Similar to Piaget, Vygotsky (1962) also stated that children actively construct their

knowledge and understanding. However, while Piaget emphasized that children developed
their knowledge from their own actions and interactions with the physical world, Vygotsky
highlighted the child’s social interaction as a major proponent in how they develop their ways
of thinking and understanding. Vygotsky described children as social creatures more than
emphasized by Piaget. Their cognitive development depends on the tools provided by
society, and their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live (Gauvain &
Parke, 2010; Holzman, 2009).

ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT:

Vygotsky’s emphasis on social interaction, such as instruction, shines through in his concept
of ‘zone of proximal development.’ This term is used to describe the range of skills that a
child cannot master independently, but can perform if provided with the assistance of an
adult or a more skilled child.

The lower limit of the ZPD is the level of skill that the child can master on their own without
the need for external help. The upper limit of the ZPD is the level of skills that the child is
capable of achieving with the help of external support.

The ZPD targets the cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing and can be
accomplished only with the assistance of a more-skilled person (Alvarez & del Rio, 2007).
Vygotsky (1962) likened this with “buds” or “flowers” that would mature with nurture rather
than “fruits” that would be something the child could achieve independently.

Vygotsky’s concept of children learning by interacting with more experienced adults and
peers, who help them think beyond the “zone” in which they would be able to perform
without assistance, holds an important place in academic learning. However, many also
emphasize that Vygotsky’s concept of ZPD is something that can be applied to understand
the child’s cognitive development even in the real world, as they interact with adults and
peers.

SCAFFOLDING:

A closely linked concept with ZPD, is ‘scaffolding’. Scaffolding refers to changing the level of
support. Over the course of learning a new skill, the person providing assistance to the child
(a teacher or advanced peer) adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child’s current
performance (Daniels, 2007, 2011). When the student is learning a new task, the skilled
person may use direct instruction. With the increase in the child’s capabilities, less guidance
is given.

An important tool of scaffolding is dialogue (Tappan, 1998). Vygotsky stated that although
children have rich concepts, they’re often unsystematic, disorganized and spontaneous. In
this case, dialogue with the skilled helper, with their more systematic, logical and rational
concepts would aid them. As a result, the child’s concepts become more systematic, logical,
and rational. For example, a dialogue might take place between a teacher and a child when
the teacher uses scaffolding to help a child understand a concept like “transportation.”

LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT:

Vygotsky emphasized the role of language in a child’s cognitive development. In addition to

language being used in dialogue as a tool of scaffolding, he also put forth the concept of
“private speech”.

Vygotsky (1962) claimed that in addition to being used for social communication, children
also use language to help them solve tasks. He suggested that young children use language
to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior. This use of language for self-regulation is
called private speech. While private speech was deemed egocentric and immature by
Piaget, Vygotsky viewed it as an important tool of thought during the early childhood years
(John-Steiner, 2007; Wertsch, 2007).

Language and thought initially develop independently of each other and then merge.
Vygotsky (1962) emphasized that all mental functions have external, or social, origins.
Children must use language to communicate with others before they can focus inward on
their own thoughts. Children also must communicate externally and use language for a long
period of time before they can make the transition from external self-talk to internal speech.
This transition period occurs between 3 and 7 years of age and involves talking to oneself. It
is also viewed as a marker of growth. After a while, self-talk becomes second nature to
children, and they can act without verbalizing. When this occurs, children have internalized
their egocentric speech in the form of inner speech, which becomes their thoughts.

In Vygotsky’s opinion, language helps produce thought - as in it can aid a child to regulate
cognition ( such as sequence actions, planning, shaping one's own idea etc). For example, a
child might make use of private speech while solving a puzzle. This may be observed as
them talking out loud, murmuring possibilities, planning their own actions etc. As stated
earlier, as a child matures, this external self-talk is likely to transform into internal inner
speech in which the talking out loud takes the form of thoughts.

Vygotsky viewed children who actively engaged in private speech to be more socially
competent than those that didn’t. He was of the opinion that private speech was symbolic of
an early transition in becoming more socially communicable. Since private speech made a
child more socially competent, it aided their confidence which in turn fuelled their social
development.

He suggested that when young children talk to themselves, they are using language to
govern their behavior and guide themselves. For example, a child working on a puzzle might
say to herself, “Which pieces should I put together fifi rst? I’ll try those green ones first. Now I
need some blue ones. No, that blue one doesn’t fit there. I’ll try it over here.”

Although Piaget disregarded private speech as egocentric and immature, studies support
Vygotsky in the importance of private speech in a child’s development (Winsler, Carlton, &
Barry, 2000). It has been seen that children use private speech more when tasks are
difficult, when they have made a mistake, and when they are not sure how to proceed (Berk,
1994). It was also revealed that children who use private speech are more attentive and
improve their performance more than children who do not use private speech (Berk & Spuhl,
1995).

