Lev VYGOTSKY Socio-Cultural Theory and Development, Slides of Sociological Theories

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Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory

For

CTET Examination 2018

Contents

• 1 Pre-Intro
• 2 Introduction
• 3 Effect of Culture on Development
• 4 Effect of Social Interactions on Development
  • 4.1 Social Learning Precedes Development
  • 4.2 More Knowledgeable Other
  • 4.3 Zone of Proximal Development
  • 4.4 Scaffolding
    • 4.4.1 Strategies for Scaffolding
    • 4.4.2 Combined view of MKO, ZPD and Scaffolding
• 5 Make believe Play
• 6 Vygotsky and Language.......................................................................................................................
• 7 Classroom Applications of Vygotsky
  • 7.1 Reciprocal Teaching
  • 7.2 Collaborative Learning
  • 7.3 Guided or Motivated Learning

Example 1 :

• In some cultures, mnemonics are used to remember something. Mnemonics are techniques to remember something like we use VIBGYOR to remember the colors of rainbow.
• In other cultures, mind maps are used to remember something. A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information. The figure below shows the mind map Figure 1
• These memorization techniques are called tools of intellectual adaptation. Now depending upon the culture, a person would use the memorization technique which would affect the cognitive development Example 2
  • In some cultures, eating non-veg is a bad thing.
  • Children developing under this culture would surely be influenced by such beliefs like they might not support that eating non-veg can cure certain diseases Thus, intellectual tools of adaption, beliefs etc. in the culture affects the cognitive development

4 Effect of Social Interactions on Development

• Vygotsky believes that young children are curious and actively involved in their own learning and the discovery of things. However, Vygotsky placed more emphasis on social contributions to the process of development whereas Piaget emphasized self-initiated discovery.

• According to Vygotsky, 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 internalize the information, using it to guide or regulate their own performance
• Internalization means an individual's acceptance of a set of norms and values (established by others) through socialization. Internalization is in which something (i.e. an idea, concept, action) moves from outside the mind or personality to a place inside of it. For example, a teacher would teach student not to throw the food on floor. With time, the student would accept this as a norm and would always abide by it whenever he/she is eating food For Example : A Young girl who is given her first jigsaw. Alone, she performs poorly in attempting to solve the puzzle. The father then sits with her and describes or demonstrates some basic strategies, such as finding all the corner/edge pieces and provides a couple of pieces for the child to put together herself and offers encouragement when she does so. As the child becomes more competent, the father allows the child to work more independently. According to Vygotsky, this type of social interaction involving cooperative or collaborative dialogue promotes cognitive development. 4.1 Social Learning Precedes Development

1. Children are unable to learn and develop if they are removed from society , or are forbidden to interact with it.
2. Look at the typical development of a child: his first teachers were his parents, who taught him his first words and guided him as he took his first steps, or as he went “ potty ”.
3. On play dates, he learned how to play with other kids his age, and slowly built a bond with one or two kids that he ended up being the closest to him

4.2 More Knowledgeable Other More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) is the person who has better understanding of the concept, idea or knowledge. MKO can be a teacher, peer, parents etc. Example 1

• If a teacher who has better understanding of the concept and helps the children to solve problems, then teacher is the MKO here
• If a peer has better understanding of the PlayStation game and helps the friend to play better, then peer is the MKO
• In fact, the More Knowledgeable Other need not be a person at all. Some companies, to support employees in their learning process, are now using electronic performance support systems Example 2
• Take, for example, a father and his little boy headed to their backyard to play catch. He happens to know how to play baseball, and he plans to teach his boy the basics while he is still young. In this case, the MKO is the father, by his adult status and his knowledge and skills in the sport.
• Twenty years later, the son is now a professional baseball player, and his father has just retired. Before a major game, the son hands his father the latest, most advanced camcorder model, so he can film the game from his VIP seat. He sits down with his father and teaches him how to operate the camcorder. This time, the MKO is the son, since he is more knowledgeable about the device.
• To prepare for the game, the son had to leave, but before doing so, he downloaded an app on his father’s cell phone that will guide him further on how to work the camcorder. The father was then left exploring the features of the camcorder, using the voice prompts from the app on his phone. The MKO is now the electronic device, his cell phone.
• While learning and discovery that is self-initiated is effective, learning becomes more productive and contributory to cognitive development when acquired from an MKO.

