Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory

It has been discussed about social constructivism according to Vygotsky and also ZPD, Scaffolding, MKO and Language internalisation etc.

1. Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory by- Jemima Sultana Department of Education Aligarh Muslim University

2. Contents: Introduction Who was Lev Vygotsky? Constructivism Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory Major themes on this Theory: 1. Internalization 2. Zone of Proximal Development(ZPD) 3. More Knowledgeable Other(MKO) 4. Scaffolding with view of Knowledge and Thoughts 5. Language and Thoughts Relationship between Language and Thought Educational Implications Conclusion References

3. Introduction Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism that emphasizes the collaborative nature of much learning. Vygotsky was a cognitivist, but rejected the assumption made by cognitivists such as Piaget that who separate learning from its social context. He argued that all cognitive functions originate in, and must therefore be explained as products of social interactions and that learning was not simply the assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge by learners; it was the process by which learners were integrated into a knowledge community.

4. Who was Lev Vygotsky? Born in 1896 in Byelorussia Graduated from Moscow University Studied Law, Literature and Psychology Worked at Institute of Psychology in Moscow He is often called The Mozart of Psychology Died of tuberculosis at age 37 in 1934

5. What is Constructivism? Constructivism is an important learning theory that educators use to help their students learn. Constructivism is based on the idea that people actively construct or make their own knowledge, and that reality is determined by your experiences as a learner. Basically, learners use their previous knowledge as a foundation and build on it with new things that they learn. So everyone's individual experiences make their learning unique to them.  Cognitive constructivism : Cognitive constructivism focuses on the idea that learners actively construct their knowledge in interaction with the environment. Cognitive constructivism comes from Jean Piaget’s work on cognitive development in children.   Social constructivism : Social constructivism focuses on the collaborative nature of learning. Knowledge develops from how people interact with each other, their culture, and society at large. It comes from Vygotsky, and is closely connected to cognitive constructivism with the added element of societal and peer influence.

6. Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory Vygotsky's approach to child development is a form of social constructivism, based on the idea that cognitive functions are the products of social interactions. Vygotsky emphasized the collaborative nature of learning by the construction of knowledge through social negotiation. He rejected the assumption made by Piaget that it was possible to separate learning from its social context. Vygotsky believed everything is learned on two levels. First, through interaction with others, and then integrated into the individual’s mental structure.

7. Major Themes on this Theory Internalization Zone of Proximal Development(ZPD) More Knowledgeable Other(MKO) Scaffolding- i. View of Knowledge and ii. View of Motivation Language and Thought

8. Internalization Vygotsky’s theory was an attempt to explain consciousness at the end product of socialization. The term internalization means transforming interpersonal processes into intrapersonal. According to Vygotsky, “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and later on, on the individual level; first, between people(inter-psychological) and then inside the child(intra-psychological).

9. Zone of Proximal Development(ZPD) The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is defined as the difference between a child's “actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving” and the child's “potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. “Proximal” simply means “next”. So, ZPD is the stage where learner can learn assisted but not alone.

10. More Knowledgeable Other(MKO) Vygotsky conceived the more knowledgeable other as a person who has greater knowledge and skills than the learner. In many cases, this individual is an adult such as a parent or teacher. Kids also learn a great deal from their interactions with their peers.

11. Scaffolding Vygotsky  defined  scaffolding  instruction as the “role of teachers and others in supporting the learners development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level”. It refers to the role played by parents, teachers and others by which children acquire their knowledge and skills.

12. View of Knowledge: According to Vygotsky, language and culture play an important role in human knowledge development and in how human perceive the world. Vygotsky states , “A special feature of human perception…..is the perception of real objects…..I do not see the world simply in colour and shape but also as a world wit sense and meaning. I do not merely see something round and black with two hand; I see a clock…..” View of Motivation: Social constructivists see motivation as both extrinsic and intrinsic. Because is essentially a social phenomenon, learners are partially motivated by rewards provided by the knowledge community. However, because knowledge is actively constructed by the learner, learning also depends on the learner’s internal drive to understand and promote the learning process.

13. Example

14. Language and Thought According to Vygotsky, thought and language are initially separate systems from the beginning of life, merging at around three years of age, producing verbal thought (inner speech). Cognitive development results from an internalization of language. Vygotsky believed that language develops from social interactions, for communication purposes. He viewed language as man’s greatest tool, a means for communicating with the outside world. EXTERNAL SPEECH (Age 2) internalization PRIVATE SPEECH (Age 3) internalization INNER SPEECH (Age 7)

15. Relationship between Language and Thought Social Speech Egocentric Speech Inner Speech Pre-speech Pre-thought Participation in socio-cultural activity

16. Educational Implications Curriculum: Curriculum should be designed to emphasize interaction between learners and learning tasks. Instruction: The concept of “Scaffolding” can be included as instruction of teaching for effective learning. Assessment: It must be take into account the ZPD concept. What children can do on their own is their level of actual development and what they can do with help is their level of potential development. Social Development in Education: Function of teacher is not knower of everything but as a facilitator. Promotes collaborative learning which is good to become socialized person. As students plays an active role in learning from social cultures then social values,beliefs,attitudes can be included easily.

17. Conclusion Vygotsky believed that individual development could not be understood without reference to the social and cultural context within which such development is embedded. There is a great role of more knowledgeable others who can give scaffolding to the learners to fill the gap between actual level and potential level which is known as zone of proximal development.

18. References Theories in Psychology: Vygotsky http://www.psy.pdx.edu/psicafe/key-theories/vygotsky.htm Vygotsky and Language acquisition http://www.sk.com.br/sk-vygot.html Zone of Proximal Development http://www.ncrel.org/scrls/areas/isues/students/learning/lrlzpd.htm Panda M.(2018) Learning and Teaching, Kolkata, Aaheli Publishers Vygotsky’s Social Learning http://www.learningtheories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html

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