Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development Flashcards
What did Vygotsky and Piaget agree on
- children’s reasoning abilities develop in a sequence
What is the major difference between Vygotsky and Piaget’s views
- Vygotsky saw cognitive development as a social process of learning from more experienced others
Knowledge is first ___________
- intermental between the more and less expert individual
Then knowledge is __________
- intramental within the mind of the less expert individual
Why may there be individual differences in cognitive abilities
- since children are picking up their mental tools from the environment or situation surrounding them, their mental tools will be subjective to them and those around them. Therefore showing that different cultures provide different tools for cognitive development
Define what the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is
- the gap between what the child can currently understand and do alone and what they could potentially do with more expert others
What is Scaffolding
- the process of helping a learner cross the zone of proximal development and advance as much as they can given their state of development
Which psychologists identified 5 aspects to scaffolding
- Wood, Bruner and Ross
What are the five aspects of scaffolding which are general ways in which an adult can help a child better understand and perform a task
- Recruitment
- Reduction in degrees of freedom
- Direction maintenance
- Marking critical features
- Demonstration
What does the term Recruitment mean
- engaging the child’s interest in the task
What does the term Reduction in degrees of freedom mean
-focusing the child on the task and where to start with solving it
What does the term Direction maintenance mean
- encouraging the child in order to help them to stay motivated and continue trying to complete the task
What does the term Marking critical features mean
- highlightling the most important parts of the task
What does the term demonstration refer to
- showing the child how to do aspects of the task
