COG AND DEV: Vygotsky Flashcards
What is vygotskys socio-cultural theory of cognitive development
2 points
How is it different to Piagets theory for example
One point/difference
Children cannot be born with knowledge but it develops thorugh social interaction with peers and adults
Children are born with only elementary mental functions such as memory but the HIGHER MENTAL FUNCTIONS ARE ONLY DEVELOPED through cultural influence
Different to Piaget because he proposes a biological approach to cognitive development, whilst vygotsky believes that cultural and social interaction are fundamental in child development.
How do children learn higher mental functions according to vygotsky
through problem solving experiences with experts (parents, teachers and friends).
Not only do children learn MORE FACTS in social interaction by their reasoning is MORE ADVANCED
Cultural differences in cognitive abilities are picked up through the development of mental tools
What does vygotsky think about language in cognitive development
Vygotsky sees language as a more important in cognitive development than Piaget does.
This is because of his socio cultural theory that emphasises children develop knowledge not innately but thorugh social interaction with ‘experts’
What does vygotsky think about cultural differences
Cultural differences are accounted for by socio cultural theory as cognitive development depends on social interaction with peers
Therefore cultural differences align with this theory
What is the ZPD
The zone of proximal development is the gap between a childs current level of development (what they can understand do alone)
in comparison to what they may be able to understand after interacting with more experts.
The expert assistance is NECESSARY
What is scaffolding?
Who thought of it
The Way experts can support the child passing thorugh the ZPD
Wood and Ross
Wood, Bruner and Ross
proposed the concept of scaffolding. This is the support or help given to a child by a more knowledgable person whilst working in the ZPD.
Physical scaffolding supports a new building as mental scaffolding supports the child in a new task.
Wood and Middleton
Wood and Middleton (1975)
Observed mothers of 4 year olds help their children put together 3d pyramids.
They identify differnt types of support:
Demonstration, presentation, indication of materials, specific Instruction, general instruction.
The most successful mothers were those who adjust their help in relation to their child’s actions.
This is ‘scaffolding in action’
As a learner crosses the ZPD, the level of help given declines from most helpful (level 5) to least helpful (level 1)
What are the five levels of scaffolding help
Frombest level of help 5 > least helpful 1
Give example for each level : the situation is helping a child draw
D P I V P
Eg: helping a child draw
Demonstration - adult draws with crayon
Preparation for child - adult helps child grasp crayon
Indication of materials - adult points to crayon
Verbal instruction - adult says ‘how about the green crayon’
Prompts (general) - ‘draw something’
