{"id":7,"date":"2010-10-07T12:15:55","date_gmt":"2010-10-07T20:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/"},"modified":"2010-10-16T17:21:28","modified_gmt":"2010-10-17T01:21:28","slug":"vygotsky","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/vygotsky\/","title":{"rendered":"Vygotsky"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lev Vygotsky was born in Belarus in 1896 and died of tuberculosis in 1934.\u00a0 He graduated from Moscow State University in 1917 and wrote a number of books between 1925 and 1934.\u00a0 His studies and writings on psychology cover a wide range of topics and issues and he is well known for his contributions to educational theory and psychology.\u00a0 He is often referred to as the “Mozart of Psychology”.\u00a0 His focus was on the impact of society and culture on development.<\/p>\n

Vygotsky\u2019s Developmental Theory: An Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please watch a short introductory video by clicking\u00a0 here<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Vygotsky viewed the use of language as one of the most essential aspects of development.\u00a0 Speech starts out as individual words, usually representing objects (cat, horse, car) and progresses through egocentric speech, which is dialog the child carries on out loud with himself and others, and leads to inner speech, or thought.\u00a0 Vygotsky\u2019s theory proposes that learning language structures the child\u2019s thought patterns.<\/p>\n

Vygotsky also believed that development cannot be separated from culture.\u00a0 Vygotskian theory states that the tools and climate of our culture determine how we develop.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, children raised with TV and video games will develop differently than children raised in an area without electricity.\u00a0 For Vygotsky, \u201cthe hand creates the mind\u201d and our interactions with the people and objects around us and with language shape who we become.\u00a0 Adults, or more advanced learners, pass their knowledge and expertise to the next generation.\u00a0 As the children grow, their perceptions in turn affect the culture in which they live and they pass this on to their children and the cycle continues.<\/p>\n

A Few Specifics of Vygotskian Theory<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0To understand development, one must always look at the \u201cchild-in-context\u201d.\u00a0 Vygotsky studied children interacting with peers or adults, not what they did alone.\u00a0 Both the immediate culture (the classroom, the activity, the household or village) and the broader culture (the country, ethnic origin, religion practiced, world climate) are important to understand why children develop the way they do. Vygotsky would say that social interaction is not something that happens to us, but something in which we are an active participant.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To help children develop, we should teach to the \u201cZone of Proximal Development\u201d.\u00a0 This zone is the area of achievement between what a child can accomplish independently and what a child can be led to accomplish with prompting or help from an adult (or a more advanced student).\u00a0 Using the ZPD is something that many caregivers do naturally when playing with young children.\u00a0 To see an example, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Every mental activity actually happens twice \u2013 once when it happens as an interaction between the child and the adult and once when it is individually thought by the child.\u00a0 The interaction between the two people is referred to as \u201cintermental\u201d and the individual processing of the interaction cognitively, or alone, is referred to as \u201cintramental\u201d.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The tools available to the child within his or her cultural context impact intellectual functioning.\u00a0 Vygotsky refers to psychological tools such as language, art, and numeracy, as well as technical tools such as a plow, calculators or computers.\u00a0 Vygotsky viewed language as the most important psychological tool.<\/p>\n

Applications of Vygotsky\u2019s Theory to Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Vygotsky believed that there are three active elements needed to ensure learning takes place, active learners, active teachers and an active social environment in which they come together.<\/em><\/p>\n

An opponent of traditional education where learners are passive recipients of bodies of knowledge and their teacher’s experiences Vygotsky argued that we are our own teachers, claiming, “From a scientific point of view, strictly speaking you cannot educate anyone else.”<\/a> He believed that learning is an internal process, which takes place through our perceptions and interpretations of the experiences we have in the real world. Therefore, the personal experiences of the learner are paramount in education (Oscarsson, 2001<\/a>). Vygotsky used the metaphor of teachers as railway tracks whose purpose was to enable the railway carriages (learners) to travel freely and independently in the direction of their own movement.<\/em>”\u00a0 … click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for video on ZPD<\/p>\n

