms and teachers in a Montessori school don’t teach traditionally. Instead, they are based on conducive learning, with multi-aged groups. The teacher doesn’t actively teach the entire classroom. Instead, they have a more generalized lesson plan. They introduce children to a concept using a book, lesson, or lecture. As the children learn, individually and with older children, they process the information, then “know” the knowledge and demonstrate this by passing a test, completing a project, expressing what they have learned, or by teaching another student.
Montessori said that children are always learning something new, which prepares them to learn another new thing. This is indirect learning. The entire class isn’t learning the same thing as classmates; they are working at their own pace, using the environment, and working with other classmates. The teacher teaches one child at a time. All areas of study link together and students can work on them in the order they choose.
In Piaget’s theory, assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration all work in a classroom setting. Children learn something new in the primary grades; as they progress grade by grade, they encounter the same information at a higher level of difficulty.
Vygotsky’s theory relies much more on the social interactions between children, adults, and society in general. Because of the social networks between children and their families, children can go to someone they know to ask for help in learning something new.