Week 3: Learning in Context Flashcards
What was the main view of Vygotsky?
Learning must be viewed in the context of a person’s culture
What is culture?
A system of shared beliefs, values, customs and behaviours (conscious and unconscious) that are transmitted across generations through learning
What is the cultural influence view?
Still traditional psychology where the person themselves is the primary unit of analysis. There is some research into the impact of culture but it’s not the main concern
What is the sociocultural view?
People can’t be seperated from institutions in a culture such as school due to the fact that it completely transforms the way they think
What is sociocultural theory?
Development is the product of social and cultural experiance - it also varies between cultures
What is the social constructionist approach?
Children actively construct their own knowledge and understanding
These develop mainly through social interaction which occurs in a cultural context
What is the zone of proximal development?
The area between what the child is able to acheive indepdendently and what they will never be able to acheive
The area where they can acheive new things with guidence
What is scaffolding?
Giving increased help to children when they fail but then less help when they suceed. This then makes them more likely to solve problems independently later
What is egocentric speech?
Speech that focuses completely on themselves. It’s first used as a way for them to regulate their own behaviour but then becomes a tool for thought
What is the role of egocentric speech according to Vygotsky?
It helps them to understand and internalize information in the social sphere and can aid in planning/problem solving
What is egocentrism?
Children in the preoperational stage think that everyone sees the world in the same way they do
What is socialised/adapted speech?
They try to include the person they’re speaking to
According to Piaget, how can we use language to calculate a child’s mental maturity?
The ratio of socialised and egocentric speech
What did Rogoff argue?
Learning occurs as a function of activity, context and culture with social interaction being critical for situated learning
What is a community of practice?
When the entire community does the same thing without needing to have a conversation about it such as queueing
