Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural

Theory
“What a child can do in cooperation today,
tomorrow she/he will be able to do alone”
-- Lev Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky was born in
Russia in 1898. His work
began when he was studying
learning and development to
improve his own teaching.
In Vygotsky’s time, he
wrote language, thought,
psychology of art, learning
and development and
educating students with
special needs.
Vygotsky’s ideas about
language, culture and
cognitive development have
become major influences in
psychology and education
today.
Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson the students must have:

1. explained why Vygotsky’s theory is called “Socio-cultural”
theory.
2. differentiated Piaget and Vygotsky’s views on cognitive
development.
3. explained how scaffolding is useful in teaching a skill.
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.
Activity (Write your answer in 1 whole sheet of pad paper.)

1. Recall a skill that you wanted to learn as a child and eventually learned
it well, through the help of another person.
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2. What made you interested to learn the skill?

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3. Who taught and assisted you to earn?

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4. Describe how you went about learning the skill. Describe how the
person assisted or helped you to learn the skills.
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Analysis (continue your answer in # 5 & 6 in 1 whole sheet of pad paper in your activity).

5. What factors in the environment influenced you to learn the skills?

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6. Did the person who taught or assisted you make use of scaffolding? If yes, How?
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Abstraction/Generalization

When Vygotsky was a young boy he was educated

under a teacher who used the 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’s and 30’s but they had a clear
differences in their views about cognitive development. This
is how Piaget’s views compare with Vygotsky’s

Piaget
More individual in focus
Believed that there are universal
stages of cognitive development
Vygotsky
More social in focus
Did not propose stages but
emphasized on cultural factors in
cognitive development

Did not give much emphasis on Stressed the role of language in

language cognitive development
 Vygotsky theory differs from that of Piaget in a number of important ways:

Piaget Vygotsky
Sociocultural context Little emphasis Strong emphasis
Constructivism Cognitive constructivism Social constructivism
Stages Strong emphasis on No general stages of
stages of development development proposed
Key processes in Equilibration; schema; Zone of proximal
development & learning adaptation; assimilation; development;
accommodation scaffolding;
language/dialogue; tools
of the culture
Role of language Minimal – Major –
Language provides labels Language plays a
for children’s experiences powerful role in shaping
(egocentric speech) thought

Teaching implications Support children to Establish opportunities

explore their world and for children to learn with
discover knowledge the teacher and more
skilled peers
Social Interaction.

• Piaget’s theory was more individual, while Vygotsky was more

social.
• Piaget’s work on Piagetian’s tasks focused heavily on how
individual’s cognitive development became evident through the
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 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 learner’s
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 a 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 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, “Gagawin ko
itong airplane (holding a rectangular block), tapos ito ang
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. This refers to 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 she can accomplish with the guidance of
another is what Vygotsky referred to as zone of proximal
development.
The zone of proximal development represents the
learning opportunity where a knowledgeable adult such as a
teacher or parent or a more advanced peer can assist the a
child’s development.
Continuation

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 straw in the child’s tetrapack 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 development to the .zone of proximal
development.
- Leading the straw to the hole and letting the child put
the straw through the tetra pack hole is scaffolding.
This example shows how a right amount of assistance can
allow the child to accomplish the task.
Continuation

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 scaffold 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.
When MKO scaffolds, the process moves in four levels:
1. I do, you watch.
2. I do, you help.
3. You do, I help.
4. You do, I watch.
Learning will depend in the skill of the MKO, and the learners
readiness and ability to learn and the difficulty of the skill being
learned.