Vygotsky's Scaffolding Research

Importance of play is emphasized in much of Vygotsky and Piaget theories of cognitive development. Vygotsky, feels strongly that play provides children with a great amount of scaffolding, making it possible for the child to performs at the higher end of the ZPD (Zone of Proximal Distance). The ZPD working in concert with the related concepts of scaffolding can be of tremendous help to teachers and other adults- be it a parent or others to guide the children to coming to progress more efficiently. Scaffolding is used as a support system- but warns that when working with someone on a particular skill who is not skilled, the child is not likely to improve- however when working with someone who’s skills are so above theirs that the child is overwhelmed

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).

171).” This, in other words, is when a child cannot completely perform a task independently but can do it with a bit of assistance from a more competent figure. This zone of proximal development is something I experience with Blair. At two years old she has got to pick out her tooth and hairbrush, but she still needs a bit of help with both operations. Another idea that Vygotsky believed in was the method of scaffolding. This is known as the support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth (Feldman 2012). For example, sometimes Blair has a tough time communicating using her words. I often encourage conversation by asking questions that instigate more of a response from Blair. This helps her grow in her communication and is good practice for her. Cognitive development was viewed by Vygotsky as the product of social interactions. He focused on the social aspects of development and learning instead of concentrating on individual performance.

Hypotheses: Explicit scaffolding, specifically encouragement and praise increases simple helping in younger infants early in the second year.

In practice, the method which Kelly, Child’s A key worker, will be implementing is social constructive based. Such method will involve Child A and his key worker identifying what Child A is capable of doing independently, such as putting clothing in a basket rather than on the floor and then noting areas which could be promoted via the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978). This term was coined by Vygotsky (1978) to define the distance between what an individual could achieve independently and what they could potentially achieve when given guidance from a more knowledgeable peer. Wood and Middleton (1975) study in which children were asked to build a tower beyond their capabilities illustrated Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of the zone and proximal development through a method they identified as Scaffolding, whereby children were more likely to achieve success when in receipt of support which was holistic and best suited to their required need.

I also noticed that I tend to scaffold the learning of children without even realizing it. According to the textbook, scaffolding is when an adult, “adjusts the support offered during a teaching session to fit the child’s current level of performance. As competence increases, the adult gradually and sensitively withdraws support, turning responsibility over to the child” (Pg. 331, Ch. 9- Cognitive Development in Early Childhood). For example, when I asked Zane to write his name on the bottom of the picture that he drew, at first he was very hesitant because he did not know how to draw a “z.” When I drew dotted lines in the shape of a “z” and asked him if he would be willing to trace the letter. Very willingly he did so, and within one minute he had not only traced the letter “z,” but had also written the other letters of his name. Another example of when I was scaffolding learning was when one of the younger children in the Mom2Mom group was trying to build a tower like the rest of the children, but he could not get the tower to be more than three blocks high before it would knock over. Seeing that he was becoming frustrated, I offered to show him how to make a tall tower, by having him help me place the blocks on top of each other. After doing this two times, I withdrew my help and watched him successfully build a tower with eight

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.

“Scaffolding refers to a teaching style that matches the amount of assistance to the learners needs” (184). This is when the teacher at first provides a lot of instruction to the child and then as the child starts to understand then the teacher backs off and gives less instruction. This helps the child become independent and they can do tasks on their own instead of being guided. “Private speech, comments not directed to the others but intended to help children regulate their own behavior” (185). First speech is guided and regulated by the people around the child and is directed towards him, as the child grows up they tend to start using inner speech, instead of speaking out loud. Parents can also help the child with their speech by saying certain words to help the child say them

Vygotsky’s concepts of zone of proximal development and the more knowledgeable other person has led to the idea of scaffolding. Scaffolding, which encompasses both ZPD and MKO, is seen in almost all classrooms in today’s society. Scaffolding is a temporary support mechanism that aids students when they need it and then relinquishes control when the assistance is no longer needed. According to Lipscomb, Swanson and West (2004), scaffolding is used in classrooms by the “development of instructional plans to lead the students from what they already know to a deep understanding of new material,” and “execution of the plans, wherein the instructor provides support to the students at every step of the learning process.” Scaffolding encompasses the role of the teacher. The teacher acts as the most knowledgeable other to the student and then assesses the current knowledge of the students. The teacher decides which knowledge level the students should be performing at, and that gap between current knowledge and abilities and their potential is the zone of proximal development. In order for

Zone of Proximal Development has been defined as “ A range of tasks that an individual cannot yet do alone but can accomplish when assisted by the guidance of others.” (Pg. 48) Based off Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development, if the task for the learner is too hard or even sometimes too easy for the learner, they will not learn anything from the task. If the task is too easy they will either get bored, tired, annoyed, or if it is too hard they will get frustrated and want to quit. Based off this it was important for me to pick the right learner in order for my ZPD project to be successful.

Adult scaffolding: “Scaffolding” means adults both support children’s current level of thinking and challenge them. Adults encourage children’s efforts and help them extend or build on their work by talking with them about what they are doing, by joining in their play, and by helping them learn to solve problems that arise.”

Vygotsky’s concept of ZPD and scaffolding may be applied as a strategy in the case study. This method can be used as a bridge between the information Kirit recalls and the information he is learning. Teaching Kirit the appropriate ways of behavior using social stories, simple and direct instructions written on the slate board and visuals for directions will reduce auditory input and provide support he needs to get back on track. A teacher can also provide visual and verbal models for language scripts to teach him request breaks or ask for objects (a ‘chewy’ thing, gum, or toothbrush) that help him with sensory issues.

In this theory, Vygotsky suggests the idea of scaffolding from external influences, including parents and teachers. To scaffold is “to use language and social interaction to guide children’s thinking” (Trawick-Smith, 2010, p.53). The key to do this properly, is to know how much or how little guidance to give the children.

Scaffolding is defined by Educational Psychology, 8th edition as: “Support for learning and problem solving; might include clues, reminders, encouragement, breaking the problem down into steps, providing an example, or anything else that allows the student to grow in independence as a learner (45).” The key concepts of scaffolding in the zone of proximal development is how Vygotsky believed the most learning can take place as the students are amongst peers whose “private speech” can be discussed among one another to come to new conclusions. (aka learning.) private speech Children 's self-talk, which guides their thinking and action; eventually internalized as silent inner speech. For example, a teacher could introduce a concept requiring prompting,

The zone of proximal development is the abilities that children can perform by themself compared to the abilities that a child cannot perform on their own, but is able to learn with the guidance of others (Siegler and Alibali, 2005). Instructed learning is one form that aims to teach a child a task. This could be in regards to a teacher teaching a lesson at school, or parents who are helping their