Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Perspective

Jammu University2 Year B.Ed.Paper 102Sem: IUnit: III

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Biography “The Mozart of Psychology”Lev Vygotsky 1896-1934A Russian psychologist and educatorBorn 1896 (same year as Piaget)Jewish middle class familyPrivately tutoredGraduated Moscow State University 1917Taught literature and psychology for seven yearsPost-World War revolutionary Russia

Over 100 books and articles Theory not known among English-speaking educators

until 1960s when works were translated Few scholarly works published during his lifetime Shortly after his death Vygotsky’s work was banned

in the Soviet Union for more than twenty years He died on June 10, 1934 at 37 after long battle with

TB He is considered a influential thinker in psychology,

and much of his work is still discovered and explored today

Vygotsky Theory is that social interaction plays a very important in cognitive development

Did not focus on the individual child but on the child as a product of social interaction, especially with adults

Focus on dynamic interactions rather than child by himself

People thinking differs dramatically between cultures because different cultures stress different things

Some termsontogenetic developmentdevelopment of the individual over his or her lifetime.microgenetic developmentchanges that occur over relatively brief periods of time, in seconds, minutes, or days, as opposed to larger-scale changes, as conventionally studied in ontogenetic development.phylogenetic developmentdevelopment over evolutionary time.sociohistorical developmentchanges that have occurred in one’s culture and the values, norms, and technologies such a history has generated.

cognitive growth occurs in a sociocultural context that influences the form it takes, andmany of a child’s most noteworthy cognitive skills evolve from social interactions with parents, teachers, and other more competent associates.

Two main principlesThe More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) -

anyone who has better understanding or higher ability level than the learner

Normally thought of as being a teacher, trainer, or older, adult, but MKO could also peers, a younger person, even computers

ZPD= Zone of Proximal Development

Zone of Proximal Development

ZPD= Difference between what child can accomplish alone and s/he can accomplish with the guidance of another

The range of tasks a child cannot yet do on their own, but can do with the help of others is known as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Children can perform more challenging tasks when assisted Challenging tasks promote maximum cognitive growth Actual developmental level – Extent to which the child can

perform tasks independently Level of potential development – Extent to which the child

can perform tasks with assistance

To help a child move through the ZPD, assistance is provided by scaffolding

Zone of Proximal Beyond reach Development is a distance between at present the actual developmental level determined by individual problem solving and the level of development ZPD as determined through problem solving under guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers

Child’s current achievement Within the ZPD are those skills or tasks too difficult for a child to master on his or her own; but that can be done with guidance and encouragement from a knowledgeable person

Two features of ZPD I. ScaffoldingAppropriate assistance given by the teacher to assist the

learner accomplish a taskRequires that an instructor shows example how to solve a

problem, while controlling the learning environment so that students can take things step by step expanding their knowledge without excessive frustration

II. Reciprocal TeachingA highly successful teaching method, it provides an

environment of open dialogue between student and teacher which goes beyond a simple question and answer session.

ScaffoldingAssistance provided by more competent peers

or adults to enable the task to be done successfully

Scaffolded instruction allows the learner to move through the ZPD

Modelling; feedback; instruction; questioning; encouragement; task structuring; chunking; breaking the problem down

Scaffolding is gradually withdrawn

Four basic principles of Vygotsky1) Children construct their knowledge2) Development cannot be separated from its

social context3) Learning is mediated4) Language plays a central role in mental

development

Two types of mental functions1. Lower Mental Function - Are those with

which we are born, are the natural functions and are genetically determined.

2. Higher Mental Function - Are acquired and developed through social interaction.

Teaching implicationsStudents need many opportunities to learn

with a teacher and with more-skilled peersWork within the zone of proximal

development – Establish a level of difficultyChallenging, but not too difficultMay mean differentiating learning

experiences – Evaluate independent performance

Provide scaffolding – Scaffolded instruction – Assisted performance

Teacher or more capable peer – Cooperative learning

Incorporate language and self-instruction in teaching – Model language use when completing tasks – ‘Think’ out loud

Regularly monitor and assess students’ independent performance

A brief comparison:

Piaget Vygotsky

Socio-cultural context

Little emphasis Strong emphasis

Constructivism Cognitive constructivist Social constructivistStages Strong emphasis on stages

of developmentNo general stages of development proposed

Key processes in development & learning

Equilibration; schema adaptation; assimilation accommodation

Zone of proximal development scaffolding; language/dialogue tools of the culture

Role of language Minimal Language provides labels for children’s experiences(egocentric speech)

Major Language plays a powerful role in shaping thought

Teaching implications

Support children to explore their world and discover knowledge

Establish opportunities for children to learn with the teacher and more skilled peers

Stage Characteristics

Thinking in unordered heaps

•Preschool stage of development•Beginnings of conceptual thought•Children use trial and error•Children use problem solving techniques•Three sub phases

Thinking in complex stage

•Children begin to make connections between objects,•but not in a consistent manner•Five sub -phases

Thinking in concepts stage

•Children are able to think in more abstract concepts and make associations•Cannot see two associations simultaneously

Thinking in true concepts stage

•Mature thinking•Children can manipulate a number of abstract concepts

ConclusionSocio-cultural theory considers learning as a

semiotic process where participation in socially mediated activities is essential.

