Psychologist Eric Erikson identified eight distance psychosocial stages of development, each of which consist of a set of elements such as stage, psychosocial crisis, basic virtue, and age. For example stage one is comprised of the psychosocial crisis of trust …show more content…
Primarily it is from these assumptions that Vygotsky constructed a three phase model which clearly illustrates how his Social Development Theory works (McLeod, 2014).The first phase of this philosophy is known as More Knowledgeable Other (MKO), which can be a teacher, coach, parent or peer that has more knowledge about a process or task than the child or adult learner. The MKO offers guidance within second phase, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is a conceptual state of learning, best described as what a child or adult learner can achieve under the tutelage of the MKO. An example of the ZPD is this class and subsequent classes in this Master’s degree program. The professors and my peers are MKO and although I bring certain skills and knowledge to this forum, there exist theories and concepts which I cannot fully understand without communicating with my MKO’s. The same is true for teaching and learning healing touch (HT) , as there are several techniques that cannot be mastered unless the learner enters the ZPD and is assisted by the MKO. This communication process is, in fact, the third phase of the Social Development Theory which has its foundation in language. Vygotsky argues that language is instrument that illustrates intelligent acclimations and it is the way in which knowledge is conveyed to leaners. (Cullata, 2013; McLeod, 2014) Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Development is undemanding, easy to remember, and has the elements necessary to successfully teach and learn HT and other CAM