WHO WAS LEV VYGOTSKY?
Lev Vygotsky was born in Russia in 1896. He died at the young age of 37 from
tuberculosis. Due to his early death, most of his theories were left undeveloped,
although some of his writing being translated from Russian. His work in the last 10
years of his life has become the foundation of much research and theory in
cognitive development
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY :
Vygotsky placed more emphasis on social contributions to the process of
development. He focused on the connections between people and the socio cultural
context in which they act and interact in shared experiences.
According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as
speech and writing, to mediate their social environments. Initially children develop
these tools to serve solely as social functions, ways to communicate needs.
MAJOR THEMES ON THIS THEORY
1.“Role of Social Interaction in Cognitive Development”
2. More Knowledgable Other (MKO)
3. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Scaffolding
SOCIAL INTERACTION
much important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a
skillful tutor. The tutor may model behaviors and/or provide verbal instructions
for the child.
Vygotsky refers to this as cooperative or collaborative dialogue.
The child seeks to understand the actions or instructions provided by the tutor (often the
parent or teacher) then internalizes the information, using it to guide or regulate their own
performance.
Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. He states: “Every function in
the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later,
on the individual level; first, between people (inter-psychological) and then inside
the child (intra- psychological)”.
ROLE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE plays a central role in mental development
Language is the main means by which adults transmit information to children
Language itself becomes a very powerful tool of intellectual adaptation
ROLE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: LANGUAGE
Vygotsky believed that language was the most important tool that human could utilize.
Vygotsky believed that there are three forms of language, as outlined below. .
1. Social Speech External communication that people use to talk with other people. (Age 2)
2. Private Speech Internal communication that a person directs to themselves. It serves an
intellectual function. (Age 3).
3. Silent Inner Speech Private speech diminishes in its audibility until it become a self-
regulating function. (Age 7).
MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE OTHER
MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE OTHER (MKO)
Teachers
Peers
Electric devices, Parents
Videos, Coaches
More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) According to Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development,
children learn through social interaction that include collaborative and cooperative dialogue with
someone who is more skilled in tasks they’re trying to learn. Vygotsky called these people with
higher skill level the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). They could be teachers, parents, tutors
and even peers.
The MKO is any person who has a higher level of ability or understanding than the learner in
certain topic. The traditional MKO is an older person; however, MKOs could also refer to our
friends, younger people and even electronic devices like computers and cell phones.
Ex: A Girl trying to tie shoelace but she was not able to. Her mother helped her, talk with her.
She practiced it, task become less difficult. Now she able to tie her shoes
ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)
• The zone of proximal development is the area of learning that a more knowledgeable other
(MKO) assists the student in developing a higher level of learning.
• The goal is for the facilitator (MKO) to be less involved as the student develops the necessary
skills.
The zone of proximal development (ZPD) has been defined as:
• Vygotsky describes it as “the distance between the actual development level as determined by
independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through
problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky,
1978). The zone of proximal development is an area of learning that occurs when a person is
assisted by a teacher or peer with a skill set higher than that of the subject
Vygotsky ALSO believed that when a student is in the zone of proximal development for
a particular task, providing the appropriate assistance will give the student enough of a
"boost" to achieve the task.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)This is an important concept that relates to
thedifference between what a child can achieveindependently and what a child can
achieve withguidance and encouragement from a skilled partner
Example would be reading a book with a child. They are reading the words of the book out loud
to you as you follow along. They come across a word that in unfamiliar to them and ask for help.
Instead of directly telling them the word, show them pictures of ask them questions about what
they just read. They will figure the word out on their own and come to understand what the word
means on their own. They will later learn to do it themselves first before asking for help.
SCAFFOLDING
Vygotsky defined scaffolding instruction as the “role of teachers and others in supporting the
learners development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level”
(Raymond, 2000).
Teachers provide scaffolds so that the learner can accomplish certain tasks they would otherwise
not be able to accomplish on their own (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). The goal of the
educator is for the student to become an independent learner and problem solver (Hartman,
2002).
What is scaffolding in teaching?
In education, scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional techniques used to move students
progressively toward stronger understanding and, ultimately, greater independence in the
learning process
When scaffolding, the MKO becomes a supportive tool for the student in the zone of proximal
development. It provides support It functions as a tool It extends the range of the worker It
allows to accomplish a task otherwise impossible It is used selectively, when needed
(The zone of proximal development is an area of learning that occurs when a person is assisted
by a teacher or peer with a skill set higher than that of the subject)
Scaffolding refers to the temporary support given to a child by a More Knowledgeable Other that
enables the child to perform a task until such time that the child can perform this task
independently.
Scaffolding entails changing the quality and quantity of support provided to a child in the
course of a teaching session.
And basically, The MKO adjusts the level of guidance in order to f Scaffolding in Early
Childhood Education
When using scaffolding with young children, a teacher will provide students with support and
guidance while the students are learning something new and age-appropriate or just slightly
above what a student can do him or herself. As the children learn the skill, the support is lessened
as their abilities develop and until they can do the new skill all on their own.
