Vygotsky’s 3 basic principles
1. Development cannot be separated from its social context – social interaction plays a key role in the process of cognitive development. In contrast to Jean Piaget’s understanding of child development (in which development necessarily precedes learning), Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. He states: “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people and then inside the child” (TXTBK).
a. Language is an important tool for thought; plays a key role in cognitive development
• Private speech
2. Learning can lead to development – Vygotsky believed that any pedagogy creates learning process that leads to development and results in zones of proximal development. The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) refers to the distance between a student’s ability to perform a task under supervision and/or guidance with peer collaboration and the student’s ability to solve the problem independently. The person guiding the student when performing the task can be referred to as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO), which refer to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to the concept, task, or process (TXTBK).