Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development Flashcards
What did Piaget and Vygotsky agree on?
Agreed that children’s reasoning abilities develop at particular sequence.
Abilities are qualitatively different at each ages, with a child typically capable of particular logic at particular age.
What was different between Piaget and Vygotsky?
Cognitive development for Vygotsky was a social process of learning from more experienced others (AKA experts).
This is a social interactionist theory – focusses on the role of social interaction and culture in development of cognition – how child internalises the understanding of others.
How is there cultural differences in cognitive abilities?
Vygotsky said we acquire reasoning abilities from the more experienced individuals who the child has contact with. This means that there may be cultural difference in cognitive development with children picking up the mental ‘tools’ that will be most important for life within the physical, social and work environments of their culture e.g. hand eye coordination.
Such cultural differences come through interactions with others and language and is a key driving force of cognitive development.
What are elementary and higher functions?
Children are born with elementary functions (perception and memory). These are innate and naturally develop.
These are transformed into: higher mental functions (such as use of mathematical systems, understanding abstract ideas) by influence of culture.
Higher elementary functions are exclusively human.
Role of culture = transform elementary functions into higher mental functions.
What is the role of language?
Culture is also transmitted by experts using semiotics e.g. signs and symbols within a particular culture.
Language is the main semiotic system, but mathematical symbols are important too. Therefore - language and maths are the means by which culture is transmitted from expert to child.
To begin with in younger years, language takes form of shared dialogues between adult and child: pre-intellectual speech.
As the child’s language develops this enables more cognitive development and the child begins to communicate with themselves.
Emphasised the role of language/semiotics in cognitive development – external/social speech leads to egocentric speech leads to inner speech/thought.
What are the two ways that every function in a child’s cognitive development appears?
1st- social level (between people)
2nd – individual level (inside the child)
The cognitive development of a child depends on their social experiences, how they develop higher mental thinking skills and their use of language (semiotics)
What is the role of experts?
A child learns problem solving experiences shared with someone else.
All people with greater knowledge than a child are called experts. This could include older peers, parents or teachers.
Initially the expert will assume the responsibility of teaching the child and guiding them through learning gradually. However, this responsibility then transfers to the child.
What is the zone of proximal development (ZPD)?
The gap between a child’s current level of development (defined by the cognitive tasks they can perform unaided) and what they can potentially do with the right help from a more expert other (an adult / more advanced child)
Teaching assistants have an important role in guiding children through their ZPDs.
What is scaffolding?
Expert assistance allows a child to cross the ZPD and understand as much of a subject/ situation as they are capable.
Though, children are still to some extent limited by their developmental stage
Children learn more facts during social interaction and more advanced reasoning abilities. (rather than on own like Piaget suggested)
Believed these higher mental functions could only be acquired through interaction with more advanced others.
What are the five aspects to scaffolding identified by Wood, Bruner and Ross (1976)?
David Wood, Jerome Bruner and Gail Ross (1976) identified five aspects to scaffolding which are general ways in which an adult can help a child better understand and perform a task:
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.
What is a strength of Vygotsky’s theory?
What are the limitations of Vygotsky’s theory?
