Cognitive Approaches to Learning

Cognitive Approaches to Learning Socio-cultural theory Lev Vygotsky Farahanynia, 2015

Biography

Born in Russia in 1896 to a middle-class Jewish familyUnder the influence of Hegel and MarxKnown for tools of mind, socio-historical approach to cognitive development, cultural- historical theory, and Zone of proximal development (ZPD)Reject religion in favor of philosophyEmbrace communism & materialistic viewsDied in Moscow in 1934 (aged 37)

Hegels and Marxs ideasThe Hegelian principle of dialectical change: Development follows a dialectical process of thesis (one idea or phenomenon), antithesis (an opposing idea or phenomenon), and synthesis (resolution), which produces a higher-level concept or more advanced functioning (intuitive concepts versus scientific concepts); in other words, all phenomena constantly undergo change and move toward a synthesis of conflicting, contradictory elements.In the development of cognition we start off with elementary functions such as sensation and perception and move onto compound functions such thought and the use of advanced concepts. This process is assisted by the social mediation of functions. Language is at first a natural and innate function in the infant, but after infancy it is mediated by the language of others, because the infant has to adapt to others in order to communicate.

Marxism focuses on the influence of historic and cultural context (this is how Karl Marx presented communism)Three ideas from Marxist used by Vygotsky: 1) the role of human activity (practice) in mental development, 2) social origins of mind, 3) cultural signs and symbols as psychological tools (Veresov, 2005, p. 35)

Vygotskys quoteThrough Others We Become Ourselves.

Three important themes in Vygotskys complex theoryFactors affect cognitive development:

1- The importance of culture

2- The central role of language

3- The role of instruction (Zone of proximal development

Cognitive development ...the development of human mental functions is viewed by Vygotsky as their transition from their original lower mental functions form into their higher mental functions form, with differences between the two being drawn along four major criteria: origins, structure, the way of functioning and the relation to other mental functions. By origins, most lower mental functions are genetically inherited, by structure they are unmediated, by functioning they are involuntary, and with regard to their relation to other mental functions they are isolated individual mental units. In contrast, higher mental function is socially acquired, mediated by social meanings, voluntarily controlled and exists as a link in a broad system of functions rather than as an individual unit.

Tools of the mindTools of the mind: Mental tools extend our mental abilities

What is important is to master a set of mental tools not just a set of facts and skills

The more the mental tools The more children move away from being slaves to the environment toward masters of their own behavior Gaining higher mental function

Mediation Higher forms of mental capacity are mediated in a specific culture.Three ways of mediation:

Mediation: Material tools

Material tools mediate between the individual and nature. The following quote outlines the use of a material tool:

When a human being ties a knot in her handkerchief as a reminder, she is, in essence, constructing the process of memorizing by forcing an external object to remind her of something; she transforms remembering into an external activity. This fact alone is enough to demonstrate the fundamental characteristic of the higher forms of behavior. In the elementary form something is remembered; in the higher form humans remember something.

Mediation: Language Symbols such as language are psychological tools that mediate an individuals psychological processes; in other words, Language is an autonomous tool for organizing and controlling thought.

Language A means of accomplishing social interaction(external mediation)A means of managing mental activity(internal mediation)

Socially mediated nature of language (a symbolic system of communication and a cultural tool used to transmit culture and history)

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The central role of language the baby begin to perceive the world not only through its eyes but also through its speech. And later it is not just seeing but acting that becomes informed by words

thought is not merely expressed in words; it comes into existence through them

a word devoid of thought is a dead thing, and a thought unembodied in words remains a shadow

Mediation: Social InteractionImportance of culture Social interactions via language are more than simple influence on cognitive development-they actually create our cognitive structures and thinking processes; in other words, cognition originates in social interaction in the process of co-construction of knowledge and is shaped by the history and culture of the society

The significance of socialization (as a result of interactions between children, as the active partners, and people, cultural tools, or culturally specific practices)in the learning process and development of mental tools

Importance of culture Different cultures emphasize different kinds of tools (for example, verbal or nonverbal), skills (reading, mathematics, or spatial memory), and social interaction (formal schooling) because of different cultural needs and values. Many cultures use schooling to transmit important tools to children. A culture that emphasizes the memorization of religious texts instills different cognitive skills than a culture with schools stressing conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning. The latter are intellectual skills needed in a highly technological society relying heavily on communication through books and other symbolic media.

