The Increase Of Globalisation Over The Years Has Made Our World Increasingly Interconnected

In the “Study of the Child: Theories of Development I” (Learning Seed, 1997), according to Vygotsky, the cognitive development in children is in direct relationship, and dependent on interaction with others. (Feldman 2010, pg. 20). Vygotsky believed to truly understand cognitive development; a child’s social and cultural experiences must be considered.

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.

Mutual cooperation and equal loads of work among colleagues can help improve partnership working as well.

Some practitioners’ attitudes may present challenges if they see themselves working in teams, as opposed to working as teams. Employees might simply work alongside others, sharing a common work experience but not truly engaging in the give-and-take of working as teams. It is working as a team that brings the full range of motivational benefits.

Lev Vygotsky believed that social and cognitive development work simultaneously to build and evolve on one another. He believed that social, cultural and personal experience cannot be detached from each other and many things influence the way children learn and develop, not just their own experiences, thus Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. Vygotsky’s ideas were and remain controversial as he had no specific training in psychology or children’s development. His preeminent contribution to children’s development is his recognition of the value of progressing knowledge by means of interaction with educators, peers and family (Mooney, 2000, p. 83). The major ideas of Vygotsky’s theory are scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Scaffolding is a process Vygotsky described as the framework or temporary support for children’s learning. In order for scaffolding to be beneficial, it must be responsive to the child’s needs (Coon & Mitterer, 2013, pp. 106-107).

There has been much controversy over understanding the social aspects of cognitive development in children. Some of this controversy is revealed through the differing views that Piaget and Vygotsky had on the topic of learning amongst children. Piaget theorized that collaboration between same aged children, who are equal in understanding, promotes cognitive development. He theorized that when children engage in disagreement during problem solving this promoted more understanding of the topics at hand. In contrast, Vygotsky reasoned that collaboration between novice and experts would lead to intellectual growth.

The 20th century brought with it a rapid expansion of the global interrelatedness of the world. In the beginning of the 20th century the world was dominated by a European world system of colonial empires that was created through expansion by sea (Findley, 2011). The competition between Britain and the other colonial powers led to an insatiable appetite to expand their empires across the globe (Findley, 2011). As the 20th century progressed this European world system collapsed and a new three world system of the United States, Soviet Union, and the rest of the world emerged (Findley, 2011). The end of the century coincided with a new era of globalization that was made possible by the introduction of global communication via the internet (Findley, 2011). This new technology brought the entire world closer together than it had ever been before. The four events that best illustrate the progression of global interrelatedness throughout the 20th century are the Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, and the introduction of instant global communications via the internet.

Teachers take on the role of learner as well as instructor and are there to guide the discussion towards learning objectives without just forcing their point of view on students. Another very important part from Vygotsky’s work is the concept of a student’s zone of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky (as cited by Eggen & Kauchak, 2011) described it as “the distance between the actual development level…and the level of potential development…under adult guidance…or more capable peers” Once a student is within their ZPD, they can vastly benefit from ‘scaffolding’, this is assistance from either the teacher or from peers in a collaborative group to achieve a level that they would be unable to do independently (Eggen & Kauchak, 2011). This scaffolding can take many forms, using prompts and cues, asking pertinent questions, the most important point is not to do the work for the student but to guide in the right direction.

In contrast to this view Les Vygotsky, whose theories have also been implicated in modern educational teaching methods, explained that children can learn skills that are just beyond their ability if they are helped by someone who possesses that skill, this was known as proximal development and although it contradicts the fundamental argument behind Piagets support for cooperative learning, it provides an other theorists outlook on the benefits of cooperative learning in educational settings and thus increases support on its use. “Different learning theory approaches favour cooperative learning for different reasons” (O’Donnell, 2002)

Collaborative learning stems from the theory of Vygotsky’s conception of Zone of proximal development. The thought is that children learn best with “help and guidance” (Ormrod, 2012). In transitioning this zone to a collaborative learning experience, children work with their peers in broadening their learning experience, allowing small groups of students to work together to share knowledge, exchange ideas, problem solve, and more. These classroom environments help to create durable abilities in students and aid in producing a “smoother integration into adult society when the activities resemble real-world tasks” (Ormrod, 2012). As students work with peers and adults, they adopt some of the learning strategies demonstrated and develop more skills in problem solving. This scaffolding creates a trickle-down effect of knowledge construction. In collaborative learning, students are afforded a myriad of enriching opportunities to explore perspectives that may differ from their own. These activities serve to create a self-awareness in the student of their responsibilities to a group, requiring them to self-monitor their activity (Lee, Tsai, Chai, & Koh, 2014).

“Group work is a form of voluntary association of members benefiting from cooperative learning that enhances the total output of the activity than when done individually”.

Prior to the early modern world, European Nations and Far East countries were very isolated and had minimal interaction between each other. The fact of the matter was that before Vasco De Gama’s voyage from Portugal to India at the end of the 15th century, travel from Europe to the East was far too treacherous. However, things started to change during the 16th century. The early modern world was able to become more interconnected through the exchange of goods, slave trade, and the exchange of military tactics, which in turn presented nations with the opportunity to grow and prosper.

Lev Vygotsky believed that children learn from their own experience. As a teacher I have grown to learn that Vygotsky’s findings are true in so many ways. Just from watching the children in my classroom I see that the Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding play a huge part in the development of a child.

Constructivism is connected to the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget believed that cognitive development occurred in four stages that have distinct developmental characteristics.  He theorised that all information is organised into ‘schemas’, and this refers to the manner in which a child organisesand stores information and knowledge received. As new information is received, it is either incorporated into existing schemas (assimilation) or new schemas (accommodation) are created (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).  Vygotsky’s theories compliment those of Piaget and place a greater importance on social interaction as he considered cognitive development predominately was achievedthrough social interaction.  Vygotsky believed that learning could be accelerated with the assistance of a more advanced peer or teacher.  This concept is referred to as the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and works in conjunction with the theory of ‘scaffolding’, where a teacher provides support to student and as proficiency increases the scaffolding is decreased (Marsh, 2008). Evidence of scaffolding is seen throughout the Maths video as Ms Poole provides an outline of the lesson and the goals to allow students to establish a focus.

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