Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist whose ideas greatly impacted beliefs and theories of child development. He was born on November 5, 1896 in Orsha, Belarus ("Lev Vygotsky"). During his primary school years, he was taught by his mother and a private tutor but attended public school for his secondary education where he excelled greatly. He went on to study law at the University of Moscow and spent much of his time studying philosophy on his own. Throughout his life, he taught literature and philosophy in Gomel and worked for the Psychological Institute of Moscow. Vygotsky paid special interest in the psychology of education and remediation which inspired him to create the Laboratory of Psychology for Abnormal Children in Moscow. In 1934, Vygotsky died of tuberculosis, but many of his works and ideas are still impacting the psychology of child development today ("Lev Vygotsky").
Vygotsky is most known for his sociocultural theory of development in which he expresses his belief that “the child adapts through his or her social and cultural interactions” (Rathus 14). In Vygotsky eyes, learning is not all about sitting at a desk and inputting information. Learning happens when we get out into the world to interact with others and our environment. Furthermore, Vygotsky’s theory emphasizes the fact that humans are social and we are able to learn about the world and ourselves through the interactions that we have with other people (Russell 53). We absorb information through conversations and interactions we have with others.
Two key aspects of Vygotsky’s theory are the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. The zone of
proximal development (ZPD) refers to the “range of tasks” that a child can complete with the help of another more skilled person, similar to an apprenticeship (Rathus 14). In other words, the ZPD is the range of skills between what a child can do on his own and what a child can do with the help of others. During these apprenticeship-like experiences, children store the information that they learn from the interactions. They do this in order to begin developing the skills on their own which will allow them to utilize the skills again in the future (14). Vygotsky argued that the ZPD is where learning occurs because children have the ability to learn and achieve more with the help of others. This led to the understanding that learning is a reciprocal process. Students do not only learn from teachers, but they learn from other students; and, teachers can even learn from students (Russell 53). Vygotsky also developed the idea of scaffolding, which refers to the actual help or learning block that a child uses when developing a skill (Rathus 14). A teacher may give a child some sort of tool, the scaffold, in order to help him or her achieve a certain skill. The teacher could even be the scaffold. Once the child has developed the skill, the scaffold may then be taken away. The use of scaffolding is part of learning in the zone of proximal development as Vygotsky described (14).
In Xinyin Chen’s article “Human Development in the Context of Social Change: Introduction,” he further explains Vygotsky’s theory with regards to mental development. He explains that “an important mechanism of the development of higher mental functioning is the internalization of external symbols such as language from the interpersonal level to the intrapersonal level” (Chen 323). Essentially, Chen explains the idea that children will take what they learn from interpersonal relationships and store that information internally. From this, children use that information in future interactions and experiences (Chen 323).
Vygotsky's theories revolutionized the way people perceive child development. Children learn and develop through social interactions and their environment. Learning is social.
Works Cited
Chen, Xinyin. "Human Development In The Context of Social Change: Introduction." Child Development
Perspectives 6.4 (2012): 321-325. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.
"Lev Vygotsky." New World Encyclopedia. 2006.<http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Lev_Vygotsky>.
Rathus, Spencer A. CDEV Student Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. Print.
Russell, D. (2012). Literature for Children: A Short Introduction (7th ed). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Vygotsky is most known for his sociocultural theory of development in which he expresses his belief that “the child adapts through his or her social and cultural interactions” (Rathus 14). In Vygotsky eyes, learning is not all about sitting at a desk and inputting information. Learning happens when we get out into the world to interact with others and our environment. Furthermore, Vygotsky’s theory emphasizes the fact that humans are social and we are able to learn about the world and ourselves through the interactions that we have with other people (Russell 53). We absorb information through conversations and interactions we have with others.
Two key aspects of Vygotsky’s theory are the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. The zone of
proximal development (ZPD) refers to the “range of tasks” that a child can complete with the help of another more skilled person, similar to an apprenticeship (Rathus 14). In other words, the ZPD is the range of skills between what a child can do on his own and what a child can do with the help of others. During these apprenticeship-like experiences, children store the information that they learn from the interactions. They do this in order to begin developing the skills on their own which will allow them to utilize the skills again in the future (14). Vygotsky argued that the ZPD is where learning occurs because children have the ability to learn and achieve more with the help of others. This led to the understanding that learning is a reciprocal process. Students do not only learn from teachers, but they learn from other students; and, teachers can even learn from students (Russell 53). Vygotsky also developed the idea of scaffolding, which refers to the actual help or learning block that a child uses when developing a skill (Rathus 14). A teacher may give a child some sort of tool, the scaffold, in order to help him or her achieve a certain skill. The teacher could even be the scaffold. Once the child has developed the skill, the scaffold may then be taken away. The use of scaffolding is part of learning in the zone of proximal development as Vygotsky described (14).
In Xinyin Chen’s article “Human Development in the Context of Social Change: Introduction,” he further explains Vygotsky’s theory with regards to mental development. He explains that “an important mechanism of the development of higher mental functioning is the internalization of external symbols such as language from the interpersonal level to the intrapersonal level” (Chen 323). Essentially, Chen explains the idea that children will take what they learn from interpersonal relationships and store that information internally. From this, children use that information in future interactions and experiences (Chen 323).
Vygotsky's theories revolutionized the way people perceive child development. Children learn and develop through social interactions and their environment. Learning is social.
Works Cited
Chen, Xinyin. "Human Development In The Context of Social Change: Introduction." Child Development
Perspectives 6.4 (2012): 321-325. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.
"Lev Vygotsky." New World Encyclopedia. 2006.<http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Lev_Vygotsky>.
Rathus, Spencer A. CDEV Student Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011. Print.
Russell, D. (2012). Literature for Children: A Short Introduction (7th ed). New York: Allyn & Bacon.