4.3 Zone of Proximal Development

• This is an important concept that relates to the difference between what a child can achieve independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner
• It is also called ZPD
  1. The inner circle or ring represents what the child already knows, while the third, outermost circle or rings represents what he still does not know and is too difficult to learn
  2. The middle circle is an empty area between the inner and outer circles, is the Zone of Proximal Development. That is where the learning will take place with the assistance of MKO Example 1
• The example we discussed above where child was not able to solve the jigsaw puzzles but was able to do with the help of father is an example of ZPD
• In this case child knew that blocks need to be connected but he did not know how to connect them. The difference between them is called ZPD

• Similarly, in the Father/Son example where father taught the son as in how to play basketball, after some time father will decrease the help provided and son would learn on his own 4.4.1 Strategies for Scaffolding Scaffolding is not meant that instructor should complete the child’s work but instead it means that teacher/peer should assist the child in such a way that child learns to perform this task individually over a period. Scaffolding strategies will contain 4.4.2 Combined view of MKO, ZPD and Scaffolding

5 Make believe Play

Vygotsky saw make-believe play as an important part of child development. In this child take up distinct roles of adults such as doctor, Mom, Dad, Inspector etc. Make-believe play allows children to practice how they would act in the real world. It provides them with a way to gain the basic skills needed to function in their society before they become adults. However, learning these roles and skills is only done with help from others in their culture.

6 Vygotsky and Language

• Vygotsky believed development of language as a complex interaction between the child and the environment
• Vygotsky viewed language as developing thought. A child's external speech is the first step in the development of thinking. Vygotsky's theory stresses the importance of communication with others as a major factor in the development of a child's language, which stimulates the development of thought
• In other words, Vygotsky believed that the language is learned first which stimulates the thought development
• For Vygotsky, thought and language are initially separate systems from the beginning of life, merging at around three years of age. At this point speech and thought become interdependent: thought becomes verbal, speech becomes rational. Vygotsky (1987) differentiates between three forms of language:

1. Social speech which is external communication used to talk to others ( typical from the age of two ). His thoughts are simple, and his emotions basic, and there is no intellectual or thinking exercise involved. Therefore, he makes use of his limited speech to express

7.1 Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal teaching is used to improve children’s ability to learn from the text. In this method, teachers and students collaborate in learning and practicing four key skills

1. Predicting : The prediction phase involves readers in actively combining their own background knowledge with what they have gathered from the text. With a narrative text student imagine what might happen next.
2. Questioning : When using the questioning strategy, readers monitor and assess their own understanding of the text by asking themselves questions. The teacher will also ask questions about the Unclear parts and puzzling information
3. Clarifying : Clarifying involves the identification and clarification of unclear, difficult, or unfamiliar aspects of a text. These aspects may include awkward sentence or passage structure, unfamiliar vocabulary, unclear references, or obscure concepts
4. Summarizing : Summarizing is the process of identifying the valuable information, themes, and ideas within a text and integrating these into a clear and concise statement that communicates the essential meaning of the text

7.2 Collaborative Learning

Vygotsky propagated group learning in which members have various levels of ability so that people with advanced knowledge can help people with lesser knowledge with in their ZPD. Here people with more knowledge will act as MKO

7.3 Guided or Motivated Learning

In guided learning, teacher would provide help in form of scaffolding to the children so that children are able to complete the tasks and feel motivated. Here scaffolding would be provided with in children’s ZPD and teacher would act as MKO