Sociocultural Theory

Vygotsky was called "The Mozart of Psychology.
He was born on 17th November,1896- same year

as Piaget - in the small Russian town of Orsha.
Middle-class Jewish family.
In 1913 entered Moscow University through

lottery.
In December of 1917, he graduated from Moscow

University with a degree in law.
His interests in Psychology were quite diverse, but

often centered on topics of child development and
education.
Vygotsky
completed 270 scientific

articles, numerous lectures, and ten
books based on a wide range of
Marxist-based psychological and
teaching theories.
He
died on June 10, 1934, at the

young age of thirty-seven after long
battle with TB.
Vygotskys
work did not become

known in the West until 1958, and was
not published there until 1962.
Did NOT focus on the individual child but on the child as a

product of social interaction, especially with adults
(parents, teachers).
Focus on DYADIC INTERACTIONS (e.g., child being taught

by a parent how to perform some culturally specific action),
rather than child by himself.
Social world mediates children's cognitive development.

Cognitive development occurs as child's thinking is
moulded by society in the form of parents, teachers, and
peers. This leads to peer tutoring as a strategy in
classrooms.
People's thinking differs dramatically between cultures

because different cultures stress different things.
Is an approach to teaching and learning based on the

premise that cognition is the result of "mental
construction". In other words, students learn by fitting new
information together with what they already know.
Constructivists believe that learning is affected by the

context in which an idea is taught as well as by students'
beliefs and attitudes.
The learner actively imposes organization and meaning on

the surrounding environment and constructs knowledge in
the process.
The teacher's role is not only to observe and assess but to

also engage with the students while they are completing
activities, wondering aloud and posing questions to the
students for promotion of reasoning.
Children construct their knowledge.
Knowledge is not transferred passively, but is personally

constructed.
The learning is mediated.
Cognitive development is not a direct result of activity,

but it is indirect; other people must interact with the
learner, use mediatory tools to facilitate the learning
process, and then cognitive development may occur.
Language plays a central role in mental

development.
The most significant socio cultural tool is language, as it

is used to teach tool use and is vital in the process of
developing higher psychological functions.
Learning appears twice.

First on the social level, and later, on the individual level;
first between people (interpsychology), and then inside the
child (intrapsychology).
Development cannot be separated from its social

context.
The context needed for learning is that where the
learners can interact with each other and use the new tools.
This means that the learning environment must be authentic,
that is, it must contain the type of people who would use
these types of tools such as concepts, language, symbols in
a natural way.
Social constructivism focuses on the

artifacts that are created through the
social interactions of a group. It
emphasized the profound influence
of social contexts in the advances in
the levels of knowing.
One key concept of Vygotskys social

constructivism theory is that, knowledge
construction is both a social and cognitive process.
Knowledge and meanings are actively and

collaboratively constructed in a social context
mediated by frequent social discourse.
In a social constructivist learning environment,

effective learning happens only through interactive
processes of discussion, negotiation, and sharing.
Vygotsky claimed that infants are born

with the basic materials/abilities for
intellectual development. Eventually,
through interaction within the sociocultural environment, these are
developed into more sophisticated
and effective mental
processes/strategies which he refers
to as Higher Mental Functions.
Social influences on
cognitive development
Vygotsky believes that young children are
curious and actively involved in their own
learning and the discovery and development of
new understandings/schema.
Much important learning by the child occurs
through social interaction with a skilful tutor. The
tutor may model behaviours and/or provide
verbal instructions for the child.
The child seeks to understand the actions or
instructions provided by the tutor (often the
parent or teacher) then internalises the
information, using it to guide or regulate their
own performance.
Social Interaction
The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)
Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky felt social learning anticipates

development. He states: Every function in
the childs cultural development appears
twice: first, on the social level, and later, on
the individual level; first, between people
(interpsychological) and then inside the
child (intrapsychological).
He believes that young children are curious

and actively involved in their own learning
and the discovery and development of new
understandings.
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.
For example: Teachers, Other adults, Advanced

students, sometimes even computers.
Many times, a child's peers or an adult's children
may be the individuals with more knowledge or
experience.
The key to MKOs is that they must have (or be

programmed with) more knowledge about the
topic being learned than the learner does.
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. According to Vygotsky learning occurs
here.
Vygotsky sees the ZPD as 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 difference between what a child can do

independently and what the child needs help
from a more knowledgeable person to do is the
Zone of
Proximal
Development
Distance Between Actual and Potential Knowledge

potential
knowledge
potential
ZPD
actual
knowledge
ZPD
actual
Two children with the same actual knowledge travel different

distances to their potential knowledge; therefore different ZPDs
Role of teachers and others in supporting the

learners development and providing support
structures to get to the next stage or level -Vygotsky.
Scaffolding refers to the role played by parents, teachers
and others by which children acquire their knowledge and
skills
A knowledgeable participant can create by means

of speech and supportive conditions in which the
student (novice) can participate in and extend current
skills and knowledge to a high level of competence.
In an educational context, however, scaffolding is
an instructional structure whereby the teacher models
the desired learning strategy or task then gradually
shifts responsibility to the students.
Provides support
Extends the range of what a learner can do.
Allows the learner to accomplish tasks otherwise
impossible
Used only when needed
Example :
An example of scaffolding in the classroom setting
could include a teacher first instructing her children
on how to write a sentence using commas and
conjunctions. As the week goes on, she has her
students practice writing these sentences with peers,
gives students feedback and eventually has the kids
to complete this skill without her guidance.
Teachers Role:
The
teacher has the task of guiding and

