Vygotsky

Vygotsky Socio Cultural Theory

Proffered By

Gurkirat Kaur

Asst. Prof. Chitkara University

What separates humans from animals?

What separates advanced societies from primitive societies?

What separates advanced cognition from basic cognition? That is, what makes us smart?

Vygotsky awakes our eyes to the powerful role of culture and community in learning. His theory presents the radical idea that our very thought and intelligence is really not our own. It’s the product of history and culture.

Lev Semonovich Vygotsky Background

Vygotsky was called "The Mozart of Psychology“.

He was born in 1896- same year as Piaget - in the small Russian town of Orsha.

Middle-class Jewish family.

He entered into a private all boys secondary school known as a gymnasium—a secondary school that prepared students for the university.

In 1913 entered Moscow University through lottery.

In December of 1917, he graduated from Moscow University with a degree in law.

Lev Semonovich Vygotsky Background

Vygotsky completed 270 scientific articles, numerous lectures, and ten books based on a wide range of Marxist-based psychological and teaching theories.

He died on June 10, 1934, at the young age of thirty-seven after long battle with TB.

Vygotsky’s work did not become known in the West until 1958, and was not published there until 1962.

Lev Semonovich Vygotsky Background

Vygotsky completed 270 scientific articles, numerous lectures, and ten books based on a wide range of Marxist-based psychological and teaching theories.

He died on June 10, 1934, at the young age of thirty-seven after long battle with TB.

Vygotsky’s work did not become known in the West until 1958, and was not published there until 1962.

The sociocultural theory:

Did NOT focus on the individual child but on the child as a product of social interaction, especially with adults (parents, teachers).

Focus on DYADIC INTERACTIONS (e.g., child being taught by a parent how to perform some culturally specific action), rather than child by himself.

Social world mediates children's cognitive development. Cognitive development occurs as child's thinking is molded by society in the form of parents, teachers, and peers. This leads to peer tutoring as a strategy in classrooms.

People's thinking differs dramatically between cultures because different cultures stress different things.

Theory’s Principles and Concepts

Children construct their knowledge. Knowledge is not transferred passively, but is personally

constructed.

The learning is mediated. Cognitive development is not a direct result of activity, but it is

indirect; other people must interact with the learner, use mediatory tools to facilitate the learning process, and then cognitive development may occur.

Language plays a central role in mental development. The most significant sociocultural tool is language, as it is

used to teach tool use and is vital in the process of developing higher psychological functions.

Learning appears twice. First on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first

between people (interpsychology), and then inside the child (intrapsychology).

Development cannot be separated from its social context.

The context needed for learning is that where the learners can interact with each other and use the new tools. This means that the learning environment must be authentic, that is, it must contain the type of people who would use these types of tools such as concepts, language, symbols in a natural way.

Theory’s Principles and Concepts

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

The difference between what a child can do independently and what the child needs help from a more knowledgeable person to do is the

Theory’s Principles and Concepts

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Distance Between Actual and Potential Knowledge

Two children with the same actual knowledge travel different distances to their potential knowledge; therefore different ZPDs

Theory’s Principles and Concepts

This is an example of how ZPD can work in the life of a child

Like all children, John is constantly learning and exploring the world around him.

For our example, we will look at John love of games.

Over the years, Mo’men has developed skills and knowledge that enable him to play a variety of games.

For each game, he is able to successfully strategize and solve problems independently.

This is an example of how ZPD can work in the life of a child

This is an example of how ZPD can work in the life of a child

There is one game, however, that John has never learned. It’s the card game Yu-Gi-Oh. John knows his brother plays it very well.

John would like to learn, but is unsure where to start.

John finally asks his brother Harry for help. Harry agrees, and begins working with John in learning the game of Yu-Gi-Oh.

John is learning in the region Vygotsky would call ZPD.

This is an example of how ZPD can work in the life of a child

In ZPD, John is doing something requiring the help of someone more capable. Without Harry’s help, John would be unable to play the game.

Eventually, John will learn the game well enough to play the game by himself.

This is an example of how ZPD can work in the life of a child

Once John learns Yu-Gi-Oh, the skill moves out of the ZPD region and is added to all the other games John plays independently.

In time, John becomes the more capable player, and begins to teach his sister .

This is an example of how ZPD can work in the life of a child

Zone of Proximal Development Stages

Stage 1: Assistance from “more knowledgeable other” (capable peer or adult)

Stage 2: Assistance from self (prior knowledge and research)

Stage 3: Automatization (practice, trial-and-error)

Stage 4: De-automatization (provide explanation to others)

Zone of Proximal Development Stages

What do the symbols mean?