Three ways that culture tool can pass from one individual to another (socialization):

Imitative learning, instructed learning, and collaborative learning

Internalization processInternalization is the process through which members of communities of practice appropriate the symbolic artefacts used in communicative activity and convert them into psychological artefacts that mediate their mental activity (Lantolf, 2006)Appropriation means what is internalized is taken from (or appropriated from) social interaction.

Internalization process Movement of language from environment to brain

Mediation : Verbal Interaction

Where the objects determines their actionsWhere they learn to exert control over an object but only with help of othersWhere they become capable of independent strategic functioning

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Mediation, as a significant aid in internalization, can occur externally, as when a novice is given assistance in the performance of some function, or internally, as when an individual uses his/her own resources to achieve control over a function. In both cases, however, these mediational resources are viewed as social in nature (they involve social interaction with others or with themselves)

Social plane Psychological planeInterpsychological category Intrapsychological categoryIntermental activity Intramental activitySocial talk Private/inner speech

Other-regulation A childs selective appropriation of a new idea from a social exchange can be seen in the following conversation between a mother (P. Miller) and her (then) 4-year-old daughter:

M: What do you think youd like to be when you grow up?C: A mommy!M: Thats nice . . . but if you want, you can be a mommy and something else.C: I just want to be a mommy.M: You know, Im a mommy and a teachertwo things. You could do that too.C: I just want to be a mommy.(This continues for a while until the child concedessort of.)C: Okay . . . Ill be a mommy and a bird!

The child appropriated certain meanings from this conversation and ignored other aspects of the mothers meaning.

Three stages in childs development of speech1- Social speech: A child uses speech to control the behavior of others. A child uses speech to express simple thoughts and emotions such as crying and shouting

2- Egocentric speech: Children often talk to themselves, regardless of someone listening to them. They think out loud.

3- Inner speech: Children use inner speech to guide their behavior and thinking. In this stage, one is able to count in ones head, use logical memory inherent relationships, and inner signs. Inner speech is required for higher mental functions

Think about the guiding words Silent lip movementwhispered speechAudible private speech

How interaction helps? Zone of proximal development

Unreached knowledge

Zone of proximal development, Potential level of development : providing path for intellectual development

Actual level of developmentCognitive operations lies within the learners ZPD.

ZPDZPD: The difference between an individuals actual and potential levels of development. The zone of proximal development defines those functions that have not yet matured but are in the process of maturation, functions that will mature tomorrow but are currently in an embryonic state. These functions could be termed the buds or flowers of development rather than the fruits of development. The actual developmental level characterizes mental development retrospectively, while the zone of proximal development characterizes mental development prospectively (Vygotsky, 1978, pp. 8687).

Cognitive operations lies within the learners ZPD, and new skills and concepts just on the edge of emergence are learnt.

ZPD developed along internalization.

The principle of continuous access: They have access to the knowing strategies they have used previously (e.g., backsliding, meaning that, when faced with the difficult situation, learners fall back on earlier and acquired and more stable skills)

Moving through levels of development

An adult A more competent peerThe learner

Scaffolding Interaction Interaction

MKO

Adults provide instructional guidance to help children accomplish cognitive tasks

Scaffolding Scaffolding is a dialogic process by which one speaker assists another in performing a function that he or she cannot perform alone. (Piagets optimal mismatch)

Scaffolding is the main means of achieving contingency

Contingency Contingency is the way in which one utterance is connected to another to produce coherence in discourse

Contingency is the essential factor transforming social processes into cognitive processes (van Lier, 1992)

Intersubjectivity facilitates contingency

Intersubjectivity In dialogic tasks, intersubjectivity achieves when the participants can agree on the nature of the activity they are engaged in by sharing a common motive and goals for performing the activity (Ellis, 2003, p. 189)(the co-construction of knowledge)

It is important to note that intersubjectivity not only contributes to learning from social interactions but also results from these interactions.

Learning (Assisted performance) (ZPD)Development(Self-regulated mental activity)

InternalizationVerbal interaction(the transition of culture via language) Scaffolding Contingency Coherence

Interpsychological activity Intrapsychological activity Cognitive development redirected by social and historical influences

Dialogic discourse

Imitation, practice and repetition (private speech) Intersubjectivity Socio-Cultural Theory

Learning vs. development Learning is not development but properly organized learning results in mental development and sets in motion a variety of developmental processes that would be impossible apart from learning

In a nutshell, Learning leads development

Goal-oriented activity/PlayCognitive development is under the influence of goal-oriented activity

Playing: A childs greatest achievements are possible in play [e.g., imaginary situations, the roles children act out, and the rules children follow while acting out their pretend scenarios], achievements that tomorrow will become her basic level of real action.

