1. Vygotsky and his study on the use of Memory Aids
Presented by Sara Schaner & Mary Fritz

2. Background Info Orsha Gomel
November 5th, 1896 born in Orsha, Belorussia
Was raised in the city of Gomel
“Little Professor”
1917 – Graduated from Moscow University
– Taught at two schools, diagnosed with a disease
1924 – Phenomenal lecture & Marriage to Rosa Smekhova
June 10th, 1934 – Died at the age of 38
– Works banned
Orsha
Gomel
Orsha, Belorussia now known as Belarus
His father was appointed department chief of the United Bank which caused the family to move to Gomel
Vygotsky was the second of 8 children and his father was a banker and his mother was a teacher
He was known among his friends as the Little Professor” because he was constantly leading them in discussions, mock trials, debates.
His favorite things to read were History, Literature, and Poetry
Vygotsky attened Moscow University but he had a struggle entering into the University because of the states quota system university enrollment was only 3% Jewish. He seemed assured a spot because he was so smart but then the university shifted to a lottery system for Jewish Applicants. Vygotsky ended up getting in anyways.
At the university Vygotsky started in the study of medicine but soon switched to Law and graduated with a Law Degree in 1917.
After graduating Vygotsky returned home to Gomel and taught literature in a secondary school and psychology at the local teachers college. During this period of his life Vygotsky also became ill with tuberculosis
Married his wife Rosa Smekhova and they ended up having two daughters
On January 6, 1924 Vygotsky traveled to Leningrad to deliver a lecture on the psychology of consciousness, His speech had an electrifying effect on the young psychologists in the audience. After his lecture he was offered a position at the Moscow Institute of Psychology. He took it. And that is where he spent the last years of his life.
He was a highly honored man. Students wrote poems about him.
The last few years of his life, he realized it was going to be a short one so he started working at a break-neck pace. Read lecutred and conducted research as fast as he could. He was also constantly traveling. Nothing would stop him though he would work till 2-3am and was not letting his sickness slow him down.
Unfortunatly at the age of 38 his sickness finally took over and Vygotsky died.
A few of vygotskys works were published shortly after his death but in 1936 the Soviet government banned his work and the primary reason for the ban was that Vygotsky conducted some research with intelligence tests which the communist party condemned.
His colleagues and students kept his work alive and today his ideas are extremely popular among psychologists and educators throughout the world

3. Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Development
Stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition
Social learning tends to precede development
He argued that, “learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological functions” (The Educational Theory of Lev Vygotsky, 2010))
Vygotsky developed a socio- cultural approach to cognitive development.
In his theory he Stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition. He believe that social factors contribute to cognitive development.
He also states that social learning tends to precede development
Vygotsky also emphasizes the cultural aspect in child development he states…….. V. believed that culture helps to affect and shape cognitive development
Vygotsky developed a socio- cultural approach to cognitive development

4. Social Influence on Cognitive Development
Vygotsky believed that young children are curious and actively involved in their own learning and the discovery and development of new schema, placing emphasis on social contributions to the process of development
Important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a skillful tutor
The tutor may model behaviors and/ or provide verbal instructions for the child. He refers to this as co-operative or collaborative dialogue.
The child seeks to understand the actions or instructions provided by the tutor then internalizes the info using it to guide or regulate their own performance.
The child seeks to understand the actions or instructions provided by the tutor then internalizes the info using it to guide or regulate their own performance.Example:
Social interaction involving co-operative or collaborative dialogue promotes cognitive development

5. Cultural Sign System and Psychological Tools
Vygotsky refers to tools of intellectual adaptation that allow children to use the basic mental functions more effectively/adaptively, and these are culturally determined.
He proposed that people create “psychological tools” to master their own behavior
He refers to psychological tools:
Speech
Writing
Numbering System
Memory and memory aids
Through interaction within the socio-cultural environment, these are developed into more sophisticated and effective mental processes/strategies which he refers to as Higher Mental Functions
Vygotsky claimed that infants are born with the basic materials/abilities for intellectual development.
Vygotsky refers to tools of intellectual adaptation that allow children to use the basic mental functions more effectively/adaptively, and these are culturally determined.
V. proposed that people have created “psychological tools” to master their own behavior. Ex. Knots on rope, maps etc…
He refers to psychological tools: Speech, Writing, Numbering System, Memory and memory aids
Through interaction within the socio-cultural environment, these are developed into more sophisticated and effective mental processes/strategies which he refers to as Higher Mental Functions (put ex. in notes)
In young children this is limited by biological factors. Vygotsky claimed that infants are born with the basic materials/abilities for intellectual development.
V. called the various psychological tools that people use to aid their thinking and behavior signs, and he argued that we cant understand human thinking without examining the signs that cultures provide. 
V. argued that cultural sign systems have a major impact on cognitive development

