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Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory Analysis

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Evaluate Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural theory in educational practice. Lev Vygotsky was a famous Russian psychologist, who even though died at the age of 38, revolutionized developmental psychology and the field of educational psychology. Vygotsky’s theories were known for being ingenious as well as an inspiration to other psychologists for their subsequent research. Over the years, Vygotsky’s works were used as groundwork for various research and study in cognitive development and was proclaimed as the ‘Mozart of psychology’ by the scientist, Toulmin (Dolya, 2010). Further, Vygotsky noted the state of educational crisis that was ongoing because of the distinct division between instruction and the student’s psychological processes. He decided …show more content…

Vygotsky emphasized on the crucial role of socio-cultural factors taking place around the individual in developing higher mental processes, while acknowledging the necessity of biological factors. Learning, according to the SCT, is a process centered on the understanding and application of symbols in social settings. Moreover, Lantolf (2000) argued that one of the main concepts in SCT would be the mediation of the human mind, adding that Vygotsky referred the semiotics used in understanding the world as psychological tools. Besides, the capability to be able to make use of tools, either in extending physical or mental abilities, is what differentiates humans to animals. Psychological tools vary from culture and generations as they are subject to alteration depending on the needs and aspirations of the society’s individuals and include symbols, signs, plans, and primarily language. For instance, language is viewed as fundamental in the development of various abilities and mental processes, as it is the main medium used in transmitting information, feedbacks and feelings about specific …show more content…

Nonetheless, Vygotsky remains the one who developed this simple reflection into a theoretical statement known as the ZPD. It is believed that this decision of elaborating the ZPD lies in his disapproval in how the child’s intellectual capabilities were assessed and how achievement was evaluated (Wertsch, 1985). Vygotsky argued that the existing method of testing at the time, only established the actual level of development, but disregarded the potential learning ability of the child. The ZPD represents the learner’s higher mental functions “that are in the process of maturation, functions that will mature tomorrow but are currently in an embryonic state” (Dolya, 2010, p9). Further, Vygotsky (1978) defined the ZPD as a gap between the current level of development, which is characterized by the ability to carry out a task independently and the potential ability level, characterized by the capacity to carry out a task but only with guidance from others. Moll (1980) classified the ZPD as a concept that has a direct stance on practical use, may it be psychological testing or educational purposes and remains one of Vygotsky’s most important contributions to the field of

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From reading all of the above I believe that both theories are important because I believe that children need play to explore the environment to enable learning as much as possible but Vygotsky’s theory is also important because with the adult’s knowledge this can help produce activities to enhance the children’s knowledge which can give them opportunities to problem solve using the new knowledge they have learnt from the adult. I think that children need both of these theories to get the best opportunities to learn and play and have first-hand experiences involving every child in the setting including children from different cultures and background this enables children to interact with children from different cultures and this gives children

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Based on Vygotski’s Zone of Proximal Development, students will be able to take what they know and the skills they possess to learn and master other skills through guidance. This can be seen on day two of the learning segment when students use their skills to complete a primary source analysis and then work on improving their potential skills of building and justifying conclusions. This activity is also backed by Vygotski’s Sociocultural theory since students will collaborate in groups to promote social interaction and individual

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Language is a fundamental part of being a human being. It can be seen as a computational system that brings about a transformation between both thoughts and an acoustical signal. Language enables us to make social connections with others, to organize, manage, evaluate our experiences, and to influence and inform. Therefore, language abilities are important not only for key developmental accomplishments but also in terms of their implications for and connections with other aspects of development that are necessary in life.

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The different theories of learning captured my interest, and I found myself eager to learn more about them. To stretch Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories into learning activities, became sort of a puzzle for me--something to look forward every day. I used this knowledge to plan and lead developmentally appropriate lessons for students of diverse learning styles and ages, through my teaching practicums and field observations. Through my second major in Psychology, I explored and researched on the learning process in children, the effects of bullying on young children and adolescent, and how busy lives affected college students. Yet, as my undergraduate career progressed, I began to have an interest in educational policy, research and the administrative side of educational

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Lev Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development was based on his belief that we, as a species, were impacted by the community, culture, and language around us. He believed humans were born with four primary functions: Attention, perception, feeling, and memory. It was divided into sections

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Vygotsky believed in the use of language and play in the cognitive

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Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, is best-known for his sociocultural theory. In Lev Vygotsky theory, social interaction played a critical role in children’s learning and the adults in a society foster children’s cognitive development in an intentional and systematic manner by engaging them in challenging and meaningful activities (Christina, 1999). Social interaction such as imitation, guided learning and collaborative learning enable children go through a continuous process of learning, so-called development, and culture profoundly influenced this process (Kendra, 2015). Development of human cognitive is not about the product but the process. Lev Vygotsky differ with Piaget’s views from discovering learning in child development, but also based on Piaget’s ideas.

