AO3 - Vygotsky’s Theory

• Rogoff (1990) dismisses the idea that Vygotsky's ideas are culturally universal and instead states the concept of scaffolding (which is heavily dependent on verbal instruction) may not be equally useful in all cultures for all types of learning. In some instances, observation and practice may be more effective ways of learning certain skills.
• Roazzi & Bryant (1998) provide support for the ZPD. They gave a similar task to children working alone and those working with the help of an older child. The older children offered prompts and suggestions which made the task more successful.
• Roazzi & Bryant (1998) also provide support for scaffolding, as older children in the offered support to the younger children, which resulted in more success.
• Conner & Cross (2003) used a longitudinal study to follow 45 children completing problem-solving tasks with the help of their mothers at 16, 26, 44 and 54 months old. As the children gained in experience, they used their mothers help less often. This supports the idea of scaffolding that levels of expert help decline during the process of learning.
• Vygotsky’s ideas have practical applications in education and show the benefits of having a more knowledgeable other or learning through scaffolding.
• In education, Vygotsky’s principles are fundamental, such as social interaction during learning, in the form of group work or peer tuition.
• Van Keer & Verhaeghe (2005) found that 7-year-olds tutored by 10-year-olds, in addition to regular whole-class teaching, progressed further in reading than a control group with no additional support.
• Alborz et al (2009) reviewed the use of teaching assistants and found they were very effective at improving the rate of learning in children.
• Liu & Matthews (2005) criticise these ideas as they found in China, classes of up to 50 children can learn effectively in lecture-style classrooms with minimal interaction from others.
• Howe et al (1992) suggest that what children actually learn varies considerably between individuals, even in group situations for learning.