Vygotsky

Question 1

Common western world view and Lev Vygotsky’s view:

Answer 1

• Western world views:
  1. individuals seen as separate from their social and physical environments
  2. environment seen as “influence on” child development
• Lev Vygotsky’s view:
  1. humans are embedded in culture
  2. human behavior cannot be understood independent of culture
  3. culture defines what knowledge and skills children need and gives them tools (e.g. language, strategies)

Question 2

What are the characteristics of Vygotsky’s sociocultural approach?

Answer 2

1. Child-in-activity-in-cultural-context as the unit of study
2. Zone of proximal development
3. The sociocultural origins of mental functioning
4. Tools provided by culture mediate intellectual functioning
5. Sociocultural methodology

Question 3

(Vygotsky) Child-in-activity-in-cultural-context as the unit of study:

Answer 3

• The smallest meaningful unit of study is a child-in-context participating in some activity

1. Individuals are embedded in culturally infused context
2. Focus on activity – children are socialized into culture through daily activities with people
3. Cognition develops as a by-product of engaging in cultural routines

Question 4

(Vygotsky) Definition Zone of proximal (nearby) development (ZPD):

Answer 4

„… as the distance between a child‘s ‘actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving’ and the higher level of ‘potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers’“

Vygotsky, 1978

Question 5

(Vygotsky) What is ZPD actually?

Answer 5

1. A more competent person collaborates with a child to help him
2. It moves from actual developmental level to where he can be with help (ZPD)
3. Help: e.g., clues, modeling, explanation, leading questions, encouragement…

Question 6

(Vygotsky) The sociocultural origins of mental functioning: the intermental constructs the intramental:

Answer 6

• Interaction between a child and an adult on the intermental (between-minds) plane becomes internalized into the child`s mind, the intramental (within-mind) plane
  1. Thinking, remembering, and attending activities first were carried out between individuals
  2. Children actively internalize social nonverbal interaction and language
  3. Example: from regulation by others to self-regulation
  4. Internalization is active transformation

Question 7

(Vygotsky) Tools provided by culture mediate intellectual functioning:

Answer 7

1. Humans create their intellectual functioning through activity
2. Peers and adults assist in this process by helping children learn how to use their culture`s psychological and technical tools
3. Psychological tools, e.g.,
   - Language systems
   - Writing
   - Strategies for learning, attending, memorizing
4. Technical tools influencing thinking: e.g., computers, robots
5. Tools involve different cognitive skills or styles
6. Acquiring language transforms process of thinking
   - ->intermental to intramental

Question 8

(Vygotsky) Steps toward language as a cognitive tool:

Answer 8

1. Speech and thought first independent
2. Around age 2: speech and thought begin to merge, words as symbols
3. Around age 3: communicative speech to others vs. private speech (egocentric speech)
4. Around age 7: private speech becomes inner speech – children „think in words“
5. Private speech increases when tasks are more difficult

Question 9

Vygotsky’s methodology:

Answer 9

1. Dynamic assessment of children`s potential developmental level:
2. 1. What children can do with assistance of others is a better reflection of their intellectual ability
3. 2. A child „is“ what he „can be“
4. 3. Example: a child gets increasingly specific clues to solve a task
5. Looking at change during one or several experimental sessions

Question 10

(Vygotsky) Mechanisms of development:

Answer 10

1. Development follows dialectical process:
2. 1. Produces a higher-level concept or more advanced functioning
3. 2. Conflict and its resolution play a major role in development
4. 3. Process often occurs when children interact with adults or advanced peers
5. Internalization:
6. 1. The intermental becomes intramental
7. 2. Language, other cultural tools, and nonverbal learning contribute to the process of change

Question 11

(Vygotsky) What is the basic nature of humans?

Mechanistic view, organismic view or contextualism

Answer 11

• Contextualistic worldview:
  1. Human nature can only be understood in cultural context
  2. Humans are not independent entities that engage their environment but they are part of it
  3. Children`s activities in diverse contexts change them cognitively, and this changes their future activities in turn – influencing the context

Question 12

(Vygotsky) Is development qualitative or quantitative?

Answer 12

• Both quantitative and qualitative:
  1. Quantitative: in dialectical process elements may develop in quantitative way
  2. Qualitative: synthesis as a qualitative new form
• -Example: development of inner speech
  3. Attitude towards stages: neither postulated nor opposed to them

Question 13

(Vygotsky) How do nature and nurture contribute to development?

Answer 13

1. Nature and nurture seen as intertwined
2. Socioculturalists consider certain aspects of nurture as especially important:
3. 1. Verbal interaction
4. 2. Collaborative activities
5. 3. Formal and informal learning from others
6. 4. Use of technical and psychological tools

Question 14

(Vygotsky) What is it that develops?

Answer 14

1. Very broad view of what develops: from cultural-historical change to change over one’s lifetime to moment-to-moment change
2. Active-child-in-cultural-context is unit that develops
3. No universal endpoint of development: ideal endpoint depends on goal of a particular culture

Question 15

(Vygotsky) Application: Implications for assessment:

Answer 15

Assessments should measure not what children know right now but what they can know and understand with help – assess whether zone is „wide“ or „narrow“

Question 16

(Vygotsky) Application: Implications for instruction:

Answer 16

1. Should be based on children`s potential level (their „readiness“) more than on their actual level
2. Teachers should assign hardest task that students can do with teacher assistance, provide only enough assistance
3. Problem: in classroom difficult to collaborate with individual student and tailor instruction to his potential

Question 17

(Vygotsky) Evaluations: Strengths:

Answer 17

1. Attention to social-cultural context
   1.3. Context not only “influence” on children
   1.2. Defines children, their activities, and
   development
2. Integration of Learning and development
   2.1. Learning –> higher level of
   development
   2.2. Affects readiness to learn new concept
3. Sensitivity of diversity of development

Question 18

(Vygotsky) Evaluations: Weaknesses

Answer 18

1. Vagueness of zone of proximal development
2. 1. What does a wide or narrow zone mean?
3. 2. Problems of measurement
4. Difficulties of studying culturalhistorical contexts
5. No prototypic tasks