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Introduction “Learning is not development; however, properly organized learning results in mental development and sets in motion a variety of developmental processes that would be impossible part from learning. Thus, learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human, psychological functions” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 90). The Russian psychologist of the early twentieth century, Lev Vygotsky, laid down the foundation for an entire school of thought to later be known as the socio-cultural perspective on human development. Vygotsky differentiated himself from other psychologists of the time by placing an emphasis on societies influence on development and the processes by which development

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Sociocultural theory focuses not only how adults and peers influence individual learning, but also, on how cultural beliefs and attitudes influences how instruction and learning take place. Vygotsky theory is children are born with basic biological constraints on their minds. Each culture provides what he referred to as ‘tools of intellectual adaptation.’ These tools allow students to use their basic mental abilities in a way that is adaptive to the culture in they which they live. For example, while one culture might emphasize memory strategies such as note-taking, other cultures might use tools like reminders or rote memorization.

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This differs from the Piaget theory which states that the children development is about self-exploration. There is another term called the scaffolding which is literally has the same meaning but is never used by Vygotsky in his writing. From Vygotsky theory, he states that the development process is not parallel with the learning process although the zone of proximal development is the result of the learning and development. To relate this two process, questions from children is the most important part in order to support their cognition development. The assistance to mastering the concept and skills are the most vital component.

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Dynamic assessment which appeared about 80 years ago is basically rooted in a theory of the well-known Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky (1989) as Sociocultural Theory of Mind (SCT) and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). It tries to use the human abilities with the aim of finding and improving the potential capabilities. The cognitive functions that this theory considers specify that in this system the person gets more engaged because by getting supported by interactions, the way of finding different techniques of thinking and presenting are found. The cognitive functions which appear as a result of the reaction of the students to the support presented to them for the areas of problem, explain the role of SCT and these functions come to improve in this process. On the other hand, appropriate mediation enables individuals to exceed their independent performance, and this in turn stimulates further development (Vygotsky, 1986, 1998).

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1500 Words | 6 Pages

Cognitive development is a process which enhancing the ability of learning. The cognitive theories emphasize on conscious thoughts which highlight the mental aspects of development such as logic and memory. The primary factors of cognitive theories is the structure and development of the individual’s thought processes and the means of these processes can effort the person’s understanding of the world. Therefore, the cognitive theories study on how this understanding, and the expectations it creates, can affect the individual’s behavior. There are three types of cognitive development theories in human which are Piaget’s Cognitive development theory, Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive theory and Information-Processing theory.

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His greatest strength was his research which has allowed educators, psychologists, and parents to have a greater understanding of a child’s developmental level. According to Lourenco (2012), Piaget believed that children would find the most benefit by working and learning in an educational setting that was at their own level (p. 284). As a result of his research, Piaget encouraged a comprehensive educational system that focused on the understanding of children. Thomas (2005) describe some of the weaknesses of Piaget’s theory, which include the fact that he often underestimated the ability of a child’s intellect.

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Language development is a critical part of a child’s overall development. Language encourages and supports a child’s ability to communicate. Through language, a child is able to understand and define his or her’s feelings and emotions. It also introduces the steps to thinking critically as well as problem-solving, building and maintaining relationships. Learning a language from a social perspective is important because it gives the child the opportunity to interact with others and the environment.

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Piaget and Vygotsky provide their distinct differences in their theories; however they share many similarities. These two theorists expanded their beliefs in how they thought a child would progress throughout the years of growing. This brought many different opinions as well as some advantages to each of their theories. Some of the differences between the two theorists are derived from the theoretical experiences and language, culture, and education. Piaget and Vygotsky both shared a common knowledge from either having training or background as biologists.

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