Lev Vygotsky 's Theory Of Cultural Development Essay

Example in Setting: children learn the word sounds or phonemes and practice these, then they can put them together to make words.

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.

As a problem presents itself, children will verbally work through the steps to solve it. This ‘private speech’ is a vital part to cognitive development, according to Vygotsky. This private speech gradually progresses into thinking as children become more proficient. He was also a proponent for scaffolding which is a process in which a new task is given and direct instruction is given then gradually taken away as the child learns. Both psychologists believed that children learn and develop through action but in different ways; Piaget felt it was through personal, self action while Vygotsky felt is was through social interaction, internalization and vocalization. Vygotsky and Piaget realized that social factors play a part in cognitive development but in different ways; According Piaget, self processing within a child leads to social processing while Vygotsky felt the opposite- social processing leads to self processing. Lastly, both came to the conclusion that by internalizing information, children transform it into knowledge and mental growth.

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory focuses on human learning as a social process (cite). He believed that social interaction plays a significant role in the development of cognition in children that follows them into adulthood. After reading through the discussion boards by my classmates this semester, it seems that Vygotsky’s theory sits soundly with most of the class. The theory appeals to me because it leaves room for cultural and societal change. If one is to look back in history, they would notice things that are different between children back then and children now. Perhaps children back then were more respectful towards their elders, or maybe children today are more tech-savvy than ever before. This can all be attributed to

Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development was one of the first steps in understanding how children become who they are as adults. In early childhood, children begin to understand symbols and representations (Berk, 2014, p. 227). Their learning shifts from sensing the world as in the sensorimotor stage to trying to find commonalities like symbols. According to Berk (2014), Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory focused on “social context of cognitive development” (p. 234). Vygotsky incorporated social context and social interactions into childhood development; in other words, who, how, and what children interact with in their everyday social environment contributes to their mental and emotional development. When it comes to both of these cognitive theories, there are many similarities and differences between Piaget and Vygotsky.

Vygotsky also introduced his theory of internalisation, one of the main concepts that differentiated from that of Jean Piaget (Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A. 2016. P.103). The theory of internalisation put forward by Vygotsky is an idea that suggests an individual is able to observe and internalise the ideas and processes of their surroundings as they partake in social interaction defined as, “new ways of thinking” (Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A.,2016p.103). During social interaction the individuals thinking is successively transformed by interaction with others, similarly to the concept developed by Piaget, Vygotsky also characterised children as “active agents in their development”. (Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A.,2016p.103). As explained by

The tightness of a parents’ grip upon their children can reflect the way we function for the rest of our lives. Too tight, and we desire freedom and indulge in rebellion. Too loose, we become lost souls, hopelessly searching for that one constant comfort in a sea of dissatisfaction and loneliness. Lev Vygotsky theorized that a person 's psychological development is formed by his/her past and social environment. Vygotsky focused on the social interactions during the learning process and claimed there is a deep interrelationship between social and cognitive development. He believed that children are curious and actively involved in their own learning. They discover and development new understandings about the world by observing those who are in their immediate surroundings.

The approach is based on the idea that an individual’s activities occurs in a cultural context and can be best understood in their historical development (Kagitcibasi, 2012). Vygotsky developed this theory with the intent of coming up with a way to explain human behavior. The theory examined various subjects including the psychology of art, thought and language; and also focused on education of students with special needs. Vygotsky believed that caregivers, parents, peers, and culture at large play an important role in developing an individual’s higher order functions. There are various modern time interpretations of this theory with one focused on explaining human development. In this context, the sociocultural theory explains that learning is a social process and the society makes a significant contribution to individual development. The theory states that learning is based on interactions with other people and once this has happened, the information is then incorporated on a personal level (Hutchison,

|Vygotsky’s Theory |1. Vygotsky’s Theory stressed the importance of the influence of culture and social context of learning. |

Lev Vygotsky concept is showing or helping children with a task. They are taught everything through social interaction no matter what it is. They are taught by example, by getting help with the task and are expected to be able to complete it by themselves. With this concept of learning every child is able to learn and evolve into completing activities independently and progressively from what they have learned. It is important that the environment for the child be set with ideas and task that will allow them too mentally, educationally and physically develop with or without adult and peer assistant.

Vygotsky 's Sociocultural Theory explains the interaction between the cultural and historical facts. There are three different theories that Vygotsky 's uses which are : matching, zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Matching is based of the child’s culture. Zone of proximal development has three different components the role played by culture, the use of language and the child’s zone of proximal development. This development shows what the children can accomplish independently and potentially depending if they received guidance along the way. Scaffolding is apart of learning, in the beginning parents’ are there too hold your hand and provide for you. When you get old enough parents let go and let you figure out life on your own.

Social development is one of the most significant aspects of a childs life, for they can not live with out social interaction, the moment they are born they are being interacted with, typically social development happens to everyone throughout their life, with the rare cases of adults becoming hermits, there is no escape from developing socially to fit in with those around you, or to stand out.

Justification of this critique was also provided by Vygotsky theory of development .Vygotsky (1929) believes that adults and child’s peers are involved in shaping cognitive development of the

Lev Vygotsky is one of the earliest proponents of a constructivist learning theory. Although he only lived through the early 1930s, his work was largely unknown in the West until the 1960s (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012). His significant contributions to constructivist learning theory include three important distinctions. First, he purports in Mind and Society: the development of higher mental process (1978) that “social interaction between people plays the first fundamental role in the process of cognitive development” (explained in the Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012). This means we first learn by watching others and discussing new information with others, only then do we attempt to use our own cognitive systems for storing that new knowledge individually. “Vygotsky focused on the connections between

Lev Vygotsky believed that we base our knowledge on social interaction and this is called social constructivism. Vygotsky believed that when a student is in the “Zone of Proximal Development”, providing assistance and encouragement from a knowledgeable person; parent, teacher, peers, will give the student enough support to better achieve the task at hand. The presence of a support group