Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development

Question 1

How did Vygotsky see cognitive development

Answer 1

• social process of learning from more experienced others. Knowledge is first interment, between the more and less expert individual, then intramental, within the mind if the less expert individual.
• saw language much more important part of cognitive development than did Piaget

Question 2

Cultural differences in cognitive abilities

Answer 2

• children picking up the mental ‘tools’ that are most important for life within their physical, social and work environments.
• may be cultural differences as child acquire reasoning abilities from their more experienced individuals

Question 3

Zone of proximal development

Answer 3

the gap between a child’s current level of development, defined by the cognitive tasks they can perform unaided, and what they can potentially dow with the right help from a more expert other, who may be an adult or a more advanced child

Question 4

Scaffolding

Answer 4

the process of helping a learner cross the zone of proximal development and advance as much as they can, given their stage of development. Typically the level of help given in scaffolding declines as the learner crosses the zone of proximal development

Question 5

What are the 5 aspects of scaffolding that Wood, Bruner and Ross identified?

Answer 5

• Recruitment: engaging the child’s interest in the task
• Reduction of degrees of freedom: focusing the child on the task and where to start with solving it
• Direction maintenance: encouraging the child in order help them to stay motivated and continue trying to complete the task
• Marking critical features: highlighting the most important parts of the task
• Demonstration: showing the child how to do aspects of the task