1. Georgina Salas Heather Luna EPSY6304.63 Cognition & Development
Lev S. Vygotsky Cultural-Historical Theory of Psychological Development
Georgina Salas
Heather Luna
EPSY Cognition & Development

2. What is learning?
Gredler (2009), defines learning as a multifaceted process that individuals typically take for granted until they experience difficulty with a complex task. The University of Pittsburgh utilizes the following components to define learning:
* Learning is a process, not a product.
* Learning is a change in knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, or attitudes.
* Learning is not something done to students, but something that students themselves do.
Regardless of the definition, it is evident that learning is a process that takes both time and patience. As educators, it is essential that we understand this process and the impact learning can have on an individual.
References:
Deliberating Democracy. (2013). Retrived April, 2013, from:
Gredler, M. (2009). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice. New Jersey: Pearson.
University of Pittsburg, Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education. (2010). Definition of learning. Retrieved from

3. Philosophy and Theory
According to Gredler (2009), a philosophy is a structured belief system that begins with a question. Early attempts to understand the learning process were based on experience and philosophy; however, different philosophies reflected opposing views which further complicated the concept of learning. By the 1920s, early theories of learning began to emerge. Essential criteria for a theory include- a set of explicit assumptions about the aspects of learning addressed by the theory, explicit definitions of key terms, and specific principles derived from the assumptions that can be tested through research. A focus on learning guides the development of learning theories.
References:
Fraud as Philosopher. (2011). Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Gredler, M. (2009). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice. New Jersey: Pearson.

4. Constructivism
Constructivism is a theory about how people learn. This theory is based on observation and scientific study. Constructivism states that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world based on experiences and reflections. By asking questions, exploring, and assessing what we know, we become active creators of our own knowledge. Learning theories include, but are not limited to,  B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning, Robert Gagne’s Conditions of Learning, Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, and Lev. S. Vygotsky’s Cultural-Historical Theory of Psychological Development.
References:
Concept to Classroom. (2004). Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching and learning. Retrieved from
Tomchuk films – constructivism. Retrieved April, 2013, from:

5. Lev S. Vygotsky Cultural-Historical Theory of Psychological Development
Vygotsky is considered a seminal thinker in psychology, and much of his work is still being discovered and explored today. While he was a contemporary of Skinner, Pavlov, Freud and Piaget, his work never attained their level of eminence during his lifetime.
Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the sociocultural context in which they act and interact in shared experiences (Crawford, 1996). According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments. Initially children develop these tools to serve solely as social functions, ways to communicate needs. Vygotsky believed that the internalization of these tools led to higher thinking skills.
References:
Cherry, K. (2013). Lev Vygotsky Biography. Retrieved from
Collaboration creates intangible advantages. (2013). Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Crawford, K. (1996). Vygotskian approaches to human development in the information era. Educational Studies in Mathematics. (31)
Learning-Theories.com. (2013). Social Development Theory. Retrieved from

6. Psychological Development
Human intelligence
Psychological development
Biology
Cultural-historical
Psychological processes
Principles of Psychological Development (Basic Assumptions)
Three areas form the foundation for Vygotsky’s analysis of development of human mental capabilities. They include - the nature of human intelligence; two different lines of psychological development, biology and cultural-historical; and the design of an experiment for the investigation of dynamic psychological processes (Gredler, 2009).
References:
Gredler, M. (2009). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice. New Jersey: Pearson.
iNurse: psychological development. (2011). Retrieved April, 2013, from:

