Research Journal Assignment #2b: Research Topic

In order to be the very best in one's chosen field, one must first and foremost have a true passion for what they are pursuing, a thirst to master the skills necessary to excel in the profession, and a teachable approach to the new material. As I have chosen teaching as my ambition for the future, I was to be as prepared and well-versed in my field of study as possible. As a teacher I want and need to understand how my students will learn and what I can do that can help. On the flip side I also desire to learn what I could do that might hinder a student's learning abilities. In order to understand more competently how a student would learn or interpret the information they are presented, it is helpful to also understand the research and theories principle to this very concept. Therefore I chose to study the theories that Jean Piaget and Leon Vygotsky have presented that shape the landscape of cognitive developmental psychology. In analyzing these two differing views of growth and learning I hope to attain a greater idea and appreciation for how children learn and develop throughout their early childhood and on into adolescence.

Since I have already taken a Developmental Educational Psychology class through Metro State I am already familiar with a brief overview of the subject matter. I am aware that these two great psychologists, Piaget and Vygotsky, have left a profound impact on the way that children have been taught and are still being taught. I am aware of the main differences between the two theories and their main assumptions. Piaget assumes that children and intrinsically curious and are thus motivated to learn and experiment with the natural world around them. Piaget would argue that adults and teachers are only needed to provide this organic interaction for the learners. Vygotsky, on the other hand, emphasizes the adult's role in a child's development quite a bit more. Vygotsky argues that children need facilitated learning by a more capable adult in order to interpret the world around them. These differing philosophies play out in how children are taught in fundamentally different ways. Piaget would emphasize hands-on, student led learning whereas Vygotsky would emphasize adult led and structured learning.

As I am familiar with some of the bigger ideas of these two theories, I would like to dig a little deeper and see ways in which the theories continue to divulge and areas in which they overlap. I would like to look through analysis and practical studies in order to discover which theory has proven to be more useful. I would also find it helpful to know what one thought of the other if that is at all possible or relevant. From this paper I hope to learn which theory will be more useful in working with the age group of children I hope to work with. I am most interested in supplementing my skills and enhancing any natural abilities I have so as to have a well rounded and integrated teaching approach. I wonder if it is possible that one theory is more suited for one age group or type of students than another as well. Throughout my research I hope to keep an open mind and soak up as much useful information as I can in order to pursue whichever theory might be more applicable in my future situations.