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What do the symbols mean? 2

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What do the symbols mean? 3

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Four Stages

Four stages in the development of concepts

Based on experiments with wooden blocks – nonsense labels put on blocks and their meaning has to be worked out

Language is a central concept

Four Stages (2)

1. Vague Syncretic Stage – children failed to use any strategies and show little understanding of the concepts

2. Complex Stage – some strategies used but not successful

3. Potential Concept Stage – systematic but tendency to focus on only one quality at a time

4. Mature Concept – systematic and successful; concepts formed

Scaffolding “role of teachers and others in supporting the learner’s

development and providing support structures to get to the next stage or level” Vygotsky.

a knowledgeable participant can create by means of speech and supportive conditions in which the student (novice) can participate in and extend current skills and knowledge to a high level of competence.

In an educational context, however, scaffolding is an instructional structure whereby the teacher models the desired learning strategy or task then gradually shifts responsibility to the students.

Theory’s Principles and Concepts

Scaffolding:– Provides support– Extends the range of what a learner can do.– Allows the learner to accomplish tasks otherwise

impossible– Used only when needed

Example : An example of scaffolding in the classroom setting could

include a teacher first instructing her children on how to write a sentence using commas and conjunctions. As the week goes on, she has her students practice writing these sentences with peers, gives students feedback and eventually has the kids to complete this skill without her guidance.

Principles of the Theory The More Knowledgeable

Other (MKO) Refers to any person that

has a more advanced ability level or a better understanding, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept

Can be a teacher, coach, older adult, peers, younger person, computers, etc.

Principles of the Theory The Zone of Proximal

Development Considered to be the

difference between what a child is able to do with guidance and what they are able to do without guidance

Example: Children learn specific models of communication, explanation, and expression by playing or interacting with others while at home or school.

Vygotsky’s theory combines social environment and cognition. Children will acquire the ways of thinking and behaving that make up a culture by interacting with a more knowledgeable person. Vygotsky believed that social interaction will lead to ongoing changes in a child's thought and behavior. These thoughts and behaviors would vary between cultures.

Vygotsky and Piaget

PiagetPiaget VygotskyVygotsky

Both agree children are active learners who actively construct knowledge

Thinking develops in recognisable stages which depend on natural maturation

Development of thinking is dependent upon language and culture

Role of teacher important but use of “more-expert other” not central

Use of “more-expert other” seen as fundamental part of cognitive development

Readiness is a central concept in education – children need to be ready to progress in their learning

Children should be actively encouraged to move through ZPD – do not need to be ready but should be given opportunity to engage in problems which are beyond current level of ability but within ZPD

Vygotsky and Piaget

PiagetPiaget VygotskyVygotsky

Scaffolding not a key concept Scaffolding is a central concept

Language reflects level of cognitive development

Language helps to develop cognitive abilities.

This theory was very influential in education but has need revising and underestimation of children’s abilities still a problem

This theory is still very influential in education

[Back to Vygotsky’s basic concepts.]

Note:

Formal thought is internalized language; language comes from society; hence the mind is a product of society.

Implications for Students

Implications for Students

Instead of a teacher dictating her meaning to students for future recitation, the social development theory has the teacher working in partnership with her students in order for students to create their own meaning.

The physical classroom, based on Vygotsky's theory, would provide clustered desks or tables and work space for peer instruction, collaboration, and small group instruction.

In this environment, the material to be learned would be structured to advance and encourage student interaction and collaboration. With this, the classroom becomes a community of learning.

Implications for Teachers

Implications for TeachersTypically, schools have been organized around recitation & memorization teaching. The teacher disseminates knowledge to be memorized by the students, who in turn recite the information back to the teacher. Vygotsky's social development theory challenges this traditional teaching method and studies have shown that strategies based on the social development theory are far more effective than other instructional strategies.

Scaffolding, reciprocal teaching, and guided instruction are effective strategies that implement Vygotsky’s theory. Scaffolding is a temporary supportive structure that the teacher creates to assist a student to accomplish a task that they could not complete alone.

Reciprocal teaching is an instructional strategy used to teach reading where students take turns being the teacher for a pair or small group. The teacher’s role may simply be as a moderator. Guided instruction involves the teacher and students exploring problems and then sharing their different problem solving strategies in an open dialogue.

Conclusion

Sociocultural theory considers learning as a semiotic process where participation in socially-mediated activities is essential.

The theory regards instruction as crucial to cognitive development in the classroom. Instruction should be geared to the ZPD that is beyond the learner’s actual development level.

Social instruction actually produces new, elaborate, advanced psychological processes that are unavailable to the organism working in isolation