Chapter 6B - Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development

Question 1

VYGOTSKY’s THEORY of COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Answer 1

Vygotsky emphasized that children actively and socially construct their knowledge and understanding. They develop their ways of thinking and understanding primarily through SOCIAL INTERACTION. Their cognitive development depends on the tools provided by society, and their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live.
Vygotsky’s theory takes a SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH, which emphasizes the social contexts of learning and the construction of knowledge through social interaction.

Question 2

The ZONE of PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)

Answer 2

The ZONE of PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but that can be learned with assistance of adults or more-skilled peers. The lower limit of the ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working independently, whereas the upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor

This concept reflects his belief in the importance of social influences, especially instruction, on cognitive development.

Question 3

SCAFFOLDING

Answer 3

SCAFFOLDING refers to chances in the level of support that a child receives. Adults and advanced peers adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child’s current performance and to promote active learning - as the student’s competence increases, less guidance is given.

DIALOGUE is an important tool of scaffolding - it occurs when the child’s rich but unsystematic, disorganized, and spontaneous concepts meet with the skilled helper’s more systematic, logical, and rational concepts.

Question 4

PRIVATE SPEECH THOUGHT

Answer 4

Vygotsky argued that children use speech not only for social communication, but also to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior - this use of language for self-regulation is called PRIVATE SPEECH. It takes a long time for children to complete the transition from private, external speech, to INNER SPEECH, the internalisation of private speech that does not require verbalisation - this process takes place between 3 and 7 years.

Question 5

VYGOTSKY and EDUCATION

Answer 5

Vygotsky’s theory has been embraced by many teachers and has been successfully applied to education. His theory can be incorporated in classrooms in many ways:

1) By assessing the child’s ZPD;
2) By using the child’s ZPD in teaching - teaching should begin toward the zone’s upper limit;
3) By using advanced peers as teachers;
4) By monitoring private speech and encouraging inner speech in the elementary years;
5) By placing instruction in a meaningful, life-like context.