BY:ARIF IZZUDIN BIN OTHMAN

FATIN FATINI BT M. DAELAMIFATIN AQILAH BT MOHD SUHAIMI

VYGOTSKY’S THEORIES

WHO IS VYGOTSKY?Lev Vygotsky was born in Russia in

1896.He died at the young age of 37

from tuberculosis.Due to his early death, most of his

theories were left undeveloped, although some of his writing being translated from Russian.

His work in the last 10 years of his life has become the foundation of much research and theory in cognitive development.

1896-1934

THE OVERVIEWS..

Social Interaction Influences Cognitive Development

Biological and Cultural Development do not occur in

Isolation

Language plays a major role in Cognitive Development

MAJOR THEMES IN VYGOTSKY’S THEORIES

FIRST MAJOR THEME

“Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of

cognitive development.”

Young children are curious and actively involved in their own learning and the discovery and

development of new understandings/schema. 

Placed more emphasis on social contributions to the process of development.

Seeks to understand the actions or instructions provided by the

tutor (often the parent or teacher) then internalizes the information, using it to guide or regulate their

own performance.

Much important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a skillful tutor.

EXAMPLESShaffer (1996) gives the example of a young girl who is given her first

jigsaw.  Alone, she performs poorly in

attempting to solve the puzzle.

The father then sits with her and describes or

demonstrates some basic strategies and provides a couple of pieces for the

child to put together herself and offers encouragement

when she does so. 

As the child becomes more competent, the

father allows the child to work more

independently. 

SECOND MAJOR THEME

“The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)”

Refers to someone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task,

process, or concept. 

Many times, a child's peers or an adult's children may be the

individuals with more knowledge or experience. 

Electronic tutors have also been used in educational settings to

facilitate and guide students through the learning process.  The key to

MKOs is that they must more knowledge about the topic being learned than the learner does.

The MKO need not be a person at all. Some

companies, to support employees in their learning

process, are now using electronic performance

support systems. 

third MAJOR THEME

“The Zone of Proximal

Development (ZPD)”

The concept of the More Knowledgeable

Other (MKO) is integrally related to the

second important principle of Vygotsky's

work, the Zone of Proximal Development.

This is an important concept that relates

to the difference between what a child

can achieve independently and what a child can

achieve with guidance and encouragement

from a skilled partner.

ZONE OF PROXIMAL

DEVELOPMENT [ZPD]

Interaction with peers as an effective way of

developing skills and strategies.  Suggested

that teachers use cooperative learning exercises where less competent children

develop with help from more skillful peers - within

the zone of proximal development.

The area where the most sensitive

instruction or guidance should be given -

allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own -

developing higher mental functions.

The zone His theory cantered around

the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD):

"... the distance between the actual development 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." (Vygotsky,

1978)A more capable peer/teachers

(MKO) may help learner accomplish task in the ZPD. What

learner can do independently falls within the Zone of Current Development (ZCD). As the ZPD decreases (less gray), the ZCD

increases (more white)

The ZPD is the “gray” gap between what a learner

can accomplish independently (in white)

and what a learner cannot do, even with assistance

black)

THE FOUR STAGES OF ZPD

FIRST STAGE

SECOND

STAGE

THIRD STAGE

FOURTH STAGE

THE FIRST STAGE

Take place when a child is first learning a new subject matter or skills and require help from someone with greater knowledge than his own.

The assisted child learns through a series of instrumental methods that include lectures, Q&A, problem solving and positive reinforcement. ASSISTED

PERFORMANCE

THE second STAGEAs a child gains understanding of

the new subject or skill, she moves into the second stage, in which she performs tasks without relying on the person who was assisting her.

She is confident enough to work through the task by herself, even if she makes occasional mistakes.

UNASSISTED PERFORMANCE

THE third STAGE

A student's knowledge reaches the point where performance is automatic and fully developed.

Any doubts are gone during this stage, and the student has internalized the skills necessary to perform the task with proficiency.

The student may resent the intrusion or advice of the expert now that he has fully developed his own level of expertise.

FULL INTERNALIZATION

THE Fourth STAGE

Occurs later in life when the student becomes an adult and loses the ability to perform at a proficient level.

Personal crisis, sudden trauma, gradual erosion of skills due to age, and major life changes.

It is an inevitable occurrence that requires individuals to regress to the beginning of the learning cycle to regain mastery.

DE - AUTOMATIZATION

EXAMPLE

Think of a child learning to tie his

shoe first, you show him how, then you talk him through it, usually with some

little memorable story about rabbit ears, loops or something

like that, and eventually…

The child is able to guide himself through

tying his shoes, usually repeating the story that you taught him. Meaning that the

interaction become internalized.

With practice, tasks become less difficult, so we no longer have to talk to ourselves through them. What

began as an interaction becomes an effortless, almost automatic behavior.

VYGOTSKY & LANGUAGE

According to Vygotsky (1962) language plays 2 critical roles in cognitive

development:

Language itself becomes a very powerful tool of

intellectual adaptation

It is the main means by which adults transmit info to

children

PRIVATE SPEECHVygotsky sees "private speech" as a means for children to plan

activities and strategies and therefore aid their

development. Language is therefore an accelerator to

thinking/understanding.Vygotsky believed that

language develops from social interactions, for communication

purposes. Later language ability becomes internalized as

thought and “inner speech”. Thought is the result of

language.

WHAT IS PRIVATE SPEECH?

Private speech is typically observed in children from about

two to seven years old. Private speech or "self-talk" is

observed speech spoken to oneself for communication,

self-guidance, and self-regulation of behavior. Private

speech is often thought to enhance the developing early

literacy skills and help to increase a child's task performance, success, and achievement.

THE END