Children observe parental behavior, listen to parents' speech, and then try to imitate them. As children practice through imitation, parents will guide children, correct them, and provide challenges. Through child-centered play, children take on different roles and try out different language uses, all of which help them on the journey from being externally regulated to internally regulated in cognition.Play develops abstract meaning separate from the objects in the world

PlayDiscovering language via play is an essential part of transition from other- to self- regulation.

Imaginative play is essential to cognitive development (NO TV)

Play is such that the explanation for it must always be that it is the imaginary, illusory realization of unrealizable desires. Imagination is a new formation that is not present in the consciousness of the very raw young child, is totally absent in animals, and represents a specifically human form of conscious activity. Like all functions of consciousness, it originally arises from action.

"In play, a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior; in play, it is as though he were a head taller than himself." - Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Play

Vygotsky gives the famous example of a child who wants to ride a horse but cannot. If the child were under three, he would perhaps cry and be angry, but around the age of three the child's relationship with the world changes:

The child wishes to ride a horse but cannot, so he picks up a stick and stands astride of it, thus pretending he is riding a horse. The stick is a pivot. "Action according to rules begins to be determined by ideas, not by objects.... It is terribly difficult for a child to sever thought (the meaning of a word) from object. Play is a transitional stage in this direction. At that critical moment when a stick i.e., an object becomes a pivot for severing the meaning of horse from a real horse, one of the basic psychological structures determining the childs relationship to reality is radically altered".

As children get older, their reliance on pivots such as sticks, dolls and other toys diminishes. They have internalized these pivots as imagination and abstract concepts through which they can understand the world. "The old proverb that 'childrens play is imagination in action' can be reversed: we can say that imagination in schoolchildren is play without action.

Piaget vs. Vygotsky Vygotsky did not break down development into a series of predetermined stages, as Piaget did.

Vygotsky stressed the important role that culture plays, suggesting cultural differences can have a dramatic effect on development. Piagets theory suggests that development is largely universal.

Piagets theory focuses a great deal of attention on peer interaction while Vygotskys theory stressed the importance of more knowledgeable adults and peers.

Vygotskys theory heavily stressed the role that language plays in development, something that Piaget largely ignored.

Piaget vs. Vygotsky Piaget (psychological/individual learning)Vygotsky (Social situated learning) Knowledge - Changing body of knowledge, individually constructed in social world- Built on what learner brings- Knowledge is constructed -internally - Socially constructed knowledge

-Built on what participants contribute, construct together - Knowledge is constructed internally and externallyLearning - Active reconstruction, restructuring prior knowledge through exploration and discovery with little teacher intervention- Occurs through multiple opportunities and diverse processes to connect to what is already known- Collaborative construction of socially defined knowledge or values- Occurs through socially constructed opportunities - Guided discovery in the classroomTeaching - Challenge, guide, thinking towards more complete understanding- Co-construct knowledge with students

Piaget vs. Vygotsky Piaget (psychological/individual learning)Vygotsky (Social situated learning) Role of teacherFacilitator, guideListen for the students current conceptions, ideas, thinkingModel, guide, co-participantCo-construct different interpretation of knowledge; listen to socially constructed conceptions; tool providerRole of peersNot necessary but can stimulate thinking, raise questionsOrdinary part of process of knowledge construction Role of studentsActive thinker, explainer, interpreter, questionerActive thinker, explainer, interpreter, questioner, active social participats Private talkNegative, declines with age, shows the inability to take the perspective of another and is a sign of cognitive immaturityPositive, increases at younger ages and gradually loss its audible quality, for the purpose of self-regulationGroup sizeSmall groupsdyads

Evaluation of socio-cultural theory Strengths :

Attention to Social-Cultural Context

Integration of Learning and Development Sensitivity to Diversity of Development

Evaluation of socio-cultural theoryWeakness

Vagueness of the Notion of ZPD: 1) Problem of measurement 2) Knowing the width of their ZPD does not provide an accurate picture of their learning ability, style of learning, and current level of development compared to other children of the same age and degree of motivation.

