210 likes | 585 Vues
Who was Lev S. Vygotsky?. Born in the Belarus region of Russia in 1896. Family was Jewish. Earned 2 degrees simultaneously from Moscow University: Law and Humanities. Biographical Information.
E N D
Who was Lev S. Vygotsky? • Born in the Belarus region of Russia in 1896. Family was Jewish. • Earned 2 degrees simultaneously from Moscow University: Law and Humanities.
Biographical Information • Had a wide range of experiences, incl. writing theater reviews, teaching, working as a school psychologist, studying special needs children, and conducting psychological experiments- some on his daughter. • Died at a young age from tuberculosis- 1934. • Ideas rejected by Russian government, and all books/ articles tightly controlled or banned until after Stalin’s fall. • Best known in the Western world for his concepts of the ZPD and scaffolding, but these were a small part of his body of work. • Many of his ideas were not fully fleshed out when he died. (Vygotskaya, G. 1995)
Foundations of his Cultural-Historical Theory • Experiments should be on humans, not animals. • Humans are rational and gradually gain control of their own thinking by developing their complex intellectual capabilities. • Cognitive change is “dialectical synthesis” as explained by G.W.F. Hegel. • Influenced by Marx and Engels and their view of the impact of tools of work.
Foundations of his Cultural-Historical Theory, continued. • Developing and using tools has led to humans changing both nature and themselves. Psychological tools are essential to the development of higher cognitive processes in humans • Cognitive processes are dynamic and must be studied with appropriate research methods that take this into account. (Gendler, M. 2009)
Vygotsky’s Social-Cultural Theory of Psychological Development • Children construct their own knowledge. • Language plays a key role in development. • Development cannot be separated from its social context- children learn from others. • Learning can lead development. • Developmental Theory – Video (Gallagher, 1999)
Social-Cultural Theory of Psychological Development Animals and humans share a set of elemental, biological functions. This includes the process of signalization- recognition of co-occurring stimuli in the environment. Humans developed the practice of making and using signs- signification. Children inherit these cultural signs and use them to develop their cognitive abilities. (Gendler, M. 2009)
Cultural-Historical Lines of Human Psychological Development • Signs and symbols (tools) transform human consciousness. • These cultural tools are passed on in 3 ways: imitative learning, instructive learning, and collaborative learning. • Technical tools change an external situation. • Psychological tools direct the mind and change thinking processes.
Psychological Tools • These psychological tools differ across cultures and throughout human history. Examples include Aboriginal talking sticks and a variety of numerical systems that use body parts to count.
Vygotsky’s Idea of Cognitive Development • Speech development is a major tool of complex thinking, acquired in four stages from birth: • Preintellectual/Autonomous • “Naively” Psychological • Communicative Egocentric • Intellectual (internal) • Imaginary Play is critical in the early development of symbolic activity. –Video • The role of imitation is to allow for mastery of behavior. • The general law of genetic development is the social-behavioral relationship between a child and caregiver, which is later internalized by the child.
Vygotsky in Education • You must determine the appropriate levelofinstruction, lying within the ZPD.
Vygotsky in Education, continued. • Appropriate assessments are critical in forming an appropriate level of instruction, based on mental maturation. • Implementing the law of genetic development- a child’s interactions with the teacher are critical in higher mental development. • Developing a child’s verbal thinking and growing knowledge of word meanings will allow him or her to use speech as a thinking tool.
Educational Implications of the Cultural-Historical Theory • Understanding individual differences and readiness of the learner are essential for educators to be successful. • Assessments need to be dynamic and ever-changing, taking mental age into account. Standardized tests are stagnant and may tell us little about the learner. • A child’s cultural symbol system will affect the acquisition of higher cognitive functions by that child. • Social interactions with knowledgeable members of society will also affect the development and mastery of thought processes.
A Comparison of Vygotsky and Piaget • Both felt that developmental concepts shouldn’t be taught until children are in the appropriate developmental stage. • Piaget felt that the most important source of cognition is within the children themselves. • Vygotsky argued that the child’s social environment could help further their cognitive development. • Both wanted to explore how kids master ideas and translate them into speech.
A Comparison of Vygotsky and Piaget • Another area of difference: Piaget saw children acting independently on the physical world to see what it offers- universal cognitive change for all. Vygotsky felt that human mental activity was the result of social learning- which is highly variable and depends on child’s cultural experiences in the environment. • Vygotsky felt that language acquisition is the most influential development in a child’s life. • To sum up ….Piaget=natural Vygotsky=cultural. (Gallagher, M. 2009)
Sources: • Gallagher, C. (1999) Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky. Retrieved online 9/21/09 from: http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycwwb/history/vygotsky.htm • Gendler, M.E. (2009) Learning and Instruction: Theory into Practice, 6th Ed. Pearson: Upper Saddle River, NJ. • Kerr, S. (1997) Why Vygotsky? The Role of Theoretical Psychology in Russian Education Reform. Retreived online from: http://web.archive.org/web/20010411062816/members.home.net/vygotsky/kerr.htm • Vygotskaya, G. (1995) Gita Vygotskaya’s Opening Address to the 19th ISPA Colloquium, July 30, 1995, Dundee, Scotland. Retreived From: http://web.archive.org/web/20010611013823/www.j51.com/~tatyana/gita/welcome • Youtube Clip: Vygotsky: A Developmental Approachhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=36813446619688577&hl=en • Youtube Clip: Play: A Vygotskian Approach, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=36813446619688577