Vygotsky

Question 1

Infants are born with what functions?

Answer 1

Attention
Sensation
Perception
Memory

Question 2

What did Vygotsky believe?

Answer 2

How we think is a function of the social and cultural world we grow up in

Question 3

How might socio-culture influence development in play?

Answer 3

Socio-culture determines the type of practical activity we engage in and the things we learn. As children often imitate during play, this will affect the type of play-based activities children engage in

Question 4

Morelli et al (2003)

Answer 4

Observed toddlers in three different communities: American communities, The Efe people, an indigenous Mayan group from San Pedro
Efe and San Pedro children imitated adult work in their play house more than American children

Question 5

How might socio-culture influence development in problem solving?

Answer 5

Socio-culture determines the type of practical activity we engage in and the things we learn, therefore it influences how familiar we are with thinking and reasoning about certain problems or topics

Question 6

Cole et al (1971); Scribner & Cole (1978)

Answer 6

The Kpelle people of Liberia are not as good as US ppts at estimating length but are better at estimating quantities of rice, as this is a daily activity for them

Question 7

Luria (1979)

Answer 7

Two groups of Uzbekistan farmers: traditional farmers and farmers from larger communities (had formal schooling)
Asked to put pictures into groups
Educated farmers put all the tools together
Other groups put the wood, saw and axe together as this is a practical situation

Question 8

Chen, Mo & Honomichl (2004)

Answer 8

Chinese and US students were tested on two problems, one used a solution from a popular Western tale, and one used a popular Chinese tale.
The US students were better at solving the problem in the first condition and the Chinese were better in the second condition

Question 9

How might socio-culture influence language?

Answer 9

Socio-culture determines the language we speak, and subtle differences in language can lead to noticeable differences in cognition

Question 10

Gordon (2004)

Answer 10

In two Amazonian languages there aren’t any words for quantities larger than 5, therefore they can only solve problems easily with numbers less than 5
If children from this culture learn a language with words for numbers above 5, they are better at solving maths problems

Question 11

Zuber et al. (2009)

Answer 11

German speaking children have problems converting spoken numbers from english as they say the number first and then the decade, whereas English people say the decade first, followed by the number

Question 12

What controls children’s behaviour?

Answer 12

First by adults instructions
Then by private speech said out loud
Then monologues become internalised (at around 7) to become inner speech

Question 13

Berk (1992)

Answer 13

Children engage in more self-speech if a task is challenging, if they make mistakes or if they are confused as to what to do

Question 14

Behrend et al (1992)

Answer 14

Children who use speech when facing challenges are more attentive and perform better on cognitive tasks than quiet children

Question 15

The role of others in children’s development

Answer 15

Children’s cognition improves through interacting with other people, especially those who are slightly more experienced than the children themselves

Question 16

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Answer 16

Refers to the increase in development that a child can reach through assistance by a more competent person compared to the development without this help

Question 17

Scaffolding

Answer 17

Bruner (1983)
Children’s learning is enhanced when more competent people provide a framework that supports children’s thinking at a higher level than they could manage by themselves
This is then adjusted as the child becomes more capable

Question 18

Who can scaffolding be done by?

Answer 18

Teacher
Parent
Peers

Question 19

What are the steps in scaffolding?

Answer 19

Modelling an action
Suggesting a strategy to solve a problem
Restructuring it into parts that are more manageable for the child

Question 20

Behrend et al (1992) (scaffolding)

Answer 20

When done regularly, scaffolding can have a positive impact on a child’s development
Parents who provide a supportive learning environment have children who generate more private speech and are therefore more successful than those who have a less supportive environment

Question 21

Wood et al (1976) aspects of scaffolding

Answer 21

Recruitment - engage the child’s interest
Reduction of degrees of freedom - you should reduce the number of acts that are needed to arrive at a solution
Direction maintenance - maintaining the child’s motivation
Marking critical features - highlight the important features
Demonstration - model the solution of parts of the task to stimulate the learner to imitate this

Question 22

ZPD education applications

Answer 22

Peers as tutors works best if the tutor is slightly ahead (in the tutees’ ZPD)

Question 23

van Rosmalen et al (2007)

Answer 23

A computer can enable productive peer tutoring through sharing knowledge, exchanging competencies and offering emotional support

Question 24

A typical Vygotskian classroom

Answer 24

Structured learning activities

Helpful hints carefully tailored to the child’s ability

Monitoring the learners progress and gradually turning over the mental activity to the learner

Collaborative learning exercises where students assist each other

Question 25

Freund (1995)

Answer 25

3-5 year olds helped a puppet choose furniture for a dollhouse
One group worked with mum, another working alone (an experimenter who provided corrective feedback)
The group who worked with their mother performed better than the group who worked alone

Question 26

Similarities between Vygotsky and Piaget

Answer 26

Agreed that children are active learners
Believed that interaction with the world is important for children’s development
Were both constructivists

Question 27

Overall differences between Piaget and Vygotsky

Answer 27

For Piaget it’s all about the child and their effort to understand the world
Vygotsky thought that cognitive development takes place within their social world and between the child and other people (children are social learners)

Question 28

Differences in cognitive development between Piaget and Vygotsky

Answer 28

Piaget

• Progresses in distinct, discontinuous stages
• Qualitative shifts
• Order doesn’t differ between children

Vygotsky

• Progresses more flexibly and continuously
• Gradual quantitative improvements
• Is influenced by various factors

Question 29

Differences in nature VS nurture between Piaget and Vygotsky

Answer 29

Piaget
- Maturation is important, more emphasis on nature

Vygotsky
- Social environment and culture is important, more emphasis on nurture

Question 30

Differences in social environment between Piaget and Vygotsky

Answer 30

Piaget

• No interaction is necessary for development
• Child determines their cognitive development

Vygotsky

• Interaction is necessary for development
• The child and those interacting with the child determine their cognitive development

Question 31

Differences in culture between Piaget and Vygotsky

Answer 31

Piaget
- Does not influence development

Vygotsky
- Plays an important role in development

Question 32

Differences in self-speech between Piaget and Vygotsky

Answer 32

Piaget
- Self-speech suggests that the child is self-centred and unable to consider the points of others and engage in meaningful exchanges

Vygotsky
- Self-Speech is seen as a transition between the child’s learning language in a social communicative context, and attempting to internalise it as private or inner speech, to plan and regulate their behaviour