PS 214: Vygotsky's Theory Of Cognitive Development PDF

Esther Mercado Garrido [email protected] Four interrelated levels in interaction with children’s environments: Ontogenetic development Microgenetic development Phylogenetic development Sociohistorical development Sociocultural theory of...

Esther Mercado Garrido [email protected] Four interrelated levels in interaction with children’s environments: Ontogenetic development Microgenetic development Phylogenetic development Sociohistorical development Sociocultural theory of cognitive development Social, historical and cultural interactions are critical to learning Individuals create psychological tools to learn and to master their behaviour Human learning cannot be understood independent of the social, historical, and cultural forces that influence individuals. He extended Piaget’s thinking on child development. Critical role of language as an artifact of culture Importance of assisted learning  “We could formulate the general genetic law of cultural development as follows: Any function in the child's cultural development appears twice, or on two planes. First it appears on the social plane, and then on the psychological plane. First it appears between people as an interpsychological category, and then within the child as an intrapsychological category” Elementary mental functions: attention, sensation, perception and memory Transformed by the culture into new and more sophisticated higher mental functions.  Mediating mechanisms Cultural influences Social Process Tools and signs History (cultural artifacts, other people, symbol systems such as language, metacognition, Instruction (ZPD) mathematics, music, art)  Zone of proximal development POTENTIAL LEVEL (“capability”) L E ACTUAL LEVEL A (“ability”) R N ZPD I N INSTRUCTION G  POTENTIAL LEVEL ACTUAL LEVEL ZPD “... is the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” Lev Vygotsky, 1935  The process by which an expert, when instructing a novice (learner), responds contingently to the novice’s behaviour in a learning situation, so that the novice gradually increases their understanding of a problem Scaffolding occurs not just in formal educational settings but any time a more expert person adjusts his input to guide a child to a level near the limits of her capabilities. All the responsibility for determining the extent of adult involvement is not on the adult. Both adults and children jointly determine the degree to which children can function independently  Pretend or symbolic play is often guided by older, more expert individuals. Researchers have found that young children are more likely to engage in symbolic play when playing with someone else (rather than alone) and that mothers bring out high levels of symbolic play (Bornstein et al., 1996).  Close examination of play episodes between mothers and their 21- month-old toddlers reveal that many mothers adjust their level of play to that of their child. What’s more, mothers who know the most about development of play, provide the most challenging play interactions by adjusting their own playful behaviour to a level just beyond the child’s own.  The role of siblings a caregivers provides older children with opportunities to influence their younger children in many ways. Children are more likely to learn more when they have an older sibling available than when they have n equally competent older peer.  The benefits of his perspective must be balanced with its limitations. Danger that parents and teachers will focus too exclusively on child's future development (rather than child's intrinsic interest) Overlooks extent to which assistance undermines child's independence? (forces child to rely on others rather than think independently?) Vagueness of the ZPD (how is it to be operationally defined) If development is largely a function of the environment, how do individuals introduce novelty and creativity? (Vygotsky says: Novelty and creativity represent a new use of an old tool.)  ZPD and instruction (problem solving, student potential, ability vs capability) Role of the teacher as guide and instructor (importance of assisted learning) Role played by psychological tools (especially language) Influence of historical, social, and cultural factors Has strengthened constructivist perspective  Unlike Piaget’s theory, which Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory stresses universal sequences of offers a new lens through which to cognitive growth, Vygotsky’s view cognitive development by theory leads us to expect wide stressing the importance of variations in cognitive specific social processes that development across cultures that Piaget (and others) largely reflect differences in children’s overlooked. cultural experiences  Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories have had a profound influence on our understanding of cognitive development. Yet the shortcomings of these approaches led many scholars to believe that a fresh outlook on human cognition was necessary. Might the workings of the human mind be similar in certain limited respects to the operations of a computer? Proponents of a third influential viewpoint on cognitive development—the information-processing perspective— thought so (Klahr & MacWhinney, 1998). For more information on the Information Processing Model of Cognitive Development check out Chapter 7 in your core textbook