Jean Vygotsky's Theory Of Personal Development And Social Development

In current educational psychology, both the works of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky have become prominent in an understanding of developmental cognition in childhood (Duchesne, McMaugh, Bochner & Karuse, 2013, p. 56). Their theories are complimentary and provide a more rigorous comprehension of childhood development (Shayer, M., 2003, p. 465). Their varying principles are applicable to many situations concerning the development of children. The focuses of Piaget and Vygotsky on the ways of childhood development differ. Piaget was focused on the four developmental stages of cognitive growth in his Theory of Cognitive Development, whilst Vygotsky’s principles were based on development in a societal manner with his

The importance of the environment lies in the belief that children can best create meaning and make sense of their world through environments which support complex, varied, sustained, and changing relationships between people, the world of experience, ideas and the many ways of expressing ideas. The pre-schools tend to be filled with indoor plants and vines, and awash with natural light. Classrooms open to a central piazza, kitchens are open to view and access to the surrounding community is assured through wall sized windows, courtyards, and doors to the outside in each classroom.

Vygotsky proposed that children’s development is affected by their culture and social interaction. He also suggested that children are not born with knowledge but they gain it through their social interactions with peers and adults; he does not rule out the importance of biological processes but proposes an interdependent relationship between biological development alongside social activity and cultural interaction.

Ann displays techniques through collaborative group work that run true to these theories. Piaget also suggested an individual would not come to organise his/her operations in a coherent whole if they did not engage in thought exchanges and cooperation with others (Piaget, 1947, p. 174). Ann is breaking students up into different groups to perform different activities; this is portrayed through one group collecting rainfall data and another group taking notes on the impact the rain has on ants living in the area. Ann’s socially-constructive pedagogical approach to her lessons through the use of cooperative learning will exemplify Vygotsky’s theories of peer-peer scaffolding as well as the zone of proximal development.

A second strength of the sociocultural perspective is the emphasis on the role of adults in childhood cognitive development through guided participation. Vygotsky introduced the idea that children learn in a zone of proximal development. Meaning the distance between what an individual can do alone and what they can do with guidance and assistance from a capable member of society (Mcleod, 2010). Any skills outside the zone would be already mastered or still too difficult to attempt alone. “To Vygotsky, learning in collaboration with more knowledgeable companions drives cognitive development (Sigelman).” This is true throughout the world. Children in many cultures learn from a teacher, from family members, and many others. In other cultures, children learn skills from relatives, members of their village or tribe, or from other skilled members in their group. This perspective satisfies the need to recognize the role of adults in

The preschool is concerned with the child at different developmental stages (Berger, 2009). Teacher must ask herself two questions about the child at those stages. Firstly, how does the child think about and view his world? Secondly, what learning tasks should the child be given at this point in his development? To answer the questions, the teacher must orient herself to Piagetian developmental theory and sharpen her observational skills.

When exploring water and gardens, it is important to apply the EYLF to children’s learning and development. Outcome two, children are connected with and contribute to their world allows children to develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities, respond to diversity with respect, be aware of fairness, and show respect for the environment (DEEWR, 2009). By developing these outcomes children begin to broaden their understanding of the world they live in. This can be explored by providing children with opportunities to explore the environment through gardening or water play and promote positive responses

The developmental theories can not be more evident than during the out of class assignment at the daycare facility. During this independent assignment, I was able to observe and interact with pre-school children in an environment that is both encouraging and facilitating to a child’s developmental growth. So, just as Piaget in his developmental theory believed that children takes an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about the world; the pre-school teachers allowed them to do just that. Indeed, the teachers at the day care provided room for the child to learn and explore while at the same time adhering to a structure that set boundaries and limitations. Thus, the pre-school children, begrudgingly, learns to follow a meticulous schedule of activities and rest.

