A Brief History of Vygotsky<\/p>\n
Lev Vygotsky was a Russian thinker who deeply transformed the study of developmental psychology. He was born in the city of Gomel and after graduating in history and philosophy, he taught at schools in his home town where he was extremely active in theatrical and literary circles. In 1924, Vygotsky moved to the Institute of Psychology in Moscow where he produced seminal works, including Thought and Language (1932). It was during this time that Vygotsky began to gather a circle of brilliant young scholars around him, which included Alexxander Luria and Aleksei N. Leontiev. Although Vygotsky only lived for 38 years (1924-1934) his work and theories have inspired further research in many different areas, across the world.<\/p>\n
However, Vygotsky and his innovative theories were initially, not well received and even forbidden to be discussed, disseminate or have reprinted. This was due, to the climate of Stalinist Russia, where even the suggestion of teaching children \u2013 to think for themselves, was not acceptable. At this time, Vygotskyan school was deemed \u201creactionary bourgeois psudo-science\u201d and suppressed under Stlain. Vygotsky\u2019s work was limited and monitored, with his work only being allowed to reside in one central library in Moscow. To gain access to his work, one would need permission of the secret police.<\/p>\n
It was only after Stalin\u2019s death that Vygotsky and his work was rediscovered by another generation of psychologists and\u00a0teachers. In the 1960\u2019s, Vygotsky\u2019s work was translated, transforming the educational vision and creating great interest from academics around the world.<\/p>\n
Reference:<\/p>\n
Doyla, Galina & Palmer, Sue. Key to Learning: Viva Vygotsky! Freedom of Thought. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from http:\/\/www.keytolearning.com\/vv.html<\/p>\n
Question: How might Vygotsky’s social context(s) have influenced his theories? By extension, how does your social context (where you live\/teach, socio-cultural values etc.) influence your thoughts about teaching and learning? <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Brief History of Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky was a Russian thinker who deeply transformed the study of developmental psychology. He was born in the city of Gomel and after graduating in history and philosophy, he taught at schools in his … Continue reading