MODULE 10

VYGOTSKY’ S SOCIO-
CULTURAL THEORY
Introduction

The key theme of Vygotsky’s theory is that social interaction plays a very
important role in cognitive development. He believed that individual
development could not be understood without looking into the social and
cultural context within which development happens. Scaffolding is Vygotsky’s
term for the appropriate assistance given by the teacher to assist the learner
accomplish a task. Learn more about it as you do the activity.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, students can be able to:

1. Explain why Vygotsky’s theory is called “Socio-cultural” theory.

2. Differentiate Piaget and Vygotsky’s views on cognitive development.
3. Explain how scaffolding is useful in teaching a skill.

Time Frame

1 week or 3 hours

Materials Needed

LCD projector or power point presentation

Computer

Teaching and Learning Activities

1. As a child, recall a skill that you wanted to learn and eventually learned
well, through the help of another person. (like swimming, riding a bike,
playing the piano. Skating, etc.)
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________
2. What made you interested to learn the skill?
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________
3. Who taught or assisted you?
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________.
4. Describe how you went about learning the skill. Describe what steps or
actions the person did in order to help you learn.
_________________________________________________________________.
Analysis

1. Form groups of three members each. Share your answers in 1-4.

2. What factors in the environment influenced you to learn the skill?
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
3. Did the person who taught or assisted you make use of scaffolding? If
yes, How?
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Lesson Proper
When Vygotsky was a young boy he was educated under a teacher who
used Socratic Method. This method was a systematic question and answer
approach that allowed Vygotsky to examine current thinking and practice
higher levels of understanding. This experience, together with his interest in
literature and his work as a teacher, led him to recognize social interaction and
language as two central factors in cognitive development. His theory became
known as the Socio-Cultural Theory of Development.

Piaget and Vygotsky

Vygotsky worked on his theory around the same time as Piaget in

between the 1920’ and 30’s but they had clear differences in their views about
cognitive development. Since Piaget was taken up already in the preceding
module, it would be easier now to see how his views compare with Vygotsky’s.

Piaget Vygotsky
More individual in focus More social in focus
Believed that there are universal Did not propose stages but
stages of cognitive development emphasized on cultural factors in
cognitive development
Did not give much emphasis on Stressed the role of language in
language cognitive development

Social Interaction. Piaget’s theory was more individual, while Vygotsky

was more social. Piaget’s work on Piagetian’s tasks focused heavily on how an
individual’s own processing of the tasks. Vygotsky, on the other hand gave
more weight on the social interactions that contributed to the cognitive
development of individuals. For him, the social environment or the community
takes on a major role in one’s development.

Vygotsky emphasized that effective learning happens through

participation in social activities, making the social context of learning crucial.
Parents, teachers and other adults in the learners’ environment all contribute
to the process. They explain, model, assist, give directions and provide
feedback to the learner. Peers, on the other hand, cooperate and collaborate
and enrich the learning experience.

Cultural factors. Vygotsky believed in the crucial role that culture

played on the cognitive development of children. Piaget believed that as the
child develops and matures, he goes through universal stages of cognitive
development that allows him to move from simple explorations with senses and
muscles to complex reasoning. Vygotsky, on the other hand, looked into the
wide range of experiences that a culture would give to a child. For instance,
one culture’s view about education, how children are trained early in life all
can contribute to the cognitive development of the child.

Language. Language opens the door for learners to acquire knowledge

that others already have. Learners can use language to know and understand
the world and solve problems. Language serves a social function but it also has
an important individual function. It helps the learner regulate and reflect on
his own thinking. Children talk to themselves. Observe preschoolers play and
you may hear, “Gagawinkoitong airplane (holding a rectangular block),
tapositoang airport (holding two long blocks).” For Vygotsky, this “talking-to-
oneself” is an indication of the thinking that goes on in the mind of the child.
This will eventually lead to private speech. Private speech is a form of self-talk
that guides the child’s thinking and action.

Vygotsky believed in the essential role of activities in learning. Children

learn best through hands-on activities than when listening passively. Learning
by doing is even made more fruitful when children interact with knowledgeable
adults and peers.

Zone of Proximal Development

When a child attempts to perform a skill alone, she may not be

immediately proficient at it. So, alone she may perform at a certain level of
competency. We refer to this as the zone of actual development. However, with
the guidance of a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO), competent adult or a more
advanced peer, the child can perform at a higher level of competency. The
difference between what the child can accomplish alone and what Vygotsky
referred to as a zone of proximal development. The zone represents a learning
opportunity where a knowledgeable adult such as a teacher or parent or a
more advanced peer can assist the child’s development. See the illustration on
the next page.

The support or assistance that lets the child accomplish a task he cannot
accomplish independently is called scaffolding. Scaffolding is not about doing
the task for the child while he watches. It is not about doing shortcuts for the
child. Unzipping the lunch bag, opening the food container and putting a straw
in the child’s tetra pack juice for him is not scaffolding. Scaffolding should
involve the judicious assistance given by the adult or peer so that the child can
move from the zone of actual to the zone of proximal development. When the
adult unzips the zipper an inch or two, and then holds the lunch bag still so
that the child can continue to unzip the lunch bag is scaffolding. Loosening the
food container lid just a bit and letting the child open the lid himself is
scaffolding. Leading the straw to the hole and letting the child put the straw
through the tetra pack hole is scaffolding.

The examples given above shows how a right amount of assistance can allow
the child to accomplish the task. The instructor should scaffold in such a way
that the gap is bridged between the learner’s current skill levels and the
desired skill level. As learners become more proficient, able to complete tasks
on their own that they could not initially do without assistance, the guidance
can be withdrawn. This is called scaffolding and fade-away technique.
Scaffolding, when done appropriately can make a learner confident and
eventually he can accomplish the task without any need for assistance.
 POTENTIAL LEVEL (Level that the learner achieves
with assistance of the teacher or a more advanced peer.)

L
ACTUAL LEVEL (Level that the learner E
achieves when alone) A
R
N
I
N
Instruction G
with scaffolding
Zone of Proximal
Development
(ZPD)

The Zone of Proximal Development (represented by the dotted line)

Evaluation

An exercise in scaffolding:

1. Choose a skill you are good in. __________________________________

2. Identify an individual to whom you can teach this skill. Somebody who
will benefit from
scaffolding.______________________________________________________
3. Breakdown the steps you will take in teaching the
skill.____________________________________________________________
4. Determine how you will use scaffolding. Describe the specific actions you
will do to
scaffold._________________________________________________________
5. Teach the skill to the Individual. _________________________________
6. Describe how the learning activity went. __________________________