Lev Vygotsky

Here are some revision notes of mine on Lev Vygotsky and his theory on cognitive development.

Cognitive Development
Vygotsky believed children actively construct their knowledge and understanding.

• They learn through social interactions
• Society provides tools for learning
• Minds are shaped by cultural context
• Language is very important in the process

Cultural tools are devices used by humans for mastering their thinking and problem solving, these tools are created by humans. They have been developed through social interactions rather than individual actions.

Dolya (2007)

Language
Language is learned through social interaction (like everything else), initially children use language to control others e.g. 'up', 'more', 'again'. As the child gets older they learn to control their own actions (running commentary). It becomes internalized as thought.

Vygotsky's theory

•  A child uses language to plan, guide, and monitor behaviour.
• Language and thought initially develop separately, then merge together.

Vygotsky's theory differs from Piaget as Piaget believed the mind models the external world and Vygotsky believed the external world models the mind. Piaget was a Constructivist whereas Vygotsky was a Social Constructivist.

• Natural line - Development comes from within the child but only up until the age of 2. 
• Cultural line - After the age of 2 mental structures are heavily influenced by the 'cultural line'.
• Internalizing information - Mental functions e.g. memory, concepts, voluntary attention, appear twice in a child's development, first between the child and an adult (socially) and then within the child (psychologically).
• Reconstruction - Children encounter the same scenarios over and over again, each time dealing with them at a higher level and reconstructing them, therefore gaining more control.  

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
There are three areas, What the child knows, what the child does not know and the 'middle ground' (ZPD) where the child currently has cognitive conflict on their own, but with guidance from a skilled learner or an adult, the child is able to reach equilibrium. The Zone of Proximal Development puts emphasis on the 'teacher'.

Social constructivism and constructivism, Vygotsky Vs Piaget. 

References 
Sian Sanders (2013)