Vygotsky Flashcards
Infants are born with what functions?
Attention
Sensation
Perception
Memory
What did Vygotsky believe?
How we think is a function of the social and cultural world we grow up in
How might socio-culture influence development in play?
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
Morelli et al (2003)
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
How might socio-culture influence development in problem solving?
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
Cole et al (1971); Scribner & Cole (1978)
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
Luria (1979)
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
Chen, Mo & Honomichl (2004)
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
How might socio-culture influence language?
Socio-culture determines the language we speak, and subtle differences in language can lead to noticeable differences in cognition
Gordon (2004)
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
Zuber et al. (2009)
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
What controls children’s behaviour?
First by adults instructions
Then by private speech said out loud
Then monologues become internalised (at around 7) to become inner speech
Berk (1992)
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
Behrend et al (1992)
Children who use speech when facing challenges are more attentive and perform better on cognitive tasks than quiet children
The role of others in children’s development
Children’s cognition improves through interacting with other people, especially those who are slightly more experienced than the children themselves
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
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
Scaffolding
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
Who can scaffolding be done by?
Teacher
Parent
Peers
What are the steps in scaffolding?
Modelling an action
Suggesting a strategy to solve a problem
Restructuring it into parts that are more manageable for the child
Behrend et al (1992) (scaffolding)
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
Wood et al (1976) aspects of scaffolding
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
ZPD education applications
Peers as tutors works best if the tutor is slightly ahead (in the tutees’ ZPD)
van Rosmalen et al (2007)
A computer can enable productive peer tutoring through sharing knowledge, exchanging competencies and offering emotional support
A typical Vygotskian classroom
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
Freund (1995)
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
Similarities between Vygotsky and Piaget
Agreed that children are active learners
Believed that interaction with the world is important for children’s development
Were both constructivists
Overall differences between Piaget and Vygotsky
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)
Differences in cognitive development between Piaget and Vygotsky
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
Differences in nature VS nurture between Piaget and Vygotsky
Piaget
- Maturation is important, more emphasis on nature
Vygotsky
- Social environment and culture is important, more emphasis on nurture
Differences in social environment between Piaget and Vygotsky
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
Differences in culture between Piaget and Vygotsky
Piaget
- Does not influence development
Vygotsky
- Plays an important role in development
Differences in self-speech between Piaget and Vygotsky
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
