Vygotskys-Theory-of-Learning-Development1-1.pdf

All about Lev Vygotsky

1. Some information
Adapted from
Ormrod’s Educational
Psychology:
Developing Learners,
2011
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY
OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT

2. ◼Russian psychologist/developmentalist
◼Born in what was the Russian Empire
▪Severe anti-Semitism at the time
▪Quota system for Jews at universities; had to enter a lottery
▪Vygotsky was lucky and allowed to go to university, but banned from formally
studying philosophy
◼Graduated from Moscow University with a law
degree in 1917, but also studied history and philosophy
◼Began seriously studying psychology at the Institute of Psychology in
Moscow in 1924; became researcher there
LEV VYGOTSKY
(1896-1934)

3. ▪Pre-revolutionary Russia:
▪Largely feudalistic; widespread poverty, frequent food
shortages, poor working conditions
◼Russian revolution in 1917 – Tsar Nicholas II
overthrown; Lenin and Bolsheviks take power
▪Year Vygotsky graduated from law school
◼Vygotsky strongly supported revolution
▪Believed socialism would be a positive change resulting
in a classless society
◼Worked to recreate psychology along Marxist Socialism lines
▪No clear separation between individual or social development
◼Applied psychology to confront problems in education in the new Soviet state



VYGOTSKY & THE
REVOLUTION

4. ◼Stalin came into power in 1924 upon
death of Lenin
◼In the 30’s, Stalin “purged” elite in his own party as well as most intellectuals,
not trusting those with a higher education
▪Depleted Soviet Union’s brainpower; left Stalin the sole intellectual and “expert”
on everything
◼Vygotsky died of tuberculosis just before political climate changed, but still
was a victim of Stalin:
▪For 20 years after Vygotsky’s death, it was forbidden to discuss, disseminate, or
reprint any of his writings
▪Works could only be read in one Moscow library by special permission of the
secret police
▪Only after Stalin’s death were Vygotsky’s writings rediscovered

VYGOTSKY & STALIN

5. ◼Worked the same time as Piaget (20’s - 30’s)
◼Worked to research and reform education
▪Instituted special education in Soviet schools
◼Developed theories of cognitive
development
◼Prolific writer, wrote 6 books in 10 years
◼Focused on child development and education; also language development
◼Writings were eventually translated and brought to U.S. in 1960’s; not much
attention paid until late 70’s
◼Theories very popular today; large influence on schools



VYGOTSKY’S WORK

6. ◼All learning is social
▪Knowledge is always socially constructed
◼Culture shapes our learning & cognitive development
▪Culture ensures each new generation learns from the previous
▪Provides lens through which we see and make sense of world
▪What is valued in one culture may not be in another
▪Learning is tied to the culture and situation where it was learned
◼Challenge is important to learning
▪Learning happens best within our ZPD
▪A more knowledgeable other knows what will challenge us
◼Learning leads development
▪Learning pushes us towards more advanced cognitive development

BIG IDEAS FROM VYGOTSKY’S THEORY

7. ◼Known by any one of the following names or variations of these names:
1.Sociocultural - learning is a social process tied to and driven by our specific
culture
2.Sociohistoric - learning is a social process tied to and driven by our our specific
history (culture)
3.Situative – learning is tied to the context or situation (culture) where it was
learned


VYGOTSKY’S THEORY

8. ◼Adults convey to children (formally & informally) the ways their culture
sees the world
▪Adults share meanings they attach to objects, events (culture)
▪Adults should describe discoveries of previous generations, help connect children
to their history
▪We don’t have to “discover” what those before us have learned
▪Culture “shapes” our learning and development
▪Learning is both social and culturally based and tied to the situation where it was
learned

VYGOTSKY’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

9. ◼Every culture passes down physical and cognitive tools
▪Physical Tools (pencil, scissors, computer, etc.) or cognitive (language, math,
symbols, etc.)
▪These should be passed on to children to make learning and development easier
▪Again, see the social, cultural, and historic connection
▪Learning is connected with these tools -


VYGOTSKY’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

10. ◼Thought & language become increasingly interdependent in first few
years of life
▪For adults and older children, thought & language are closely connected
▪Separate functions for babies/toddlers; language a means to communicate not
thoughts
▪Thought and language intertwine around 2 (think in words) and self-talk emerges to
guide child through a task
▪Self-talk turns into inner Speech – mentally guiding oneself
▪A culture’s language is a tool passed on to new generation (cultural and historical
connection)

VYGOTSKY’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

11. ◼Complex mental processes begin as social activities, gradually evolve into
independent, internal mental activities
▪As children discuss events/objects with a “more knowledgeable other”, begin to
incorporate this talk into their own thinking
▪Internalization – process through which social activities evolve into internal
mental activities (ex: self-talk to inner speech)
▪Peers and older children can also be “more knowledgeable others”
▪Discussions, debates, arguments teach children that there are multiple ways to see
same situation; process becomes internalized
▪All learning is social

VYGOTSKY’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

12. ◼Children can perform more challenging tasks when helped by “more
knowledgeable other”
▪Child’s actual development level – upper limits of tasks that learner can
successfully perform alone
▪Child’s level of potential development – upper limits of tasks that learner can
successfully perform with help from more knowledgeable other
▪Learning is a social process