Click here <\/a>for video on scaffolding<\/p>\n

Teaching to the ZPD creates a certain style of learning environment.\u00a0 It requires teachers to determine what the child is capable of independently and to build on this prior knowledge through a process called scaffolding.\u00a0 Scaffolding involves presenting a problem slightly above the child\u2019s current ability and providing the support for the child to work through the problem.\u00a0 The teacher gives hints and prompts to help the child develop the skills needed to be able to work through the problem independently.\u00a0 The \u201cteacher\u201d may be the teacher, a parent, or any other person who is more competent than the student.\u00a0 The style of assessment for this tends towards a more dynamic approach \u2013 assessing how the student has improved over time and assessing what the student is capable of in the future, rather than the current level of knowledge.\u00a0 For example, a teacher might pose a difficult problem and grade the student on how far they got or on the number of prompts needed to succeed, rather than on whether the final answer is right or wrong.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Cognitive Development (intermental vs intramental)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Helping a child talk through a problem (intermental activity) allows the child to process the problem on a social level.\u00a0 This provides hints and prompts.\u00a0 At the same time, the child must also think through the problem (intramental) as they are listening and processing.\u00a0 This internalizes the problem.\u00a0 This internalization of the social interaction and the inner speech that follows helps the child develop their own problem solving skills.\u00a0 Teaching students how to use \u201cinner speech\u201d \u2013 at any level \u2013 is much like teaching metacognition.\u00a0 It helps them understand how to process a problem and gives them a variety of skills or tools for attacking the problem.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>Psychological and Technical Tools and their Impact on Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tools that are available to a culture impact the social context and presentation of education.\u00a0 For example, having only slates available to write on in a classroom creates a certain social environment and approach to teaching.\u00a0 This is significantly different to a culture where laptop computers are available to each student and work is submitted and responded to electronically.\u00a0 The tools, both psychological and technical, that we use in our classroom create a culture of learning.\u00a0 This cannot be separated from what the student learns and is as much a part of what they learn as the specific facts in the curriculum.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following quote from this website<\/a> nicely summarizes Vygotsky’s views on development:<\/p>\n

“Human development is a socio-genetic process carried out in the social activities of children with adults: education “generates” and leads development which is the result of social learning through the internalization of culture and social relationships. Development is not a straight path of quantitative gains and accumulations, but a series of qualitative, dialectic transformations, a complex process of integration and disintegration. Each stage is characterized by a particular organization of psychological activity. Culture is acquired through interiorization of social signs, starting with language. The essence and uniqueness of human behavior resides in its mediation by material instruments and social signs\/language.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

(The discussion questions for all of the theorists are listed together on the Discussion Questions page of this blog, along with instructions)<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Vygotsky believed that the tools of a culture affect the development of its children.\u00a0 How have the tools we use in education, such as technology, affected how our students have developed?<\/li>\n
  2. Do you see teaching to the Zone of Proximal Development as an effective way to teach?\u00a0 Is it something you already use?\u00a0 What are the advantages and disadvantages of this teaching method?<\/li>\n
  3. Vygotsky said that ” To force everybody into the same mold represents the greatest of all the delusions of pedagogics. The fundamental prerequisite of pedagogics inevitably demands an element of individualization, that is, conscious and rigorous determination of the individualized goals of education for each particular student.” (Vygotsky, 1926<\/a>) <\/em>Do you agree or disagree?\u00a0 Is this a practical goal in public education?\u00a0 Is this a practical goal for online education?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    References and Further Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Miller, P.H. (2002).\u00a0 Theories of Developmental Psychology, 4th Ed. (pp. 367-396; Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Approach). New York: Worth.
    \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

    http:\/\/www.marxists.org\/archive\/vygotsky\/<\/a> – Archive of original works<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/vygotsky.afraid.org\/#VygotskyPedagogy<\/a> – Comprehensive website on the “Mozart of Psychology”<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/ruby.fgcu.edu\/courses\/50171\/6215m8a.htm<\/a> – Vygotsky in a Nutshell<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/www.bgcenter.com\/disability.htm<\/a> – Vygotsky’s paradigm for special education<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/www.muskingum.edu\/~psych\/psycweb\/history\/vygotsky.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

    http:\/\/video.google.com\/videoplay?docid=634376752589779456#<\/a><\/p>\n

    http:\/\/video.google.com\/videoplay?docid=634376752589779456#docid=36813446619688577<\/a><\/p>\n

    http:\/\/video.google.com\/videoplay?docid=634376752589779456#docid=-3815787007710444990<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-RehxEXeLNg&feature=related<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rX8lRh1u5iE&feature=related<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934) Lev Vygotsky was born in Belarus in 1896 and died of tuberculosis in 1934.\u00a0 He graduated from Moscow State University in 1917 and wrote a number of books between 1925 and 1934.\u00a0 His studies and writings on psychology cover a wide range of topics and issues and he is well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4429,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions\/44"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec512group2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}