Cognitive And Intellectual Development

by | Jul 4, 2023 | developement

Two major cognitive development theories that educators refer to are Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, especially the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), and Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development. Understanding these theories will help teachers to identify atypical or delayed cognitive development, as well as design research-based strategies to support and encourage normal development.
For this assignment, complete the “EDU-354 Cognitive and Intellectual Development Activities” chart with the following:

Part 1-Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Overview of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory including definitions (in your own words) of each of the three cognitive skill levels: level of potential development, zone of proximal development (ZPD), and actual developmental level.
Select a developmental stage to focus on (infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, or adolescence) and select a milestone, early learning standard, or academic standard that falls within that stage.
Based on the milestone, early learning standard, or academic standard, describe the expected skills for a student who is working below grade level, at grade level, or above grade level and provide one instructional activity a teacher could implement within the ZPD of students at each level.
Part 2-Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development Theory

In your own words, provide a description of each of the four stages of Piaget’s cognitive development theory that includes the typical age of children within each stage and major characteristics and developmental changes of each stage.
Describe an activity or strategy that would support the learning in each stage.
Identify strategies that could be used in each stage to support the needs of students who present atypical/delayed cognitive/intellectual development.
Support your findings with 2-3 scholarly resources.

 

Links to help with assignment

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development (video) | Khan Academy

Vygotsky sociocultural development (video) | Khan Academy

Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory – Simply Psychology

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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