Social interaction emphasized that effective learning happens through participation in social activities, making the social context of learning crucial.

Vygotsky theory was important in education since these works provide tools for the development of individuals learning.

Vygotsky’s Theory of Language and ThoughtVygotsky agreed with Piaget that the child’s earliest thinking is prelinguisticearly language often reflects what the child already knowsthought and language eventually merge and that many of the nonsocial utterances that Piaget called “egocentric” actually illustrate the transition from prelinguistic to verbal reasoningpreschool children’s self-directed monologues occur more often in some contexts than in others, specifically as they attempt to solve problems or achieve important goalsthis nonsocial speech increased substantially whenever these young problem solvers encountered obstacles in pursuing their objectives.

nonsocial speech is not egocentric but communicative; it is a “speech for self,” or private speech, that helps young children to plan strategies and regulate their behavior so that they are more likely to accomplish their goals

language play a critical role in cognitive development by making children more organized and efficient problem solvers

Primitive Stagebabies cry and babbleThese are examples of the primitive stage of language development.The sounds produced serve no real purpose except to produce the sound and experiment with our new capability.Just as a baby laid on his belly may make crawling motions yet not crawl, the baby may also make sounds without producing speech.As the baby does not produce speech, there is also not verbal thought, or internal monologue.

This does not mean the baby does not think, it only means that the child has not yet internalized his speech.The verbalization performed at this stage serve no purpose except to practice sound.There is no reason for the child to internalize during this stage.

Naive StageAs the child begins to speak, he learns how to say words far before he learns their meaning and functionAn example of this manifestation is “ball”To the child this one word can mean a variety of things (“where is my ball”, “give me the ball”, etc.)To an adult with an established knowledge of language, this word refers to a child’s toy, to a child though it can have various meaningsAs the child develops and gains understanding of new words, he begins to produce naïve sentences like “where ball” and “where is the ball”

The child uses these structures without any understanding of how to put a sentence together or why the words must go in that order.He only knows that when the words are said in a certain way, others understand his meaning.Understanding of word order comes about before the child learns the logic of how the words fit in that order.

External Stagechild begins to use external objects to represent wordscharacterized by the child using flash cards, objects, or fingers when countingRhyming is also used during this stage to improve memory and sound recognitionAnother interesting event is the beginning of egocentric speechThe child will talk to himself when there is no one else around and also during play with othersThis is the child’s verbalization of thought

Ingrowth Stage As the child’s egocentric speech turns inward, he enters the final stageHe uses the skills he has acquired to perform logical tasks internallyRather than counting aloud, he will count “in his head” using part of his short term memoryThis much faster than verbalizing each thought and just as his initial speech developed with practice, the more internalized thought and logic is used, the better the child can perform.

Language Developmentparticularly interested in the role of language in cognitive developmentlanguage is vital to human interactions, believed that language was the most important tool that human could utilizeLanguage, especially in the realm of collaborative dialogue, is the way the more knowledgeable other communications important information to a childbelieved that there are three forms of language

Social Speech –referred to as the external communication that people use to talk with other people, and he believed that this form of language was typical in children from the age of two.Private Speech –referred to as the internal communication that a person directs to themselves. It serves an intellectual function, and it is typical in children from the age of three.Silent Inner Speech –happens when private speech diminishes in its audibility until it become a self-regulating function. believed this was typical in children from the age of seven.

focus on language as a part of cognitive development was based on the idea that at the beginning of a child’s life, language and thought begin as separate systems within a child’s brainBelieved these two systems would merge in the child at around the age of three, and the two systems would become interdependentAs the two systems become interdependent, a child’s communication can be internalized to become private speech to the self, and this internalization of language is an important component to a child’s cognitive development.

private speech was an important mile marker in a child’s cognitive development because it’s the moment in a child’s development where thoughts become connected with words, and a child begins exhibiting verbal thinking.

Whereas social interaction is an important part of cognitive development as a child learns from a more knowledgeable other, private speech allows a child to begin the collaborative process of learning with themselves.