The sociocultural theory that is used in many classrooms around the world today was founded and researched by a Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky. The key concepts of Vygotsky's theory that will be addressed below are: language, socially mediated learning and scaffolding.
The key concept of language in Vygotsky's theory is developed upon social interactions, for communication purposes. Language, a shared social symbolic system for human communication (Woolfolk, 2016, p. 96), allows opportunity for expressing ideas and feelings, asking questions and social conversation. Language is broken up into three forms of speech in Vygotsky's theory, social, private and inner.
Social speech is the expression of thoughts verbally spoken towards another …show more content…
The inclusion of culture as an aspect of his theory is a beneficial factor as he outlined features like family background, historical aspects, location of where the child lives and how they all have a possible effect on their cognitive development. He also outlines the zone of proximal development, this allows teachers to set tasks according to children's developmental …show more content…
This is seen as a limitation as children do develop biological aspects from their parents and family and it is important to acknowledge that. Another significant limitation to this theory is that he focussed deeply on verbal interactions and how that is the primary method of how children should learn. He did not consider altering his theory to another form of communication which would benefit children with hearing impairments.
Looking at the vast body of strategies and elements stated in Vygotsky's theory, it is clear that he has concluded some effective points when it comes to the intellectual development of children. The aspects covered such as; language and speech within child development, socially mediated learning and culture, scaffolding and the zone of proximal development, have been supported by evidence and examples of how they occur in educational settings or how they contribute to the cognitive and social development of children.
The key concept of language in Vygotsky's theory is developed upon social interactions, for communication purposes. Language, a shared social symbolic system for human communication (Woolfolk, 2016, p. 96), allows opportunity for expressing ideas and feelings, asking questions and social conversation. Language is broken up into three forms of speech in Vygotsky's theory, social, private and inner.
Social speech is the expression of thoughts verbally spoken towards another …show more content…
The inclusion of culture as an aspect of his theory is a beneficial factor as he outlined features like family background, historical aspects, location of where the child lives and how they all have a possible effect on their cognitive development. He also outlines the zone of proximal development, this allows teachers to set tasks according to children's developmental …show more content…
This is seen as a limitation as children do develop biological aspects from their parents and family and it is important to acknowledge that. Another significant limitation to this theory is that he focussed deeply on verbal interactions and how that is the primary method of how children should learn. He did not consider altering his theory to another form of communication which would benefit children with hearing impairments.
Looking at the vast body of strategies and elements stated in Vygotsky's theory, it is clear that he has concluded some effective points when it comes to the intellectual development of children. The aspects covered such as; language and speech within child development, socially mediated learning and culture, scaffolding and the zone of proximal development, have been supported by evidence and examples of how they occur in educational settings or how they contribute to the cognitive and social development of children.