PAPERI INTEGRATIVE TERM. Theoretical perspectives1. Introduction: A number of theorists have ideas, charts and graphs about a child's development. Many are used today to determine when a child is mature, when he or she can feel emotions, and other important factors for which there are no strict textbook answers. Piaget and Vygotsky are two theorists who offer theoretical perspectives on a child's development.2. Piaget's Constructivist Theory of Cognitive Development: Piaget had a phrase that said "Assimilation and accommodation lead to adaptation." Assimilation is when a person matches their external information with what they already know. The change is external in this case. Hosting is the exact opposite. This is when you need to modify what you already know to make sense of external information. The change is internal. A person must use these two tactics in order to correctly adapt to a situation (external or internal) and have a regulated balance. Nature vs. Culture: In Piaget's theories, he seems to cover the Nature side of "Nature vs. Culture". " argument. In the textbook assigned to this course, Children, by Guy R. Lefrancois, he talks about how and when a child grows up he is a helpless little organism. (S)he lacks stored thoughts and reasoning. However , they are remarkable sensing machines. They sense everything around them in their environment. They seek out, search for and respond to all possible stimuli. Continuity versus discontinuity: Piaget has two main theories. the other on development In terms of adaptation theory, better known as constructivist theory, continuity seems to take place. This theory and its content would not stop at a certain age. of a continuous process that everyone continues until death Piaget's theory of development, better known as the stage theory, describes how a person develops from birth and how each stage affects a person. (Described in more detail on page six) This is an example of a discontinuity. Its stages only approach and end around the age of fifteen. This theory doesn't seem to have any major factors after the age of fifteen or so. Individual difference...... middle of article ......ment. This sentence is true. Learning acts as a way to develop. Development, according to Vygotsky, is entirely social, and the way a society, culture, or environment develops is through learning from others.D. The Zone of Proximal Development: The zone of proximal development concerns a child's potential to do something. Anything that is learned and used after learning it is someone's "independent performance." Anything above this number that is assisted by physical teaching or demonstration is what is called an “assisted performance.” Everything learned can be used again and again with ease. No assistance is necessary once learning is complete. Sometimes a person finds themselves in a situation where they don't know exactly what to do. This person can be educated. The potential and degree to which that person can be taught is the essence of “assisted performance.” You can't teach calculus to a newborn, but you can teach calculus to a student. References Information taken from a website based on: Flavell, JH (1963). The developmental psychology of Jean Piaget. New York: D. Van Nostrand http://www.haverford.edu/psych/theses/bickham.html