Lev Vygotsky

Down through the years psychologists and individuals involved in education have developed and investigated different theories about how children learn. To understand how children receive and use information is of great value to parents, teachers and indeed society in general as the children of today are tomorrow’s adults and our society will not develop if our children cannot learn effectively. In this essay I will discuss the theories of Lev Vygotsky as I believe his work has become the foundation for a lot of our modern day theories and concepts in regard to a child’s cognitive development. Lev Vygotsky was born in Russia in 1896 during the Russian Revolution and his works only came to the attention of the western world when they were published in 1962. Vygotsky died quite young and a lot of his research was unfinished however his work was continued by his students and followers alike. Vygotskys theory of Socio-cultural or Social Development as it is also known was the building block for the concepts and stratagies now used in our pre-schools and schools today. Unlike Piaget who believed that development preceeds learning, Vygotsky believed that to develop, a child must learn first. He rightly believed that the most effective learning comes from a child’s social interaction in society and the cultural they are reared in. Social factors and culture contribute to a child’s cognitive development. Vygotsky believed that society gave a child various cultural tools which enabled learning, language being one of the most important. Language is the primary form of interaction and through language a child can communicate thoughts, emotions, opinions and ideas and develop friendships. A child’s level of language skills can and most likely will effect all other aspects of their development both personally and academically. Through my research I see that Vygotskys concept, the zone of proximal development, which is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks too difficult for children to master alone but which can be learned with the guidance and asistance of adults or more skilled chilren, is widely used today in learning institutions worldwide, its concept is used in most subjects and used very effectively with a broad spectrum of students, ranging from disadvantaged, special needs, and â€Å"gifted† students to adults. Within this concept Vygotsky talks about â€Å"Scaffolding† which basically means changing the level of support as the student becomes more capable in a task or subject. Another concept which is interlinked with the above is The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The MKO refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a greater ability than the student, in respect to a particular task or concept. The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, coach, or older adult, but the MKO could also be peers, a younger person, or even computers. As I read and study these concepts I can clearly see their incorporation into our education system today compared to when I was a child starting out in school forty years ago. Although systems where evolving gradually, there were very different opinions and methods in place regarding education. Lev Vygotsky: Lev Vygotsky (November 17, 1896 – June 11, 1394) was a Russian psychologist. Vygotsky was a pioneering psychologist and his major works span six separate volumes, written over roughly 10 years, from Psychology of Art (1925) to Thought and Language [or Thinking and Speech] (1934). Vygotsky's interests in the fields of developmental psychology, child development, and education were extremely diverse. Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition Vygotsky, 1978), as he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of â€Å"making meaning. He argued, â€Å"learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological function† (Vygotsky 1978, p. 90). Vygotsky’s theory differs from Piaget in three different ways. 1. Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. In contrast to Jean Piag et’s understanding of child development, Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. 2.The more knowledgeable other refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher Ability level than the learner, with respects to a particular task, process, or concept. MKO’s Can be peers, a younger person, teachers, coaches, older adult, or even computers. 3. The zone of proximal development is the distance between a student’s ability to perform a task under adult guidance and/or with peer collaboration. It is also the student’s ability to solve problems independently. â€Å"According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments.Initially children develop these tools to serve solely as social functions, ways to communicate needs. Vygotsky believed that the internalization of these tools led to higher thinking skills. †(http://www. learning-theories. com/vygotskys-soci al-learning-theory. html) In modern day terms, Vygotsky would be a facilitator. Teachers and students collaborate in learning and practing four key skills (summarize, question, clarify, and predict). Teaching and learning is a two way street. You have to be able to interact with the student.This simply means you have to know your student. Teachers have to know where their students are educationally to get them to move to the next level. Then we have to cater our teaching to meet the needs of the learners. I believe that a teacher must be able to relate to their student. For example, a teacher that had both parents that is wealthy. That teacher shouldn’t expect his/her students to behave as he/she did as a student at that age. You have to realize that there are differences and make accommodations.A child from a wealthy home and a child from a single parent working class home can’t be taught using the same method. The backgrounds are too different. References Vygotsky, L . S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. McLeod, S. A. (2007). Vygotsky – Social Development Theory. Retrieved from http://www. simplypsychology. org/vygotsky. html http://www. learning-theories. com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory. html