Vygotsky's Developmental Theory: An Introduction Flashcards
According to the theories of Vygotsky, what is necessary to evaluate classified behaviour?
The level of their independent performance and from seeing how they use help
What are the four major ideas of Vygotsky’s theory of learning and development?
1) Children construct knowledge
2) Learning can lead to development
3) Development cannot be separated from its social context
4) Language plays a central role in mental development
What are the key ideas for “children construct knowledge?”
- They do not passively reproduce what is presented to them
- Learning is much more than mirroring
- It always involves the learners creating their own representations of new information
- Knowledge is not so much constructed as co-constructed
- Learning always involves more than one human
What did the block test that Vygotsky develop test for?
How children develop the ability to discover categories
What is the opposing position to constructivism?
Behaviourism
What do behaviourists believe?
That there is no structural distinction between learning and development
What is not accounted for by the accumulation of facts or skills?
Qualitative changes in thought
How did Vygotsky differ from Piaget in believing that learning can lead to development?
Vygotsky envisioned a more complex relationship between development and learning than either the young Piaget or the elderly Pavlov had conceived
What belief were Vygotsky and Piaget in agreement with?
That there were maturational prerequisites for certain learning
What did Vygotsky argue in opposition to Piaget’s early writing?
Learning impacts development
What did Vygotsky give great value to?
Assisting children to use strategies to further their intellecular capacities
What is assisted performance?
The higher level, which the child is currently capable of attaining only with help
What is the zone of proximal development?
The area between the level of independent performance and the level of assisted performance
- Not all the assistance used by the child needs to be intentionally provided by an adult
What social interactions did Vygotsky believe contributed to performing at a higher level?
Interaction with peers as equals, with imaginary partners, or with children at other developmental levels
Why is the zone of development not static?
It shifts as a child progressively attains the higher level
- With each shift, the child is capable of learning more complex concepts and skills (obviously there are concepts and skills beyond a child’s current zone of proximal development)