Lev Vygotsky

Bio

Soviet Bularusian psycologist Founder of a theory of human cultural and bi-social development Theories stress the interaction in the development of cognition and developed a social-cultural approach to cognitive development.

Social Influences on Cognitive Development

Believed children are curious and actively involved in their own learning and the discovery and development of new understandings Much of a childs important learning occurs through social interactions with a skillful tutor Tutor may model behaviors and or provide verbal instructions for the child !eferred to this as co-operative or collaborative dialogue "hild seeks understanding of the actions or instructions and ac#uires the knowledge it$ later to be used in their own performance

%e&ample' a young girl is given a (igsaw pu))le for the first time. She can*t figure it out on her own. The father then demonstrates and shows her basic strategies. +e begins to give her pieces to put together on her own$ encourages her as she goes on$ then lets her work more independently,

Zone of Proximal Development

!elates to the difference between what children achieve independently and what they can achieve with the guidance and encouragement of a tutor %child with the pu))le, -ygotsky views the .one of /ro&imal 0evelopment as the areas where little guidance should be given in order to allow the child to develop their own skills. 1lso sees interactions with peers as ways of developing skills and strategies

Vygotsky and Language

2anguage plays 3 critical roles in cognitive development'

4t is the main source to which adults use to interact and demonstrate information to children 2anguage itself becomes a key tool of intellectual adaptation

Classroom Applications

1 contemorary educational application of -ygotsky*s theories is 5reciprocal teaching5$ used to improve students* ability to learn fom te&t. 4n this method$ teachers and students use collaborate in learning and practicing 6 keys skills' summari)ing$ #uestioning$ clarifying$ and predicting