Benchmark Assignment: Vygotsky And Cognitive Development

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Benchmark Assignment Vygotsky and Cognitive Development (Part A) According to Lev Vygotsky, social factors play a large role in children’s cognitive development. “Vygotsky states cognitive development stems from social interactions from guided learning within the zone of proximal development as children and their partners co-construct knowledge.” (McLeod, 2014) Vygotsky places emphasis on role of the language on cognitive development, which he believes comes from an internalization of language. (McLeod, 2014). Adults are important in cognitive development because adults influence their own culture that the children internalize. Thought and language are separate systems in the beginning of life, then merge around three years old. Vygotsky …show more content…

He refers to the elementary mental functions which are attention, sensation, perception and memory. (McLeod, 2014) Vygotsky’s developmental method is more about the process than the actual product. This means that the end result is not as important as how well the child performed the tasks, and how the child did under different circumstances. One of Vygotsky’s main principles is the Zone of Proximal Development, or ZPD, which basically frames what a child can do without assistance, what he can do with assistance, and what he cannot yet do. The goal is to determine what a child is capable of on their own, what they cannot do on their own, and try to discover what the child can do with assistance. The other of Vygotsky’s two main principles is the More Knowledgeable Other, or MKO. This can be a person who better understands a task or has a better ability. The MKO can be an electronic source or a manual of some sort, but is basically a tool to help a person learn to perform a task. The theory is that children who …show more content…

The teacher should put students in groups, identify roles of the people in each group, and have students read from the assignment. Each student will perform their role, and assist each other with any problems or answer any questions. The roles then switch amongst the students in the group, and the next section of the assignment is read. The process goes on until the entire selection is finished. The teacher’s job is to guide the students in their roles within their groups. As the student’s skills improve, the teacher’s role becomes less intensive. The goal of reciprocal teaching is for the students to be able to learn by teaching each

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