7. Cognitive Development
Principles of Psychological Development (Components of Cognitive Development)
* Imaginative play is a crucial component of a child's normal development.
* So how does imaginative play boost a child's brain development? How can it affect cognition? There are a multitude of ways in which unstructured, child-centered play builds healthy minds.
* Children have dialogues with themselves when they engage in imaginative play. Role-playing means creating a story and giving a voice to the different characters in the story. When children imitate others, they are developing a vocabulary that allows them to name and navigate the world around them. Less verbal children may talk more during imaginative play than in other settings.
* Vygotsky 's theory of cognitive development posits that information from the external world is transformed and internalized through language
* According to Vygotsky, language also serves the purpose of regulation, or self-control over one's own cognitive processes such as memory and thought.
* Imaginative play is essential to cognitive development, but it is becoming endangered by our busy lives
* Children who do not engage in imaginative play because their time is overly structured or spent watching television or other forms of media are not developing the language and reasoning skills that are so critical to early childhood development.
References:
Child Development Media, Inc. (2012). Play: the work of Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from
Cognitive learning: early childhood cognitive development, children’s ability to think, reason, and problem solve. (2013). Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Imaginative Play
Language

8. Complex Thinking Involuntary attention Simple perception
Direct or natural memory
Principles of Psychological Development (Nature of Complex Thinking)
Vygotsky identified two foundational mental functions that are prerequisites for developing the higher forms of thinking – conscious awareness and volition. In regards to higher mental function, Vygotsky identified three primitive or elementary processes that are innate or inborn – involuntary attention, simple perception, and direct or natural memory. Conscious awareness and volition are essential to developing higher mental functions. These foundational functions begin to emerge at school age, however, they are deficient. According to Vygotsky, forms of complex thinking include voluntary (self-organized) attention, categorical perception, conceptual thinking (verbal and mathematical), and logical memory (Gredler, 2009).
References:
Complex Thinking. (2013). Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Gredler, M. (2009). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice. New Jersey: Pearson.

9. Principles of Instruction (Basic Assumptions)
* The first assumption of Vygotsky's theory is that through both informal and formal conversations and education adults convey to children the way their culture interprets and responds to the world.
* The second assumption of Vygotsky's theory is that thought and language become increasingly independent in the first few years of life. We will talk specifically about language and speech development later in this lesson.
* The third assumption explains that complex mental processes begin as social activities.
* Vygotsky also introduced the idea that children can perform more challenging tasks when assisted by more advanced and competent individuals.
next assumption is that challenging tasks promote maximum cognitive growth.
*The final assumption is that play allows children to stretch themselves cognitively.
References:
Education Portal. (2013). Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development. Retrieved from

10. Instructional Strategies
Scaffolding
Reciprocal Teaching
Principles of Instruction (Components of Instruction)
Instructional Strategies and Their Implementation in Instruction
* Scaffolding and reciprocal teaching are effective strategies to access the zone of proximal development.
* Scaffolding requires the teacher to provide students the opportunity to extend their current skills and knowledge. The teacher must engage students' interest, simplify tasks so they are manageable, and motivate students to pursue the instructional goal.                    
* Reciprocal teaching allows for the creation of a dialogue between students and teachers beyond answering questions and engage in the discourse.
* The teacher and students alternated turns leading small group discussions on a reading. After modeling four reading strategies, students began to assume the teaching role.
* Scaffolding requires the teacher to provide students the opportunity to extend their current skills and knowledge. The teacher must engage students' interest, simplify tasks so they are manageable, and motivate students to pursue the instructional goal.
* Reciprocal teaching allows for the creation of a dialogue between students and teachers. beyond answering questions and engage in the discourse
References:
Exum, C. (2008). What is social learning theory? Retrieved from
Jargon and terms. (2011). Retrieved April, 2013, from

11. Instructional Design Collaboration Reciprocal experience
Social interaction
Principles of Instruction (Designing Instruction to Develop Higher Cognitive Function)
Application of the Social Development Theory to Instructional Design
* Requires the teacher and students to play untraditional roles as they collaborate with each other.
* Learning becomes a reciprocal experience for the students and teacher.
* The physical classroom would provide clustered desks or tables and work space for peer instruction, collaboration, and small group instruction.
Thus the classroom becomes a community of learning.
Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. In contrast to Jean Piaget’s understanding of child development (in which development necessarily precedes learning), Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. He states: “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inter - psychological)
and then inside the child (intra -psychological).”
References:
Exum, C. (2008). What is social learning theory? Retrieved from
Four ways to empower students through collaboration. (2012). Retrieved April, 2013, from:

12. Educational Applications (Classroom Issues)
Tasks that are set for the child need to be pitched at the right level. Tasks that are too difficult are outside the child’s ZPD, and regardless of the amount of help in the form of scaffolding, the gap can not be bridged. If the task is too easy the child will not be motivated.
References:
Cognition and Development. (2012). Applying Vygotsky to the classroom. Retrieved from
Quotes from Lev Vygotsky on the zone of proximal. (2010). Retrieved April, 2012, from:

13. Scaffolding Educational Applications (Developing a Classroom Strategy)
Teachers can use information about both levels of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development in organizing classroom activities in the following ways:
Instruction can be planned to provide practice in the zone of proximal development for individual children or for groups of children. For example, hints and prompts that helped children during the assessment could form the basis of instructional activities.
Cooperative learning activities can be planned with groups of children at different levels who can help each other learn.
Scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976) is a tactic for helping the child in his or her zone of proximal development in which the adult provides hints and prompts at different levels. In scaffolding, the adult does not simplify the task, but the role of the learner is simplified “through the graduated intervention of the teacher” (Greenfield, 1984, p. 119).
References:
Curriculum. Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Pearson. (2010). Educational psychology: theory and practice. Retrieved from

14. Educational Applications
Educational Applications (Classroom Example)
Students in a political science class can use a computer simulation to decide on global issues as representatives of United Nations.
A geography class studying Turkey can take a virtual trip of tourist and historical sites and parks.
The journalism class may publish a newsletter with scanned photographs, excerpts from the press and charts about a recent journey to space.
As a final project, a sixth-grade history teacher may assign her students multimedia presentations of civilizations that prospered in Southern America.
An aquatic science class could observe data on city water quality and communicate with students in other schools.
The multiculturalism class students can build online genograms (family trees), and subscribe to genogram databases in search for relatives and the origin of their roots.
References:
Collaboration in the digital classroom. (2012). Retrieved April, 2013, from:

15. References
Cherry, K. (2013). Lev Vygotsky Biography. Retrieved from Child Development Media, Inc. (2012). Play: the work of Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from Cognition and Development. (2012). Applying Vygotsky to the classroom. Retrieved from Cognitive learning: early childhood cognitive development, children’s ability to think, reason, and problem solve. (2013). Retrieved April, 2013, from: Collaboration creates intangible advantages. (2013). Retrieved April, 2013, from: Collaboration in the digital classroom. (2012). Retrieved April, 2013, from: .

16. Curriculum. Retrieved April, 2013, from: http://www. tofom
Complex Thinking. (2013). Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Concept to Classroom. (2004). Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching and learning. Retrieved from
Crawford, K. (1996). Vygotskian approaches to human development in the information era. Educational Studies in Mathematics. (31)
Deliberating Democracy. (2013). Retrived April, 2013, from:
Education Portal. (2013). Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development. Retrieved from

17. References
Exum, C. (2008). What is social learning theory? Retrieved from
Four ways to empower students through collaboration. (2012). Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Fraud as Philosopher. (2011). Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Gredler, M. (2009). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice. New Jersey: Pearson.
iNurse: psychological development. (2011). Retrieved April, 2013, from:

18. References
Jargon and terms. (2011). Retrieved April, 2013, from
Learning-Theories.com. (2013). Social Development Theory. Retrieved from
Pearson. (2010). Educational psychology: theory and practice. Retrieved from
Tomchuk films – constructivism. Retrieved April, 2013, from:
Quotes from Lev Vygotsky on the zone of proximal. (2010). Retrieved April, 2012, from:
University of Pittsburg, Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education. (2010). Definition of learning. Retrieved from