6. Speech The most important sign system is speech.
It frees our thought and attention from the immediate situation.
It enables us to reflect on the past and plan for the future.
Speech separate us from other species
Two types of speech
Egocentric speech is talking to themselves aloud- prevalent to 4- 7                           
Inner-speech is a kind of silent dialogue we have with ourselves 
Speech separate us from other species  
egocentric speech talking to themselves aloud 4-7  
V believed to be prevalent helps the child to solve problems and doesnt go away as children get older- turns into innerspeech- kind of slient dialogue we have with ourselves 

7. Writing and Numbering System
Writing enables people to keep permanent record of information. 
Numbering systems enables to quantify objects by sight alone.

8. Two Principles of Vygotsky’s Theory
Two main principles of Vygotsky’s work:
More Knowledgeable Other
Zone of Proximal Development

9. More Knowledgeable Other
MKO: refers to someone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respects to a particular task, process, or concept.
Vygotsky notes that the older adult or teacher is not always the more knowledgeable one.

10. Zone of Proximal Development
ZPD is the concept that skills can be too difficult for a child to master on his/her own, but can be done with guidance and encouragement from a more knowledgeable person.
Related to the concept of MKO. This 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.
Vygotsky sees the ZDP 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
Vygotsky also views interaction with peers as an effective way of developing skills and strategies

11. Memory
Growth of the mind is so strongly influenced by the cultural line of development in the sign systems the culture provides Memory aids: Psychological tools
Through his experiments in this field, he explored children thinking led to metacognition- the awareness people have of their own thought process aka metamemory  
Egocentric spech and innner speech
However, culture determines the type of memory strategy we develop.  Eg. In our culture we learn note- taking to aid memory, but in pre-literate societies others strategies must be developed, such as tying knots in string to remember, or carrying pebbles. Or repetition of the names of ancestors until numbers can be repeated
When humans use signs they engage in mediated behavior. They just don’t respond to environmental stimuli; their behavior is also influenced or “mediated” by their own signs
V. tried to discover how childern become aware of their thinking and how they learn to use psychological tools and strategies to improve it

12. Vygotsky’s Works Educational Psychology
Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes
Thought and Language

13. Our Research
We went to North Hills Preparatory School for our observations and experiment.
We were researching Vygotsky’s theory on Memory and how children used memory aids to help them recall
We paid attention to the use of inner-speech and ego- centric speech
We paid attention to their ages and what Vygotsky says is prevalent in specific age-groups
We paid attention to how each child organized the aids

15. Hypothesis
We hypothesize that the children will organize the memory aids in four groups. Each group will have four pictures. Animal, baby animal, food, and resting place.
We hypothesize that the children will use ego-centric speech and inner speech to help them remember.
The older children will remember more than the younger children.

16. Child One 3rd Grade Gender = Male Age = 8 Amount of Time = 2:50
put things into pairs:
milk and kitten
puppy and dog house
cat and cat castle
dog and bones
horse, foal, hay
barn, chicken coop, seeds, chick, chicken
3rd Grade
Gender = Male
Age = 8
Amount of Time = 2:50
How Many Recalled = 16
He was the only child to get all 16
As you can see he started with consisten pairing, but towards the end just made one large group

17. Child Two 2nd Grade Gender = Female Age = 8 Amount of Time = 2:56
Put everything into one line across the table
Barn, coop, seeds, hen, chick, doghouse, puppy, bone, dog, cat, cat castle, milk, kitten, horse, foal, hay
2nd Grade
Gender = Female
Age = 8
Amount of Time = 2:56
How Many Recalled = 13
Had no consistency
Did not rush though it.
One of the few that recalled majority of the pictures.
She was using ego-centric speech. She would talk to herself and name out each card as she layed it down.

