Discuss Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective in learning and its educational implications.
The work of Lev Vygotsky (1934) has come the foundation of
much research and theory in cognitive development over the past several
decades, particularly of what has come known as sociocultural theory.
Vygotsky's sociocultural theory views human development as a socially mediated
process in which children acquire their cultural values, beliefs, and
problem-solving strategies through collaborative dialogues with more
knowledgeable members of society. Vygotsky's theory is comprised of concepts
such as culture-specific tools, private speech, and the Zone of Proximal
Development.
Vygotsky's theories
stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of
cognition (Vygotsky, 1978), as he believed strongly that community plays a
central role in the process of"making meaning."
Unlike Piaget's notion that childrens'development must
necessarily precede their learning, Vygotsky argued,"learning is a
necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally
organized, specifically human psychological function" (1978,p. 90). In
other words, social learning tends to precede ( i.e., come ahead) development.
Vygotsky has
developed a sociocultural approach to cognitive development. He developed his
theories at around the same time as Jean Piaget was starting to Discuss Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective in learning and its educational implications. develop his
ideas (1920's and30's), but he died at the age of 38, and so his theories are
incomplete-although some of his writings are still being translated from
Russian.
No single principle (such as Piaget's equilibration) can
account for development. Individual development can not be understood Discuss Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective in learning and its educational implications. without
reference to the social and cultural context within which it's embedded. Higher
mental processes in the individual have their origin in social processes.
Eventually, through
interaction within the sociocultural environment, these are developed into more
sophisticated and effective mental processes which Vygotsky refers to as'higher
mental functions.'
Each culture provides its children tools of intellectual
adaption that allow them to use the introductory mental functions more
effectively/ adaptively.
Tools of intellectual
adaption is Vygotsky’s term for methods of thinking and problem-solving
strategies that children internalize through social interactions with the more
knowledgeable members of society.
For example, memory in young children this is limited by natural factors. However, culture determines the type of memory strategy we develop. Discuss Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective in learning and its educational implications. For example, in western culture, children learn note-taking to prop memory, but inpre-literate societies, other strategies must be developed, such as tying knots in a string to remember, or carrying pebbles, or repetition of the names of ancestors until large numbers can be repeated.
Vygotsky, therefore,
sees cognitive functions, even those carried out alone, as affected by the
beliefs, values, and tools of intellectual adaption of the culture in which a person
develops and therefore socio-culturally determined. The tools of intellectual
adaption, therefore, vary from culture to culture-as in the memory example.
Like Piaget, Vygotsky
believes that young children are curious and laboriously involved in their own
learning and the discovery and development of new understandings/ schema.
However, Vygotsky placed more emphasis on social contributions to the process
of development, whereas Piaget emphasized self-initiated discovery.
According to Vygotsky
(1978), much important learning by the child occurs through social interaction
with a skillful tutor. The tutor may model actions and/ or provide verbal
instructions for the child. Vygotsky refers to this as cooperative or
cooperative dialogue. The child seeks to understand the conduct or instructions
provided by the tutor (often the parent or teacher) then internalizes the
information, using it to guide or regulate their own performance.
Shaffer (1996) gives
the example of a young girl who's given her first jigsaw. Alone, she performs
poorly in trying to solve the puzzle. Discuss Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective in learning and its educational implications. The father then sits with her and
describes or demonstrates some introductory strategies, such as finding all the
corner/ edge pieces 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.
According to Vygotsky, this type of Discuss Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective in learning and its educational implications. social interaction involving collaborative
or cooperative dialogue promotes cognitive development.