VYGOTSKY'S SOCIO-CULTURAL THEORY

Thursday, October 12, 2023 10:30 AM

"What a child can do in cooperation today, tomorrow she/he will be able to do alone"
- Lev Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky
 Born in Russia
 His ideas about language, culture, and cognitive development have become major influences in psychology and education today.

Vygotsky's Socio Cultural Theory

 Social interaction plays an important role in cognitive development.
 Scaffolding - appropriate assistance given by the teacher to assist the learner to accomplish a task.
 Social interaction and Language are two central factors in cognitive development.

Piaget vs Vygotsky
Piaget
 More on individual development focus.
 Did not emphasize much on language.

Vygotsky
 Social focus.
 Stressed role of language in cognitive development.

Private Speech - form of self-talk that guides the child's thinking and action.

Zone of Proximal Development

 When a child attempts to perform a skill alone, they may not be immediately proficient at it. The child may perform at a certain
level of competency alone which is the Zone of Actual Development.
 MKO - More Knowledgeable other.
 With an MKO a child can perform at a higher level of competency.
 The difference between what a child can do alone and what they can accomplish with the guidance of others is what the
Zone of Proximal Development is.
 Scaffold or Fade-away technique - as learners become competent, they are able to complete tasks on their own without
assistance, then guidance can be withdrawn.

4 processes in MKO scaffolding;

1. I do, you watch.
2. I do, you help.
3. You do, I help.
4. You do, I watch.

Learning will depend on the skills of the MKO, and the learners readiness and ability to learn and the difficulty of the skill being learned.

Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory Page 1