18. Child Three 1st Grade Gender = Male Age = 7 Amount of Time = 0:40
Just laid all the cards out randomly on the table.
1st Grade
Gender = Male
Age = 7
Amount of Time = 0:40
How Many Recalled = 4
Rushed through the experiment
Which Vygotsky stated was typical for his age
Did not use the memory aids to his advantage

19. Child Four 4th Grade Gender = Male Age = 10 Amount of Time = 1:08
Put the cards into the order that we hypothesized
Horse, foal, hay, barn
Dog, puppy, bones, doghouse
Cat, kitten, cat-castle, milk
Chicken, hen, seeds, chicken coop
4th Grade
Gender = Male
Age = 10
Amount of Time = 1:08
How Many Recalled = 10
Only Child to put the cards in the groups we hypothesized
Used inner-speech.
His groupings were consistent
Did not remember all of them but obviously it helped him

20. Child Five 1st Grade Gender = Male Age = 6 Amount of Time = 1:04
How Many Recalled = 0
Did nothing.
HATED ME
Refused to look at the Aids
And Vygotsky said that this is typical of a child from ages 4-8
Maybe he didn’t know how. We will never know.

21. Child Six 2nd Grade Gender = Male Age = 8 Amount of Time = 1:38
How Many Recalled = 11
Separated all the animals from all of the objects.
Dog, Puppy, Cat, Kitten, Horse, Foal, Chicken, Chick
Hay, Seeds, Bones, Milk, Barn, Cat-Castle, Doghouse, Chicken Coop
Had Consistent groupings

22. Child Seven 1st Grade Gender = Male Age = 6 Amount of Time = 0:42
Took the pile of cards into his hands and then would look at each card then flip the card upside onto the table
1st Grade
Gender = Male
Age = 6
Amount of Time = 0:42
How Many Recalled = 6
Rushed into the experiment
Typically happens between of 4 to 8
Did not use the cards effectively
He mentioned a water-fountain. He referred to the horse as a donkey

23. Child Eight Kindergarten Gender = Male Age = 5 Amount of Time = 1:37
How Many Recalled = 13
Horse, Barn, Foal, Hay
Dog, Bones, Puppy
Cat and Kitten
Chick, Chicken, Chicken Coop
Milk and Seeds
Cat-Castle and Doghouse
REALLY SMART ONE!
Even though grouping were not consistent, they made more sense then some of our other kids
Did not really know what to call the pictures but would describe them to us ( ex. Called the cat- castle “something to climb”) Also he just generalized the food, he knew each animal had a certain food but he didn’t specify

24. Child Nine 2nd Grade Gender = Male Age = 8 Amount of Time = 1:25
How Many Recalled = 14
Cat, Kitten, Cat-Castle
Horse, Hay, Foal, Barn
Chicken, Chick, Chicken Coop
Bone, Doghouse, Milk, Seeds, Puppy, Dog
Grouping were not quiet consistent
He was using ego-centric speech

25. Child Ten 2nd Grade Gender = Male Age = 8 Amount of Time = 1:14
How Many Recalled = 8
Put all the animals with their home
Bone with the dog group
Hay with the horse group
milk and seeds
Groupings were not consistent.

26. Child Eleven 2nd Grade Gender = Male Age = 7 Amount of Time = 0:54
Horse and Foal
Barn and Hay
Chicken and Chick
Seeds and Bone
Cat and Kitten
Doghouse and Chicken Coop
Dog and Puppy
Milk
Cat-Castle
2nd Grade
Gender = Male
Age = 7
Amount of Time = 0:54
How Many Recalled = 11
His groups were not consistent in any way
Milk was alone, cat-castle was alone
Clearly an example of younger children not using the aids effectivly
But he was using ego-centric speech

27. Child Twelve 4th Grade Gender = Female Age = 9 Amount of Time = 0:47
How Many Recalled = 15
Put all the animals with their food
All the living places in another group
Child 12 was at the age of where Vygotsky states will use the aids in an effective way to help them remember
Obviously she used the cards in a very effective way
She said the name of each card, didn’t say two dogs, two cats, she differentiated between dog and puppy (etc)
Inner speech

28. Results
1) Only one child used the grouping method that we hypothesized
Some of the groups were consistent
Most of the children who recalled majority of the pictures, organized the memory aids into a consistent group
2) Evidence of inner-speech and ego-centric speech.
3) Our data shows that this hypothesis was false.

29. BK
& LV