Gardens offer science and mathematics lessons in enjoyable, hands-on situations that permit children to “think with their hands”. Gardens help teach communities and endorse sustainable, local foods while also providing critical science and mathematics lessons to elementary students. Gardens also teach children life lessons such as patience and accountability as they nurture plants. Research done by the University of Alabama demonstrates that children’s participation in gardens leads to healthier food choices, more compliance to try or eat vegetables, improved plant knowledge, greater interest in learning, and increased reading and math standardized test scores. Students who participated in gardening had a six percent lower body mass index, an average of eleven percent higher standardized test scores, and twenty-seven percent more vegetable consumption (Grider). For many students, school can be a uninteresting but required exercise where paying attention and retaining information becomes a tedious endeavor. When an active teacher decides to teach science through gardening and hands-on experience, they will discover that students are more engaged with a higher voluntary participation rate. NWFSC should start a garden because of the possible learning opportunities that can be available to local elementary

When reading Chapter 9 in the Social Development by Ross D. Parke and Alison Clarke-Stewart we got to learn about Schools and media: children in an electronic age. Before reading this chapter when it comes to school it’s like the yard for socialization. In the book it sated that school has an informal agenda of socialization children y teaching them the rules, norms, and values they need to make their way in society and helping them develop the skills to interact successfully with their peers. But when the school talks about children who attend single gender school I wanted to know if they would have any effects on their socialization. In the book they stated that children who attends a single gender school do better academically and perhaps

Delegating roles and responsibility for all students regardless of their learning capability, enabled them to be informed, active and responsible citizens in and out of schools. As a result of this school experience, students were entirely immersed within their learning of the vegetable garden whilst gaining fundamental life skills.

I love how you mentioned that you will want to take your students on field trips to farms, etc. I agree with you because as adults we often make a lot assumptions about students’ knowledge about where food comes from and how it is grown. My daughter’s school has recently started using a community garden plot to teach the students’ about growing vegetables. It is the responsibility of the students’ to start the seedlings, plant the plants, weed the garden, harvest the vegetables, and finally taste the finished product. The K-2nd graders start the seedlings in early spring while the 3rd-5th grade plant the plants at the end of May. The families of the students are asked to sign up and donate time to weed garden throughout the summer until harvest time. When the students come back in August, they take a trip out to the garden to look at all their hard work. At this time, each grade gets part of the garden to harvest along with other activities associated with sustainable gardening. Once the veggies are brought to the school, the teachers along with the 5th graders, prepare the veggies to eat. This year I was lucky to help with this and I got to see firsthand how students were so excited to try the veggies they grew. Children who never even seen and/or heard about beets were eating them and

It is the author’s view that in education, the nature of curriculum is continuously changing and as educators we have not yet found a 'successful curriculum '. Ross (2000) suggests that a reform of the curriculum needs to be undertaken and that as educators we need to continuously evaluate and critically challenge our curriculum frameworks for the growing changes in society. He continues his metaphor and uses the imagery of a garden to highlight what gardens are used for by society. Ross (2000) suggests that gardens can be used for a number of different purposes; whether it be to provide food, as a means of exercise, for leisure reasons or simply as a means of relaxation. He also asks the question “who are gardens for?” and what is their purpose (Ross, 2000, p.2). Ross (2000) uses this metaphor to argue the importance that when developing a curriculum, educators first need to consider what the purpose of the curriculum is and who is the

Lev Semionovich Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist and constructivist learning theorist who was known for arguing against the theories of psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget believed that in order for any learning to occur there had to development within the individual first, but Vygotsky argued the contrary. He argued that in order for development to occur, the individual would first have to have learning take place through instruction and example in a given appropriate environment. Vygotsky’s theory on cognitive development is centralized on two key ideas known as scaffolding and the zone of proximal development which will be explored in this essay and how they contribute to the classroom.

Lev Vygotsky was an educator and a theorist known primarily for his sociocultural theory. Vygotsky developed the sociocultural theory, which is the theory of human development through social and cultural influences (Aimin, 2013), during the 1920’s-30’s. One of Vygotsky’s focuses was the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which is the idea of a child being appropriately challenged, this will be discussed further on. His theory stemmed from how children’s learning is impacted greatly through guidance of peers, cultural relations (language), social interactions, teachers and any other adult figure in their environment. In the last 10-15 years, teachers, caregivers, and educators have been attending more to Vygotsky’s theory and his concept of the zone of proximal development, because his work impacts how children learn in their optimal environment (Trawick-Smith, 2015). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory will be discussed through historical insight, explanation of the theory itself, how sociocultural and society relate to each other, and how the theory is applied in the educational society.