vygotsky Flashcards
evaluation of vygotsky
It helps us understand cultural variations in cognition
It provides useful guidelines for teachers/ educators
However….. Vygotsky said little about biological factors contributing to development, and did not explain how cognitive changes lead to changes in children’s social experiences
He may have overemphasised the role of language
Is group/ cooperative learning always beneficial?
Foot et al. (1990) found that friendship groupings were not always productive- with many opportunities for “off task” thinking and behaviour
Slavin (1987) identified “free riders” who allow fellow group members to do all the work and contribute very little themselves
Success of group work may depend upon many factors e.g. gender, ability, personality, group composition
group work
Group learning environments encourage questioning, evaluating and constructive criticism, leading to restructuring of knowledge
For example, the Jigsaw method (Aronson, 1978) allows children to work inter- dependently by splitting a task into 4 or 5 parts, children becoming an expert in one section, then tutoring other members of the team
Bennett and Dunne (1992) observed an increase in children’s language and problem solving skills when given the opportunity to engage in regular group work
Children benefit more when their peer partner is an “expert”
When older or more expert students assist younger or less expert students, both benefit in achievement and in self esteem (e.g. Renninger, 1998)
Cooperative learning results in greater enjoyment of learning, and enhances peer relationships (e.g. Blatchford et al., 2006)
Other benefits of group work
It fosters social skills e.g. active listening, turn taking, and sharing ideas (e.g. Gillies, 2003)
It provides opportunities for learning helping behaviours (e.g. Gillies, 2003)
It increases self concept and leads to better attitudes towards learning (e.g. Lou et al., 1996)
teaching strategies
Incorporating Vygotsky’s theory in classrooms
Assess the child’s ZPD: Helper presents tasks at varying levels of difficulty to determine best levels to begin instruction
Use the ZPD: Allow children to reach goals with help and move to higher levels of knowledge
Use skilled peers as teachers
Monitor and encourage use of private speech: encourage children to internalise and regulate their talk to themselves
Use lots of group work!
scaffolding
Recruitment/ engagement Reduction of degrees of freedom Direction maintenance Marking critical features Demonstration
Scaffolding is flexible (depends upon level of child):
Low Level support/ High Level thinking: A child wants to write the word “dinosaur”. Teacher asks “Where do you think you can find that word” and “where can you find the book”
Medium support/ Medium Level thinking: A child wants to write their name. Teacher says “Look at the ABC board, what is the first letter of your name?”
Higher Level support/ Low Level thinking: A teacher may write the child’s name and ask them to copy it letter by letter
bruner
Bruner was interested in the ZPD and the idea that other people play a role in learning
Bruner proposed the idea of “scaffolding” to refer to activities through which an adult assists a learner to achieve things
Teachers adjust the amount and type of support given to fit a child’s needs
zpd
ZPD = The distance between what a child can do independently and what a child can do with help from someone more advanced
A 5 year old child is pushing a toy shopping cart in preschool. His teacher notices he is putting fruit in the small basket and all other groceries in the larger section of the cart. She goes to the cash register and says “We need to be careful about how you divide things into bags, some things go in the fridge and others in the cabinet”. Together they separate items into cartons for the fridge, fresh fruit and vegetables, cartons for the cabinet, and cans for the cabinet.
The child’s unassisted classification was fruit-non fruit
With help a much more sophisticated form of classification was used
vygotsky and private speech
Speech, as a form of communication with the self, helps children to plan and organise their behaviour
Speech is initially externalised then becomes internalised at around aged 7 when inner speech becomes children’s thoughts (although people revert to externalised for difficult problems)
Children who use more private speech are more socially competent (e.g. Santiago-Delefosse, 2002)
Children who use more private speech are more attentive and involved and show better performance then less “talkative” children (e.g. Winsler et al., 2006)
Children with learning and behaviour problems engage in private speech more and over a longer period of development, helping compensate for impairments (e.g. Paladino, 2006)
Children use more private speech when tasks are appropriately challenging
Fernyhough and Fradley (2005)
language in vygotsky’s theory
two main roles of language:
it is the main means by which adults transmit information to children, and
then language itself becomes a powerful tool of adaptation (Vygotsky, 1962)
cultural tools
Include both technical tools and psychological tools
Examples of some cultural tools: Language Maps Computers Clocks Abacus/Calculator
Activities reflect the values of the culture
vygotsky - culture and cognition and social interaction
Social interaction?
Through social interactions between the growing child and other members of a child’s community a child acquires the tools of thinking and learning
It is the cooperative process of engaging in activities with more expert others that leads a child to become knowledgeable
Why Culture and cognition?
Luria (1972) investigated the introduction of schooling on the cognitive processes of peasants in Uzbekistan
Uneducated peasants solved problems using everyday knowledge