Insufficient attention to developmental issues such as role of childrens abilities, needs, and interests at each age

Unclear psychological processes involving the transition through developmental levels (what sorts of mental representations of social interaction are formed?)

Little known about the generality and stability of an individual childs zone (Does achild tend to have a wide zone (or a narrow zone) across most domains? Is the size of the zone a stable individual characteristic that is constant over the years?)

Too much emphasis on the role of society, culture, and language in the childrens cognitive development (society and language determine thought)

ZPD explains three prominent points about learning. It explains: 1) why there are some structures that learners fail to perform no matter if external mediation is provided (unable to construct ZPD)

2) Why they are able to perform some structures with others help

3) How they internalize new structures (via appropriating the structure for which they construct the ZPD with the help of external mediation) Implications ZPD and learning issues

ImplicationsEmphasis on schooling for human development (school as a way that a culture turns childrens intuitive concepts into formal/scientific abstract ones)

Collaborative Learning: Getting learners to work in small groups to help one another learn academic material, or to undergo an enquiry, or challenge together, with an emphasis on promoting dialogue and joint responsibility, for the purpose of attaining higher mental functioning.

Pair/group work and mixed ability groupings and peer to peer-tutoring: Peers are equally able to act as the MKO, and students that have mastered a skill/subject are able to support other students to achieve it. It is declared that the best teachers are another students who have just figured out the problem they are operating in the learners ZPD. Heterogeneous rather than homogenous groupings are valued as a means of forwarding learning of all.

The use of Collaborative dialogue (i.e., dialogue in which speakers are engaged in problem solving and knowledge building) and instructional conversation (pedagogic interaction between the teacher and students)

ImplicationsScaffolding and modelling (as opposed to discovery-learning models): Teachers should model and scaffold their leaners learning through mediating language to the developmental level of the learners and modelling play activities or tasks (rather than just arrange environment so that students can discover on their own). Modeling the use of tools.

Assisted learning or guided participants : Teachers are required to provide strategic help (scaffolding such as information, prompts, reminders, etc. ) at the right time and in the right amounts, and then gradually diminish this assistance as the students gain more independence. Some strategies to scaffold complex learning are providing half-done examples, regulating the difficulty, anticipating the difficult area, and proving prompts and cue cards.

Cognitive self-instruction: Monitor and encourage childrens use of private speech (self-talk) in school to guide learning (talk themselves through tasks)

Formative assessment/dynamic assessment/ learning potential assessment: The teacher identifies ZPD by asking a child to solve a problem, and then giving prompts and hints to see how he or she learns, adapts, and uses the guidance . These prompts are systematically increased to see how much support is needed and how the child responds. A dynamic assessment directly measures childrens readiness or potential for learning, rather than the products of previous learning. (formal, standardized tests are not the best way to assess childrens learning) Effective feedback/help: Providing feedback within the learner's ZPD. ZPD helps us know what kind of help to give and when to give it.

ImplicationsIntelligence and ability: From a Vygotskian perspective, ability (or lack of ability) is not inherent or genetic. Rather a child will learn most effectively if the learning is within his ZPD. Learning outside of a learner's ZPD i.e. learning that is too challenging will be inaccessible, opening the child up to failure and affecting his/her confidence as a learner (IQ is a property but ZPD is what the child shares with a more skilled individual)

Needs analysis: Conduct learner analyses in order to know more about their actual and potential level and to provide assistance within their ZPD as well as to know about the learners prerequisite skills so that knowledge building blocks can be appropriately structured Students should have access to powerful tools that support thinking (research tools, language tools, dictionaries, etc.)

The use of Imitation and practice in learning

School learning should occur in a meaningful context and goal-oriented activities and interactions must be used in education (using authentic instruction, situated learning, anchored instruction)

The ZPD can serve as a guide for curricular and lesson planning.

Relate out-of-school experience to the child's school experience.

Monitor and encourage childrens use language to organizing their thinking and talking about what they are trying to accomplish

References Woolfolk, A.E., Winne, PH.H., & Perry N.E. (2003). Educational psychology (2nd ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ellis, R. (2012). The study of second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pass, S. (1382). Parallel paths to constructivist: Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Greenwich: Infant Age Publishing.

Veresov, N. (2005). Marxism and non-Marxism aspects of the cultural historical psychology of Lev Vygotsky. Outlines: Critical Social Studies, 7 (1), 31-50.

Miller, H.P. (2011). Theories of developmental psychology (5th ed.). United States of America: Worth Publishers

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