Vygotsky

Question 1

Who was Vygotsky?

Answer 1

A Russian psychologist writing in the 1920s and 1930s

Question 2

What was Vygotsky’s major view on cognitive development?

Answer 2

Cognitive development is a social process of learning from more experienced others

Question 3

What is the zone of proximal development (ZPD)?

Answer 3

The gap between a child’s current level of development and what they can understand after interaction with more expert others

Question 4

How does Vygotsky’s view of language differ from Piaget’s?

Answer 4

Vygotsky saw language as a much more important part of cognitive development than did Piaget

Question 5

What are the two stages of knowledge acquisition according to Vygotsky?

Answer 5

• Intermental
• Intramental

Question 6

What does Vygotsky believe about cultural differences in cognitive abilities?

Answer 6

Cognitive abilities are acquired from the more experienced individuals a child has contact with, leading to cultural differences in development

Question 7

What is scaffolding in the context of Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 7

The support provided by adults and more advanced peers to help a child cross the zone of proximal development

Question 8

List the five aspects of scaffolding identified by Wood, Bruner, and Ross.

Answer 8

• Recruitment
• Reduction of degrees of freedom
• Prediction maintenance
• Marking on critical features
• Demonstration

Question 9

True or False: Vygotsky believed that higher mental functions could be acquired solely through individual exploration.

Answer 9

False

Question 10

Fill in the blank: Vygotsky believed that knowledge is first _______ and then _______.

Answer 10

[intermental], [intramental]

Question 11

What is the role of expert assistance in Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 11

It allows a child to cross the ZPD and develop advanced reasoning abilities

Question 12

How does the level of help in scaffolding change as a learner progresses?

Answer 12

It declines from high levels of help to lower levels as the child becomes more competent

Question 13

What is the significance of mental tools in Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 13

They are acquired from the cultural context and are important for life within physical, social, and work environments

Question 14

What is an example of scaffolding?

Answer 14

Mother draws an object with crayons as a demonstration

Question 15

What is the zone of proximal development?

Answer 15

The gap between the level of reasoning a child can achieve independently and what they can achieve with help from a more expert individual.

Question 16

What study supports the zone of proximal development?

Answer 16

The study by Roazzi and Bryant (1998) involving 4-5-year-old children estimating the number of sweets in a box.

Question 17

What was observed in the study by Roazzi and Bryant regarding children’s estimates?

Answer 17

Most children working alone failed to give a good estimate, while those receiving expert help succeeded.

Question 18

What does Vygotsky’s idea suggest about children’s reasoning abilities?

Answer 18

Children can develop additional reasoning abilities when working with a more expert individual.

Question 19

What is scaffolding in the context of learning?

Answer 19

Support provided by adults or older children to younger children to help them master new tasks.

Question 20

What did the study by Conner and Cross (2003) observe about maternal support?

Answer 20

Mothers used less direct intervention and more hints and prompts as children gained experience.

Question 21

How has Vygotsky’s ideas influenced education?

Answer 21

They have raised expectations for what children can achieve with appropriate scaffolding.

Question 22

What evidence supports the effectiveness of peer tutoring?

Answer 22

Van Keer and Verhanghe (2005) found that 7-year-olds tutored by 10-year-olds progressed further in reading.

Question 23

What conclusion did Alborz et al. (2009) reach about teaching assistants?

Answer 23

Teaching assistants are effective at improving learning in children if they have received appropriate training.

Question 24

True or False: Vygotsky believed all children learning together would pick up similar skills.

Answer 24

False.

Question 25

What individual factors can affect learning according to the evaluation?

Answer 25

Personality and style of information processing.

Question 26

Fill in the blank: Vygotsky’s theory suggests that learning processes are largely the same in all children, which may overlook _______.

Answer 26

[individual differences].

Question 27

What was a key finding of Christine Howe’s work regarding group learning?

Answer 27

What children learn varies considerably between individuals, even in group learning.

Question 28

What practical value does Vygotsky’s theory have for teaching?

Answer 28

It emphasizes the importance of social interaction and scaffolding in education.

Question 29

What is the role of the expert partner in the learning process?

Answer 29

To provide support that gradually decreases as the learner gains experience.

Question 30

How did mothers adapt their help in the study by Conner and Cross as children grew?

Answer 30

They increasingly offered help only when needed rather than constant support.