directing the childs activity.
An
educational application of Vygotsky's

theories is "reciprocal teaching", used to
improve students' ability to learn from text.
Collaborative
Learning
Application in literacy learning
Reciprocal teaching
Teacher and students collaborate in learning and
practicing four key skills: summarizing,
questioning, clarifying, and predicting. The
teacher's role in the process is reduced over time.
Scaffolding
A teacher or more advanced peer helps to
structure or arrange a task so that a novice can
work on it successfully.
Collaborative learning
Group members should have different levels of
ability so more advanced peers can help less
advanced members operate within their ZPD.
Use
Childs ZPD in teaching

Use Scaffolding
Use skilled peers as teachers
Monitor and encourage
childrens use of private speech
Language is an accelerator to thinking/understanding.

Language develops from social interactions, for
communication purposes. Later language ability
becomes internalized as thought and inner speech.
Language plays 2 critical roles in cognitive
development:
1: It is the main means by which adults transmit info to
children.
2: Language itself becomes a very powerful tool of
intellectual adaptation.
PRIMITIVE
SPEECH STAGE
NAVE PSYCHOLOGICAL
SPEECH STAGE
EGO-CENTRIC SPEECH STAGE
IN-GROWTH SPEECH STAGE
SOCIAL
SPEECH: External communication

used to talk to others (typical from the age
of two)
PRIVATE
SPEECH: Which is directed to the

self (typical from the age of three)
SILENT
INNER SPEECH: Thought connected

with words. (typical from the age of seven).
Curriculum - Since children learn much through

interaction, curricula should be designed to
emphasize interaction between learners and
learning tasks.
Instruction - With appropriate adult help,

children can often perform tasks that they are
incapable of completing on their own. With this
in mind, scaffolding - where the adult continually
adjusts the level of his or her help in response to
the child's level of performance is an effective
form of teaching. Scaffolding not only produces
immediate results, but also instils the skills
necessary for independent problem solving in
the future.
Assessment:
Assessment methods must take into

account the zone of proximal
development. What children can do on
their own is their level of actual
development and what they can do with
help is their level of potential
development. Two children might have the
same level of actual development, but
given the appropriate help from an adult,
one might be able to solve many more
problems than the other. Assessment
methods must target both the level of
actual development and the level of
potential development.
The
key to "stretching" the learner is to

know what is in that person's ZPDwhat
comes next, for them. It is common in
constructing skills check-lists to have
columns for "cannot yet do", "can do with
help", and "can do alone". The ZPD is
about "can do with help", not as a
permanent state, but as a stage towards
being able to do something on your own.
Sociocultural theory considers learning as a

semiotic process where participation in sociallymediated activities is essential.
The theory regards instruction as crucial to

cognitive development in the classroom.
Instruction should be geared to the ZPD that is
beyond the learners actual development level.
Social instruction actually produces new,

elaborate, advanced psychological processes that
are unavailable to the organism working in
isolation

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Vygotsky was called "The Mozart of Psychology.

He was born on 17th November,1896- same year

Middle-class Jewish family.

In 1913 entered Moscow University through

In December of 1917, he graduated from Moscow

His interests in Psychology were quite diverse, but

completed 270 scientific

died on June 10, 1934, at the

work did not become

Did NOT focus on the individual child but on the child as a

Focus on DYADIC INTERACTIONS (e.g., child being taught

Social world mediates children's cognitive development.

People's thinking differs dramatically between cultures

Is an approach to teaching and learning based on the

Constructivists believe that learning is affected by the

The learner actively imposes organization and meaning on

The teacher's role is not only to observe and assess but to

Children construct their knowledge.

Knowledge is not transferred passively, but is personally

The learning is mediated.

Cognitive development is not a direct result of activity,

Language plays a central role in mental

The most significant socio cultural tool is language, as it

Learning appears twice.

Development cannot be separated from its social

Social constructivism focuses on the

One key concept of Vygotskys social

Knowledge and meanings are actively and

In a social constructivist learning environment,

Vygotsky claimed that infants are born

Vygotsky felt social learning anticipates

He believes that young children are curious

MKO refers to someone who has a better

For example: Teachers, Other adults, Advanced

The key to MKOs is that they must have (or be

This is an important concept that relates to the

Vygotsky sees the ZPD as the area where the

The difference between what a child can do

Distance Between Actual and Potential Knowledge

Two children with the same actual knowledge travel different

Role of teachers and others in supporting the

A knowledgeable participant can create by means

teacher has the task of guiding and

educational application of Vygotsky's

Application in literacy learning

Childs ZPD in teaching

Language is an accelerator to thinking/understanding.

SPEECH: External communication

SPEECH: Which is directed to the

INNER SPEECH: Thought connected

Curriculum - Since children learn much through

Instruction - With appropriate adult help,

Assessment methods must take into

key to "stretching" the learner is to

Sociocultural theory considers learning as a

The theory regards instruction as crucial to

Social instruction actually produces new,

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