Vygotsky sociocultural theory of child development has direct application towards the experiences of children in classroom settings (Berk, 2008). Vygotsky’s theory was that all people in a child’s environment were important to a child’s growth, which would apply directly to classroom settings. In 1945, Rene Spitz wrote concerning the high death of infants under one-year-of-age who resided in institutions (Spitz, 1945). Spitz noted that the reason for the high death rate was a lack of stimulation and not disease along with the absence of the mothers. The work of Spitz and other researchers supports Vygotsky’s ideas that a child is not only a product of their cultural environment, but also affects their environment (Berk, 2008). Vygotsky theorized that the various individuals in a child’s environment are not only required for successful growth and development, but also for life itself (Gordon & Browne, 2010). A classroom presents a perfect place for Vygotsky’s idea of a child o being surrounded with interactive people (Berk, 2008). According to Vygotsky, children are to be taught by instruction as well as by other people working with them in hands on situations. Vygotsky looked at a child’s development as a kind of apprenticeship for life. As Pressley and McCormick (2007) noted, creating a classroom environment conducive to providing an apprentice type of experience for children requires a very focused and energized teacher. A child learning and interacting within his surroundings builds language and cognitive growth as well as social skills for not only the child but also for the teachers (Gordon & Browne, 2010; Jenkins & Hewitt, 2010). Vygotsky did not preclude other children from becoming stimulating parts ... ... middle of paper ... ...e of children and adolescent minds that then become the foundation for future lives (Singer et al., 2006). In the world of Vygotsky, a child was not a passive product of the environment. Instead, the child interacts with the environment by making choices, which moderates or influences the effect of the environment on the child (Vygotsky & Stone, 2005). In this way, the child is actually acting upon the environment as opposed to being passively acted upon. Vygotsky’s vision was that children would be surrounded with peers and adults showing and demonstrating life while sharing the skills necessary to enjoy a life filled with quality throughout a child’s life (Pressley & McCormick, 2007). The added benefit to making Vygotsky’s vision a reality is that the quality of the lives of those peers, teachers, and others is increased also (Jenkins & Hewitt, 2010).
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory was his main focus and it helped him make sense of a person’s cognitive development through the way they interaced with others and emphasised on one’s social interaction (blabla). Vygotsky focused on how learning consisted of gathering knowledge and skills from the social community and the different attractions a person observes (v2); a process known as internationalization. His theory was based on two key concepts, first that knowledge can be developed through the experiences a child lives (v1), and an example would be a child seeing his parents arguing over their beliefs; he’d learn how he should have his own belief...
Piaget and Vygotsky each created their own particular ideas of child development. Piaget differentiated development into four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, operational, and concrete. Conversely, Vygotsky based his theory of development on the fundamental ideas that children construct knowledge, learning can prompt development, development cannot be differentia...
Lev Vygotsky stages of development were not defined by age or biology. Social and cultural experiences were the basis for his theory. Consciousness was an end product of social interactions (Kearsley, 1994-2010). The history of the child’s society and his own personal history determine how the child thinks. Language is crucial for development as it is with words that a child conceptualizes and makes sense of the world (Schütz, 2004). A precept of Vygotsky’s theory wa...
This reading reminded me about how Vygotsky’s theory is mostly based on the interactions and influences help children to learn. I really do believe this theory is very accurate, because students can learn from each other. If a teacher is having trouble explaining a complex topic to a student, another student can explain it in more relatable way. Also, I was fascinated when I read about what cultural tools, were and how they related to Vygotsky’s beliefs. Learning about what cultural tools were, helped me to broaden my understanding of how crucial cultural tools are to student’s learning process. Also, the chapter did a great job of elaborating on how these tools can help to advance and grow in the understanding of student’s thinking process. Another aspect of this reading that interested me was the elaboration on private speech and the Zone of Proximal Development. Each of the definitions displayed help me to advance my own thinking on what it was and how it is used in regards to the education of students. The description of what private speech and how it is basically the inner narration of their thinking process helped me to understand how this aspect can help with students learning. Also, the Zone of Proximal Development helped me to make a connection to both what is and how it relates to private speech as well. The Zone of proximal development plays a crucial role in the
Chapter one provided a brief overview on child development, which included debated topics, theories and the various stages of development. The chapter was an introduction to readers that outlined the basic notions of child development and how they can be implemented while working with children. The field of development includes factors such as nature, nurture, existing conditions for the child and the child’s own traits. In order to understand and effectively work with children, the chapter emphasizes the importance of each factor and how they relate. Child development has been divided into three categories: physical development, cognitive development and social-emotional development. Although different, these domains are interconnected and
Vygotsky believed that children developed by what belief and culture they brought up in. He strongly believed that children would learn more from hand on experience and that children would develop better with people around them so they were continuously socialising and communicating.