VYGOTSKY’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

13. ◼Challenging tasks promote maximum cognitive growth
▪Child’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) – range of tasks a learner can
perform with help, but not alone
▪Children learn little by performing tasks they can already do alone
▪Develop by trying tasks they can do only with help – within their ZPD
▪In teaching: some tasks should require more knowledgeable other, some should be
worked on together by students of equal ability
▪Each child has unique ZPD

VYGOTSKY’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

14. ◼Play allows children to cognitively “stretch”
themselves
▪“In play a child always behaves beyond his average
age, above his daily behavior” (Vygotsky, 1978, p.
102)
▪Play is valuable training for adult world and culture
▪Play is often social in nature and each culture
determines what is acceptable play
VYGOTSKY’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

15. ◼Social Construction of Meaning – adults help children attach meaning to
object/events
▪Mediated Learning Experience – discussion between adult/child where adult helps
child make sense of event they both experienced; helps child learn more than would
alone, ex. P. 212
▪Child can accomplish more with help from others
▪Also happens with peers, but may serve different functions
▪“Two heads are better than one”
▪All learning is social

CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS OF
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY:
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

16. ◼Scaffolding – guidance or structure the more knowledgeable other provides to
help the learner perform tasks in his/her ZPD
▪Scaffolds should be used until leaner has internalized behavior than fade away
◼Examples of scaffolding in school:
▪Outlines, guidelines, checklist
▪Hints, guiding questions, reminders
▪Strategies, plans
▪Modeling, demonstrating
▪Tools: calculator, technology
▪Feedback
▪Attempts to focus attention and
motivate

CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS OF
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY: SCAFFOLDING

17. ◼When a child, through support and guidance, participates in adult activities
◼Gradual entry into adult world: begins with child on fringe of activity until
eventually child plays more central role
▪Think of young child helping adult cook: allowed to stir and measure at first; as
child gets older he is gradually allowed to do more
▪Participation is mediated, scaffolded, modeled, and supervised by adult
◼Guided Participation in classroom:
▪Scientific experiments
▪Writing letters to local paper, government, etc.
▪Search the internet
▪Any activity which is beyond the child’s world

CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS OF
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY: GUIDED
PARTICIPATION

18. ◼A mother sitting with her toddler singing, “Baa, baa black sheep have you any
wool, yes sir, yes sir ….” at this point the mother pauses and the child sings
loudly, “THREE BAGS FULL!”.

◼How is this Guided Participation?
▪Mother guided the child through song, aware of the child’s ZPD
▪Mother knew the child can’t sing the song by himself, so she provided a scaffold by
starting the song for him
▪Mother modeled how the song should be sung
▪Eventually, the child will internalize the process and be able to sign whole song
alone


EXAMPLE OF GUIDED PARTICIPATION

19. ◼A 5-year old lost her security blanket & asks her father for help. The father
asks her where she last saw the blanket; the child says , “I can’t remember.”
The father then asks a series of questions – “Did you have it in your room?
Outside?” To each question the child answers “No”. When he asks, “In the
car?”, she says “I think so” and finds the blanket in the car.

◼How is this guided participation?
▪Father guided child through process, aware of her ZPD
▪Father modeled the thinking process of an adult
▪Each question the father asked was a scaffold
▪Eventually the child will internalize this behavior, at first through self-talk, and then
inner speech

EXAMPLE OF GUIDED PARTICIPATION

20. ◼Apprenticeship: Intensive form of guided participation, novice works with an
expert to learn a task in a particular domain;
▪Much structure & guidance to slowly introduce novice to work
▪Gradual fading to give novice independence and responsibility
▪Trades: plumber, electrician; Professional: internship, student teaching, law clerk,
medical intern

◼Cognitive Apprenticeship: Mentor provides guidance to novice about how to
think about a task
▪Teacher talks with student about task/problem, analyze problem, decide on best
approach
▪Teacher models effective ways of thinking about situation, coaches student through
task, provides scaffolds
CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS OF
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY: APPRENTICESHIPS

21. ◼Rather than assess what students can do alone,
assessing what they can do with scaffolding – Assess
students’ ability

◼Dynamic Assessment provides info about the child’s
thinking process and ability to learn, allowing teacher
to better guide future instruction
◼Not to be used all the time, but can be helpful
CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS:
DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

22. ◼We’re motivated by a particular situation (situated
motivation)
◼We’re motivated to become part of a group that
we see as desirable (soccer team, honor society,
skateboarders, etc.)
▪We become part of the group by participating in the
group’s activities, culture, language, behavior
▪Our identity is tied to the groups we participate in
(soccer player, smart kid, skateboarder, etc.)
SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY’S
VIEW ON MOTIVATION

23. We often join the group through peripheral
participation (start on the fringe/edge of group)
▪Observe group & its culture: language, activities,
dress, behavior, etc.
▪Practice aspects of the culture (may be apprenticeship
learning)
▪Work to become integrated into the group; full
community participation; group passes on knowledge
to the novice

SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY’S
VIEW ON MOTIVATION

24. ◼“It is through others that we become ourselves”

◼“What a child can do in
co-operation today he can do
alone tomorrow”
scaffolding
VYGOTSKY’S WORDS…