Lev Semenovich Vygotsky

Vygotsky A person’s interpersonal, or internal processes, have their roots in interactions with others. Emphasized language and social interaction much more than Piaget –Proposed that developmental progress occurs through discussion and reasoning in a social context (language is a tool use to aid development)

Vygotsky Soviet Dialectical theory –Contradiction spurs development Start with one notion (thesis) Find something that contradicts (antithesis) Work to resolve contradiction by constructing some new concept that takes both thesis and antithesis into account (synthesis)

Vygotsky’s Stages From independent genetic roots language and thought begin to merge early in development –Stage1 (1st year): Pre-verbal thought and pre- intellectual speech –Stage 2 (2nd year): Practical intelligence and syntactic mastery –Stage 3 (2-4 years): Egocentric speech using symbols as aids/discovering that things have names –Stage 4(4years to adulthood): inner speech and the growth of verbal thought

Vygotsky’s Position on merging of thought and speech If children’s language climate is full of “simplistic” or “primitive” language, they will think “simplistically” or “primitively” Thought Speech practical knowledge 1 2 Birth 3 physical rules grammatical rules some thought is aided by symbols thought becomes inner speech... 4 meaning becomes a unit of verbal thinking

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development Developed three main developmental ideas: –Internalization –Zone of Proximal Development –Scaffolding

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development Internalization - taking in knowledge observed in a social context. –Language is key to the internalization of complex ideas.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development Zone of Proximal Development - the range between a child’s level of independent performance and the level of performance a child can reach with assistance.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development Scaffolding- competent assistance or support, usually provided through mediation of the environment by a parent or teacher, by which cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral forms of development are facilitated.