Theories of Cognitive Development VYGOTSKY

Learning Objectives  Outline Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development  Describe research to support this theory  Evaluate this theory using IDA

 The importance of the role of other, more knowledgeable people in children’s development.  Vygotsky argued that although children can acquire some concepts through their own unaided play, they acquire the mechanisms of thinking and learning as a result of the social interactions between themselves and the adults around them. Differences from Piaget

Vygotsky’s theory  Social interaction  Language  Scaffolding and ZPD

 An idea central to Vygotsky’s theory is the zone of proximal development (ZPD):  This is the area between what the child can do on their own and what they can do with the help of adults or more experienced peers.  Full development of the ZPD depends upon full social interaction ZPD

 Proximal means what comes next: The idea is that a child is only able to take the next step in their cognitive development if another person (typically an adult) supports and prompts them to do so. This sort of assistance has been called scaffolding. Proximal

 Scaffolding: support and prompting, usually provided by an adult, which helps a child achieve cognitive tasks they could not achieve alone.  An important aspect of scaffolding is that there is a gradual withdrawal of support as the child’s knowledge and confidence increase. Scaffolding

Vygotsky’s theory  Social interaction  Language  Scaffolding and ZPD Use the hand-out to outline these features of Vygotsky’s theory

Evaluation  Supporting evidence – Wood and Middleton (1975)  Cut and stick for strengths and weaknesses  Add your own IDA