vygotsky theory of cog development and comparing to piaget

Question 1

vygotsky

Answer 1

lived and worked in soviet russia
died young from TB but had many followers

Question 2

what was vygotskys key belief

Answer 2

social constructivism: cognition is a result of social and cultural interactions

Question 3

what are vygotskys levels of analysis for development

Answer 3

microgenetic development: brief periods e.g days or trials

ontogenetic development: over lifetime of individual

phylogenetic development: over lifetime of species

sociohistoric development: historic changes in culture, values and technology

Question 4

cultural effects of development

Answer 4

-infants are born with basic mental functions e.g sensation, memory and attention
-these are transformed by their culture into higher mental functions
-culture provides tools of mental adaptation e.g languages
-cultures teach children how and what to think (values)

Question 5

what is the collaborative nature of development according to vygotsky

Answer 5

-children are active learners but not solitary explorers
-major discoveries from a child come from help from MKOs
-children internalise instructions from MKOs and use them to regulate behaviour and cognition

Question 6

what is MKO

Answer 6

more knowledgeable other

Question 7

what is the zone of proximal development

Answer 7

ZPD
distance between developmental level determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development under guidance from MKO

Question 8

what is scaffolding

Answer 8

when an MKO responds appropriately to a child’s behaviour by simplifying a task according to the ZPD

Question 9

what is guided participation

Answer 9

informal tuition of culture relevant practices common to many non industrialised societies e.g riding a bike

Question 10

what is context independent learning

Answer 10

the learning of a skill or strategy independently of a specific situation in which the skill will be applied

Question 11

thinking and speech

Answer 11

-piaget considered self directed speech to be egocentric and irrelevant to development
-vygotsky agreed thoughts proceed without speech and early language effects what children know
-however vygotsky believed speech and thought then merge
-speech for self becomes silent (inner speech) but remains to be a cog self guidance system
-self talk helps child plan their thoughts and behaviours

Question 12

vygotsky role of play

Answer 12

-play crucial for development of symbolic thinking
-children internalise imagination
-develop capacity for abstraction
-in pretend play they rehearse social rules and practice self regulation

Question 13

when a child uses a toy in pretend play what does the object act as

Answer 13

a pivot that separates objects from actions

Question 14

strength of vygotsky theory

Answer 14

+social interactions across cultures incorporate joint play and tuition in children’s ZPD
+ self directed speech important in behaviour regulation in difficult tasks

Question 15

weaknesses of vygotsky theory

Answer 15

-lacks detail as died young so couldnt elaborate theory
-too much emphasis on social interaction, ignore indiv diff
-may be more work by his followers we dont know about

Question 16

differences in schools set up by piaget vs vygotsky

Answer 16

-vygotsky would treat each child individually looking at their personal capabilities and ZPD
-piaget would classify each child into a stage dependent on age
-vygotsky would emphasise importance of interaction, play and culture
-piaget could contain active learning strategies, child encouraged to figure things out for themselves
-piaget would place children in classrooms according to age
-vygotsky would break children off into smaller groups

Question 17

criticisms and debate for piaget

Answer 17

-experiments too difficult for children
-neglects social and cultural influences
-strict stage theory

Question 18

criticism and debate for vygotsky

Answer 18

places too much emphasis on social interaction and might not look at individual differences enough