In considering Lev Vygotsky’s learning theories and thinking about their implications in my own future teaching as an early childhood and primary teacher, I know that Vygotsky’s connections between social interaction and cognitive development give a strong argument against the industrial methods of schooling we can see in the classroom today. My feelings as a teacher about how I want my classroom to work and how I see my role and involvement in my students’ learning mesh well with Vygotsky’s theory, especially with regard to providing meaningful, social learning experiences. I plan to work hard to apply his theories in my classroom.
Child psychology, also known as child development, is the study of psychological growth of children; how these mechanisms develop from infancy to adolescence and why they deviate from one child to the next. Child development is associated with biological, psychological, and emotional diversity that occur in humans. Although there is a different advancement for each child, these developmental changes may be greatly determined by genetic factors and experience during prenatal life. The early years of a child’s life are very important for his or her health and development. Parents, health professionals, educators, and others can work together as partners to help children grow up to reach their full potential.
Lev Vygotsky(1896-1934) was a Russian psychologist who created the Social Development Theory/ Sociocultural Theory. Vygotsky believed that children's mental, language, and social development is supported and enhanced through social interaction. Vygotsky also believed that beginning at birth, children seek out adults for social interactions and that development occurs through these interactions. The belief that social development sets a precedent for development(appeals to the nurture side of development). The general idea from this theory is that being aware, consciousness, and cognition are the end results of socialization and social interaction. It stated that, "Sociocultural approaches to learning and development were first systematized and applied by Vygotsky and his collaborators in Russia in the 1920s and 1930s. They are based on the concept that human activities take in cultural contexts, are mediated by language and other symbol systems, and can be best understood when investigated in their historical development(John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996)." At the core of this theory, " Vygotsky focused on the way that a child co-constructs meaning through social interaction, and the role word meaning plays in the development of thinking(Mahn, 1999)."
Gredler, M. (2012). Understanding Vygotsky for the Classroom: Is It Too Late?. Educational Psychology Review, 24(1), 113-131. doi:10.
One precious little girl, charming responses, and thirty well spent minutes adds up to a successful Piaget project. The time spent on interviewing a child for cognitive development was insightful, and gave me a first hand look at how a child’s mind matures with age.
For Vygotsky, children are seen as active beings on their development through social interactions with parents, teachers, and other adults, as well as by participating in their cultural activities. The interactions they have with other individuals and their culture opens their minds to new information and helps develop skills not previously attained. To further understand cognitive development in Piaget and Vygotsky’s theory, we must first look at the processes involved.
Childhood is defined as the period in human development between infancy and adulthood(book). In a historical perspective, this is relatively new social construction. Early childhood most often refers to the months and years between infancy and school age children. Child development is influenced by a lot of factors. These factors influence a child both in positive ways that can enhance their development and in negative ways that can change developmental outcomes. To understand why childhood is such a crucial time in human life it is important to study the development before and after birth along with any factors that may alter life in between.
Human development has been a subject of interest since ancient Greece and Rome. Different approaches derive from two basic directions: the nativists` and empiricists` ones. The latter method is to regard human development as a gradual change which has been influenced by the individual`s experience .On the other hand, the former approach has found its roots in the biological structure of the human organism which considers our development as a series of stages. However, referring to human development only as continuous or gradual would produce inconsistent and insufficient understanding of the developmental process .As a result, combining ideas of both viewpoints(continuity and phases) will provide a more explicit of understanding of the developmental processes and their final aim which is to create individual`s integrity within the social norms.
As I personally take the time to have a reflection over the course of “Child and Adolescent Development” I find myself intrigued with the amount of knowledge I gained during this course this semester. I wanted to take the time to concentrate on three specific areas in which I felt I had the most growth, but also came as a challenge to me as well. It is important when reflecting over a course that I look at what I found to be challenging, as this was an opportunity of growth for me individually. In this paper I will review some of the main topics that I found to be interesting but also resourceful for my future aspiration not only as a family life educator but also a mother one day.