The Vygotsky Approach
Vygotsky is considered one of the fathers of developmental psychology, and often compared to Piaget, who was a contemporary. His most popular theories include the “Sociocultural Theory” and the “Zone of Proximal Development.” These theories still have relevance in today’s world.
Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was born in Western Russia on November 17, 1896 to a prominent Jewish family. He was one of eight children and went to school at Moscow State University, gaining a law degree in 1917, just before the Russian Revolution. Vygotsky taught literature and philosophy for a few years in Gomel, married Rosa Smekhova, and they had two daughters. He then attended the Institute of Psychology in Moscow in 1924, where he teamed up with …show more content…
“Language development and schooling lead to stage wise changes. Dialogues with more expert members of society also lead to continuous changes that vary from culture to culture.” (Berk, p 22t) His theory supports many possible courses of growth, because “socially mediated” changes are different from culture to culture. (Berk, p 22t) Each culture has its own values and skills that are part of that culture.
A child gains “tools of the mind” through social interaction. By “tools of the mind” Vygotsky means that a child learns mental tools that enable them to learn and function in society. Until they learn these mental tools their learning is controlled by their environment and they only pay attention to what is brightest or loudest, only remember that which is repeated many times Once a child has these mental tools, then they are able to master learning on their own, become “masters of their own environment”. This leads to higher mental functions. (Leong & …show more content…
For example a six year old helps her three year old sister recite the alphabet, prompting her when she forgets a letter. As the three year old learns, the sibling has to do less and less prompting until the child masters the task on her own. Vygotsky also describes the zone of proximal development as “a distance between the actual developmental level determined by individual problem solving and the level of development as determined through problem solving under guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.”
Vygotsky is considered one of the fathers of developmental psychology, and often compared to Piaget, who was a contemporary. His most popular theories include the “Sociocultural Theory” and the “Zone of Proximal Development.” These theories still have relevance in today’s world.
Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was born in Western Russia on November 17, 1896 to a prominent Jewish family. He was one of eight children and went to school at Moscow State University, gaining a law degree in 1917, just before the Russian Revolution. Vygotsky taught literature and philosophy for a few years in Gomel, married Rosa Smekhova, and they had two daughters. He then attended the Institute of Psychology in Moscow in 1924, where he teamed up with …show more content…
“Language development and schooling lead to stage wise changes. Dialogues with more expert members of society also lead to continuous changes that vary from culture to culture.” (Berk, p 22t) His theory supports many possible courses of growth, because “socially mediated” changes are different from culture to culture. (Berk, p 22t) Each culture has its own values and skills that are part of that culture.
A child gains “tools of the mind” through social interaction. By “tools of the mind” Vygotsky means that a child learns mental tools that enable them to learn and function in society. Until they learn these mental tools their learning is controlled by their environment and they only pay attention to what is brightest or loudest, only remember that which is repeated many times Once a child has these mental tools, then they are able to master learning on their own, become “masters of their own environment”. This leads to higher mental functions. (Leong & …show more content…
For example a six year old helps her three year old sister recite the alphabet, prompting her when she forgets a letter. As the three year old learns, the sibling has to do less and less prompting until the child masters the task on her own. Vygotsky also describes the zone of proximal development as “a distance between the actual developmental level determined by individual problem solving and the level of development as determined through problem solving under guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.”