TEACHING STRATEGIES:

Vygotsky’s theory has contributed enormously to teaching systems and education (Daniels,
2011; Gredler, 2009; Holzman, 2009; Shayer & Adhami, 2010). Here are some ways
Vygotsky’s theory can be incorporated in classrooms:

1. Assess the child’s ZPD - Vygotsky, much like Piaget, did not think that formal,
standardized tests are the best way to assess children’s learning. Rather, Vygotsky
argued that assessment should focus on determining the child’s zone of proximal
development. The skilled helper presents the child with tasks of varying difficulty to
determine the best level at which to begin instruction.
2. Use the child’s ZPD in teaching - Teaching beginning at the zone’s upper limit is
recommended in order to help the child reach their goal and move to a higher level of
skill and knowledge. Offer just enough assistance. You might ask, “What can I do to
help you?” Or simply observe the child’s intentions and attempts and provide support
when needed. When the child hesitates, offer encouragement. And encourage the
child to practice the skill. You may watch and appreciate the child’s practice or offer
support when the child forgets what to do.

It is important to facilitate rather than impart direct instructions - create an

understanding together rather than telling the child what to do directly.

3. Use more-skilled peers as teachers - In addition to adult helpers, children also benefit
from the support and guidance of more-skilled children (John Steiner, 2007).

4. Monitor and encourage children’s use of private speech - It is important to take note
of children externally talking to oneself when solving a problem during the preschool
years to privately talking to oneself in the early elementary school years. It is an
important marker of development. Children should be encouraged to internalize and
self-regulate their talk to themselves in the elementary school years.

5. Place instruction in a meaningful context - Contexts that children can relate to are
expected to facilitate a child’s learning. It is advisable to step away from abstract
presentations of material, and allow the students to experience learning in real-world
settings. For example, instead of just memorizing math formulas, students work on
math problems with real-world implications.

6. Transform the classroom with Vygotskian ideas - The Kamehameha Elementary

Education Program (KEEP) is based on Vygotsky’s theory (Tharp, 1994). Instruction
was given based on the concept of ZPD and learning often occurred through
 activities in groups. Each morning, all students would spend 20 minutes in a setting
called “Center One.” In this, scaffolding is used to facilitate the child’s literary skills. It
involves the teacher asking questions, responding to students’ queries and building
upon the ideas that the students generate.

Thousands of children from low income families have attended KEEP public schools
—in Hawaii, on an Arizona Navajo Indian reservation, and in Los Angeles. Compared
with a control group of non-KEEP children, the KEEP children participated more
actively in classroom discussion, were more attentive in class, and had higher levels
of reading achievement (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988).

EVALUATION OF VYGOTSKY’S THEORY:

Although both Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories were proposed at around the same time,
Vygotsky’s theory was paid attention too later. Thus, it has not been evaluated to the same
extent as Piaget’s theory (Daniels, 2011; Gauvain & Parke, 2010; Holzman, 2009).

There are several differences that can be highlighted between Piaget and Vygotsky’s
theories:

➔ Although both theories are constructivist, Vygotsky takes a social constructivist

approach with emphasis on the social contexts of learning and the construction of
knowledge through social interaction. Whereas, Piaget’s take was more cognitive
constructivist.
➔ Piaget’s concept emphasized the individual aspect and Vygotsky’s theory took a shift
to collaboration, social interaction and sociocultural activities (Halford, 2008). Piaget’s
theory lacks the focus on sociocultural context.
➔ Piaget’s theory had four distinct stages of cognitive development (sensorimotor,
preoperational,concrete operational and formal operational stage). Vygotsky,
however, had no defined stages in his theory.
➔ The end point of cognitive development for Piaget is formal operational thought. For
Vygotsky, the endpoint can differ, depending on which skills are considered to be the
most important in a particular culture.
➔ In Piaget’s opinion, children construct their knowledge by transforming, organizing,
and reorganizing previous knowledge. For Vygotsky, children construct knowledge
through social interaction (Rogoff & others, 2007).
➔ Some key processes mentioned in Piaget’s theory are schema, assimilation,
accommodation, operations, conservation and classification. Processes highlighted
by Vygotsky are zone of proximal development, language, dialogue, and tools of the
culture.
➔ For Piaget, language does not play a major role. Cognition primarily directs
language. For Vygotsky, language was an important focus and he believed that
language plays a crucial role in shaping thought.
 ➔ Vygotsky viewed inner speech as a very pertinent aspect of development. On the
other hand, Piaget was of the opinion that inner speech was egocentric and
immature.
➔ For Piaget, education was something that merely sharpens a child’s already present
cognitive skills. As per Vygotsky, education plays a central role and assists the child
in learning the tools of the culture.
➔ In both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories, teachers serve as facilitators and guides,
rather than as directors and molders of learning. In accordance with Piaget’s theory,
teaching provides support for children’s need to explore their world and discover
knowledge. Vygotsky’s theory views teaching as aiding the students' need for many
opportunities to learn with their teachers and more-skilled peers.

Vygotsky’s theory is not free of criticism (Karpov, 2006). A major criticism is that Vygotsky’s
theory has not highlighted distinct age-related changes (Gauvin, 2008). Another criticism
asserts that Vygotsky does not adequately describe how changes in socioemotional
capabilities contribute to cognitive development (Gauvain, 2008). Critics are also of the
opinion that he overemphasized the role of language in thinking. Additionally, his emphasis
on collaboration and guidance has potential drawbacks. For instance, facilitators may be too
helpful in some cases, as when a parent becomes too overbearing and controlling. This may
hamper the child’s adequate progress. Moreover, some children might become lazy and
expect help when they might have learned more by doing something on their own.