1896-1934

Vygotsky is recognized for his practice in social constructivism, which rationalizes that when individuals communicate through problem solving and skills practice, they create new learning and experience cognitive development into his practice.

 

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Introduction

     Lev Vygotsky was a psychologist under the constructivist orientation of learning. The “constructivist stance maintains that learning is a process of constructing meaning; it is how people make sense of their experience” (Bierema & Merriam, 2014, p. 291). Vygotsky is recognized for his practice in social constructivism, which rationalizes that when individuals communicate through problem solving and skills practice, they create new learning and experience cognitive development into his practice. Vygotsky introduced the unique framework of sociocultural theory of development where he explored and highlighted the fundamental role of social interaction as a contributing factor to cognitive development in children. Specifically, Vygotsky is known for three major theoretical contributions; sociocultural importance of interaction and how language and thought enables cognitive development and his two theories of Zone Proximal Development (ZPD), and More Knowledgeable other (MKO).

 

Background: Sociocultural Development

     To conceptualize Vygotsky’s theories, it is highly important to note the emphasis his theories placed on the relationship between guided learning events and sociocultural interactions children experience, and how it affects them at both at the social level (between others) and at the individual level (within themselves). He states, Vygotsky (1978) “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.  This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts.  All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals.”

     According to Vygotsky there are basic mental abilities and functions that a child contains: (1) attention, (2) sensation, (3) perception, and (4) memory (McLeod, 2007). Through the sociocultural interactions children have with their environment, these mental functions develop into further into refined mental strategies; this is referred to as higher mental functions. An example of a higher mental function is the ability to store learning as memory and repeat the learned information by demonstration. For example, as a child in my natural environment and my own cultural experience, I may observe the steps my mother would take to boil water for dinner, and then model those steps. A child from a more rural background may have very different steps to follow to prepare water to boil for dinner. Vygostsky believes that the environment, in which a child is raised in, will shape how they conceptualize and view the outside world.

 

Thought and Language

     Vygotsky believed that language was a powerful took for intellectual development and that it evolves from social interactions. He believed that language played a critical role in cognitive development. One of the roles is to provide a means for children to communicate with others in their environment. Vygotsky argued t that “a word without meaning is an empty sound, no longer a part of human speech. “Vygotsky (1962) emphasizes the direct correlation that verbal language has with cognitive thought and perception stating “since word meaning is both thought and speech, we find in it the unit of verbal thought we are looking for” (p.6). He indicates that children experience three forms of language: The first form of language a child learns is social speech, which is exposed and external communication that is displayed in children around the age of two years. This is the form of communication that children and parents use to transmit information to one another. The second form of speech is Private speech (self-talk), which is hidden and is considered direct speech with oneself. This is the form of speech that is visible in small children and it appears as though they are literally “thinking out loud”. In most cases, they are indeed doing just that. This is when a child is developing cognitive skills and processing learned and new information out loud, and in many cases problem solving tasks through the use of private speech.  He sees this as a way for children to plan activities and strategies for learning and as a method to support their development. As a child grows up and reaches the approximate age of seven, private speech diminishes, and is replaced by the third form of speech; called silent inner Speech. This is the more sophisticated cognitive development where a child begins to analyze and form conscious private discussion in their mind.  Vygotsky’s theories on thought and language highlight the significant cohesive process that language has with thought and cognitive development.  Vygotsky (1962) states that “thought development is determined by the language, i.e., by the linguistic tools of thought and by the sociocultural experience of the child. Essentially, the development of inner speech depends on outside factors; the development of logic in the child, as Piaget’s studies have shown, is a direct function of his socialized speech” (p.94).

 

More Knowledgeable Other (MCO)

     Vygotsky believed that much of the learning that a child encounters is done so with the presence of a skillful individual, referred to as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The MKO refers to someone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a completing specific tasks or more knowledgeable in a particular concept.  This skillful MKO could be a tutor, teacher, peer, or parent so long as they fit the criteria of being more knowledgeable on the topic. Vygotsky believed that children were inquisitive creatures that actively sought out their own learning and were engaged in the process. This MKO plays a significant role in the cognitive development of the child by providing instruction and modeling behavior to the child during the learning process. For example, a child may work on a drawing using crayon, where the task is to color within the lines of the page. In this example, the child and the MKO work together in a cooperative and collaborative manner to complete this task. The MKO’s role is to be very patient and encouraging while providing support to the child and demonstration on how to complete the task; supporting the development of higher mental functions. For the child, higher mental functions and independence are achieved from the interaction of both individuals. The presence of the MKO is applied to the theory of the Zone of Proximal Development.

 

Zone of Proximal Development

     Vygotsky is most notably known for his Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory. This theory correlates the difference between a child’s level of performance achieved when working independently, to what a child can achieve in performance when guided, supported, and/or encouraged by a skilled partner, referred to as the MK. The ZPD helps a child to transition from the area of the set is skills they have obtained mastery in, towards expanding to the area where they have not obtained mastery in. The ZPD is where the MKO is modeling and providing guidance in support to ease the child toward the level of potential.   The diagram below outlines these three stages.

 

Angela Lui, Teaching in the Zone, 2012 Children’s Progress

      The potential for cognitive development depends upon the “zone of proximal development”. ZPD is a level of development that is attained when children engage in social interaction.  The depth of this skill can be developed with guidance or with peer interaction. Either way, the premise is about interaction, and exceeding your capabilities of learning through interaction. The purpose of the ZPD theory is to explain awareness as the end result of socialization. For example, when learning a language, we first communicate vocally for the sole purpose of communicating with others and passing along information. From here, external communication develops the ability to have private speech, which develops into inner speech; a more sophisticated cognitive development. Even today, Vygotsky’s principle of the importance of the MKO and ZPD theory still have strong implications in how we teach children today.

 

Impact on Education Today

     Scaffolding is a technique used today education as well as within the ZPD theory. As a child is supported by the MKO and learns new techniques, they then move onto the challenge of eventually performing the skill independently, and then moving onto more complicated tasks. The MKO continues to apply scaffolding techniques with the implication of separating from the child, thus allowing them to perform independently. The removal of the teacher is gradual, and not abrupt, so that it doesn’t cause any trauma or interruption to the learning of the child.  Scaffolding techniques that are used are prompts, modeling, hints, and providing cues among some.  The presence of a nurturing MKO plays a huge role in the success of the child excelling through the stages of ZPD.

     Even in today’s workplace, we understand and value the technique of scaffolding as a learning technique for both children and adults. Gibson suggests that social cognitive theory is relevant to the workplace where on-the-job training and behavior modeling can assist in socializing employees to the workplace” (as cited in Bierema & Merriam 2014). For example, a mechanic in training course might model the rationale the instructor used to diagnose the problems with a vehicle. This approach is used in the workplace for mentors and employees for on-the-job training where the expectation is to demonstrate the skills, behaviors, and rationale for completing a set of tasks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Lui, Angela. "Teaching in the zone: An introduction to working within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to drive effective early childhood instruction."Children's Progress. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <www.childrensprogress.com/wp content/uploads/2012/05/free-white-paper-vygotsky-zone-of-proximal-development-zpd-early-childhood.pdf>.

 

McLeod, S. A. (2007) Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.htm

 

Merriam, S., & Bierema, L. (2014). Experience and Learning. In Adult learning: Linking Theory and Practice. Jossey-Bass.

 

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

 

Vygotsky, L.S. (1962) Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

 

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