vygotsky

• what did vygotsky's sociocultural theory emphasise?

  importance of social interaction, language and culture in shaping children's thinking
• what did vygotsky argue?

  • learning is a social process
  • development occurs through interaction with more knowledgeable others
• outline the role of social interaction

  cognitive development is fundamentally dependent on social interaction

  • learning happens when children engage with MKOs who provide guidance and structure
• explain the difference between piaget's and vygotsky's views on social interaction

  • piaget - children develop independently through self-discovery
  • vygotsky - develop through interaction with others
• outline the role of language in cognitive development

  language serves a social purpose before being internalised as thought processes
• 3 stages of language development

  1. social speech - before age 3, used for communication
  2. private speech - between 3 and 7, helps plan and organise thoughts
  3. inner speech - by age 7+, becomes internalised as silent thinking
• explain the difference between piaget and vygotsky's view of language

  • piaget - egocentric speech is immature and sign of cognitive limitations
  • vygotsky - private speech was crucial
• define zone of proximal development

  gap between what a child can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance
• 3 levels of development in the ZPD

  1. what a child can do alone
  2. what a child can do with guidance
  3. what a child can't do yet even with help
• key idea of the ZPD

  learning is most effective when it occurs within the ZPD where a child is challenged but supported
• define scaffolding

  temporary support provided by an MKO

  • support is gradually reduced as child becomes more competent
• who proposed the 5 features of scaffolding?

  Bruner et al
• 5 features of scaffolding

  1. recruitment - engaging the child's interest in the task
  2. reduction of degrees of freedom - simplifying task by breaking it into smaller steps
  3. direction maintenance - encouraging child to stay focused
  4. marking critical features - highlighting key aspects
  5. fading - gradually reducing assistance as child gains independence
• explain the difference between piaget and vygotsky's view on scaffolding

  • piaget - children develop through individual exploration
  • vygotsky - learning is a guided process facilitated by social interaction
• strength of vygotsky's sociocultural theory - validity

  • recognises importance of social and cultural influences
  • Rogoff - problem-solving abilities varied across cultures
  • culturally relevant
• weakness of vygotsky's sociocultural theory - credibility

  • lack of scientific evidence
  • mcnaughton & leyland - couldn't provide a precise way to measure ZPD's boundaries
  • less falsifiable
• weakness of vygotsky's sociocultural theory - overemphasis

  • overemphasised role of social interaction
  • children with minimal social interaction can still develop strong cognitive skills
  • less comprehensive