Vygotsky's Theory Of Cognitive Development Essay

Cognitive Development in Adolescents
When children reach a certain age in their life, their mental thought process shifts into a more logical or adult form. "Beginning with the adolescent period, however, children become increasingly less dependent upon the availability of concrete-empirical experience in meaningfully relating complex abstract propositions to cognitive structure." (Ausebel, 1966) The way in which they learn is shifted also.
Vygotsky's System to Learning
Russian psychologist, Lev Semionovich Vygotsky, had a powerful influence in the area of development. His work consisted of two main ideas: a) development depends on signs, b) development is measured based upon the outlook of a problem. "Intellectual development can be understood only in terms of the historical and cultural contexts of children experience." (Slavin, 2015) Two followers of Vygotsky, Margaret Gredler and Carol Shield, explained Vygotsky's theory more in depth in their article Does No One Read Vygotsky's Words? "[He]...defined the instrumental act as including (a) the problem to be solved, (b) one's

mental processes directed toward the solution of the problem, and (c) the tool that dictates the coordination and course of the mental processes". (Gredler & Shiled, 2004)
Vygotsky uses tools to enhance the ability to teach. A child must be on a specific level in order to use these "tools" properly. Without the proper ability, the learning object will not be properly met. "A stimulus becomes a psychological tool by virtue of its use as a means of influencing the mind and behavior"(Vygotsky, 1997) Vygotsky recognized important elements for teaching and shared his ideas within his journals.
Piaget's Formal Operational Group
Jean Piaget, the most influential developmental psychologist believes development precedes learning. (Slavin, 2015) His belief is there are four stages within the lifespan of cognition. Formal operations stage is the age of pre-adolescents to adulthood. This stage offers the ability to overcome the outlook of a problem.
The Influence of Bronfenbrenner
Russian psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner, designed a model representing human development. Bronfenbrenner closely studies the work of Jean Piaget and uses his work to development and expand with his. Bronfenbrenner has four separate boundaries in his developmental system: (a) microsystem, (b) mesosystem, (c) exosystem, (d) macrosystem. All four elements depict the cognitive abilities of the child. (Slavin, 2015)
Autism and Cognitive Development
Learning is a challenge all on its own.

When a disability is thrown into the mix, it becomes a daunting task for both the educator and the student. With certain elements of teaching, creating a more approachable environment is easily obtained. "Anthropological evidence has shown that, in many cultures, observational learning and imitation are the major ways by which behaviors unique to that culture are transmitted from one generation to the next." (Salkind, 2006) Using this skill is a part of Vygotsky's teaching tools: mediation. Mediation is a good skill used for older children and adolescents because of the peer to peer environment. Although, some students have a more difficult time adjusting to these situations due to a certain disability. "Children with autism, for example, have imitative deficits and imitate much less frequently than typically developing children." (Salkind,

2006)