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Vygotskys

Sociocultural Theory

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Russian

Cultural mediation a crucial part of

childrens psychological development is

their growing into the culture to which they

belong

Who we are, what we do, how we think

and what we value largely depends on the

culture in which we are brought up

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Vygotskys

Sociocultural Theory Thinking as a product of social

interaction

children gain new information and learn howto think through interactions with adults and

more capable peers

emphasized importance of social activity internalization of knowledge: absorbs

knowledge from ones social context

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Zone of proximal development

(ZPD)

The distance between a learners ability to

solve a problem independently and the

learners potential level of comprehensionwhen given guidance or in collaboration

with more knowledgeable others.

Learning takes place when the child is

working her zone of proximal

development.

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Zone of Proximal Development

Lets say want a child wants to learn how to bakecookies

Independently, he is unable to figure out how to do thetask

He interacts with a more knowledgeable others such asthe parents and learn the basics of baking cookies

He can also interact with his teachers and peers, tomodify the ingredients

Through a series of social interactions the child has

learn to internalize concepts related to the basics ofbaking cookies and the basic procedure can bemodified with successful results

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Tasks within the zone of proximal

development are ones that a child cannotyet do alone but could do with the

assistance of more competent peers or

adults

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ZPD

It deals with the quality of child-adult interaction

good learning which refers to the distance

between what children can accomplish

independently and what they can achieve wheninteracting with more competent others

Cognitive tasks that a

child can accomplishindependently

ZPD Tasks that are

beyond a childs

cognitive capacity

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range of ability between the childs

developed, observable ability level, and full capacity for developing further

Vygotskys

Sociocultural Theory

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Scaffolding

a changing quality of support over a teaching

session, in which a more skilled partner adjusts

the assistance he or she provides to fit the

childs current level of performance. Moresupport is offered when a task is new; less is

provided as the childs competence increases,

therefore fostering the childs autonomy and

independent mastery(Berk & Winsler,1995, p.171)

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Scaffolding

Providing a child with a great deal of

support during early stages of learning

The teacher provides support during the

initial learning steps

This support becomes diminished in the

later stages of learning by having the child

take on more responsibility for learning

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This allows learners to accomplish tasks

that they normally would not be able toaccomplish on their own

Learner gain access to areas that they

could not do on their own Scaffolding provides structural support

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Once learners develop the necessary

skills, the teacher can gradually removethe scaffolding by adding more

complicated tasks.

The information is better integrated into

the learners knowledge

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increase in experience in child

--> decrease in assistance from adult

adult doing too little

child does not learn how to do a task

adult doing too much

--> child does not learn anything new

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adults provide the scaffolding forchildrens learning E.g.,

directing the childs attention

providing a model

offering suggestions Questions

Clues/Cues

Prompts

Task analysis Mastery learning

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Cues

- Signals as to what behaviour (s) will bereinforced

Prompt

- A verbal reminder that follows a cue to

make sure that the students reacts to the

cue

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Task analysis

- Breaking down and sequencing acomplex task into each component

- It requires analysis of both the process

and the end product- When teaching a complex skill, it

necessary to reinforce each step

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Learning occurs best when it comes from

self-initiated activity

There is a wide range of development

within a group of children. The teacherneed to plan learning experiences that the

level of development. Every child needs a

chance to work on his own

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Social interactions assists the child in

modifying his egocentric point of view.

Through interactions he/she finds that

everyone does not have the same opinionas he does to convince needs to find a

logical and clear argument

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Support that helps a learner become

more successful

Learning involves the acquisition of signs

by means of instruction and informationfrom others

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Cognitive development is strongly linked

to input from others

Self-regulation the ability to think and

solve problems without the help ofothers

Private speechchildrens talk whichguides their thinking and actions

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Socialcultural perspective understand

something about the culture of childshome and peer group

Cultural knowledge-language, ways ofinteracting with people

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Reciprocal teaching

Another applicationZPD

Designed to improved - reading

comprehension skills to decode words

adequately but had problems in making

overall meaning of the text

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Procedure a teacher and a small group

of two to four students discuss a textpassage in order to determine its meaning

Members of the group flexibly apply four

cognitve strategies :questioning, summarising, clarifying and

predicting and take turns leading to a

discussion

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Stages of Reciprocal teaching

Reading: members of the gorup silently read thepassage

Questioning: the leader asks members of the

group questions about the main idea Summarising: the leader summarises thecontent of the passage in his or her own words

Clarifying: the group members discuss the

points which remain unclear Predicting: the leader asks for prediction of

what will next in the text

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Involve talking about and arguing over the

meaning of the text

Able to observe and be a part of these

disucssions where they practise different

strategies of making meaning; pointing to

relevant words in the paragraph.

asking questions about words and making

connections between the parts of the text

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situated cognition views learning as

engaging in problem solving in the course

of participation in ongoing everyday

activities. It is concerned with learning

withing communities of practice that is

shared purpose and understanding in reallife situations

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Establishing cultural connections between

what teacher and students do inclassrooms what students experience in

the community

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Educational Implications

Set challenging tasks which are slightly

above the level of childrens independent

performance and provide enough support

the enable them to complete the task.

Ensure that your assistance is subtle and

indirect and that it doesnt impose ready-

made knowledge and structures on thechild. Provide indirect guidance and

support.

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Scaffold childrens learning by

demonstrating, questioning, hinting,providing examples, dividing task into

simpler steps, giving guidelines and

assisting childrens self-regulating

learning.

Allow children to take active position in

their learning

Encourage intrinsic motivation

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Listen to children, observe them in

different contexts to better understandtheir interest, abilities and background

knowledge.

Encourage childrens talk while working on

their task by asking them questions or

making them report on the strategies theyemploy to complete the task.

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Keep in close contact with families of

children that you teach; take an interest intheir life style, customs and familyactivities

Make sure you use a variety of authenticactivities and real life problem solving inyour teaching to keep it situated in the

social and cultural context.