Vygotsky´s Zone Proximal Development

839 Words2 Pages

Vygotsky has had a profound impact on developmental psychology. One of his main contributions was the idea of zone proximal development. He places emphasis the shaping of cognitive development. He is one of the first in children development that emphasized on cultural context. I have chosen his theory and what it entails for this paper because its very interesting and some certain parts of his theory like scaffolding and the zone proximal development were relatable to my experience at my field site. This theorist believed that our minds, cognition, and psychological abilities could be development with mental tools as much our physical tools expand our physical abilities. This concept is called the “tools of the mind”. This is something that can be useful to all educators, tutors, and parents. They can reassure the youth that they should not limit themselves and be all that can be to the best of their abilities. When “tools of the mind” is applied to children, especially at an early age this can increase their chances of being able to effectively function in school and in the world. They need to gain a set of tools, well “mental tools” and conquer them. As a service learner I feel that’s partly what we are put at these sites for. We should be helping the students and try our best to encourage them to use their mental tools to advance them. Some of these students don’t know they have the tools that can allow them to resolve problems. This concept of the “tools of the mind” state that until children discover and learn their mental tools the environment controls their learning. When they master their mental tools they will be in control of their learning. Along with converting cognitive behavior, mental tools transform emotional and... ... middle of paper ... ...terview. They could say what they liked about the student doing interview, maybe how they spoke or greeted them selves to the mock interviewers or what they would have done better. We were somewhat coaching them. They’re more they prepare of something the better their chances are at succeeding. I believe scaffolding can help children in a tremendous amount of ways. Even with that minor use of it with the mock interviews, I am positive that they will be more comfortable and less afraid to go on, for some of them their first interviews. To put it briefly, I love a lot of developmental theorist but Vygotsky’s theory really spoke to me. It can be applied in a classroom as well as afterschool programs, even at home with parents. The theory is practical for young children to adolescent ages and can help any educator, counselor, psychologist and etc. in helping our youth.

Open Document