Lev Vygotsky, A Russian Developmental Psychologist

The Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development during the transition from adolescence to early adulthood. Vygotsky’s theory on cognitive development is the, “results from dialectical process,

Since Vygotsky’s theory on development has gained more popularity and acknowledgement there has been numerous ways, many have adopted Vygotsky’s theory and incorporated its fundamentals into different aspects of development. According to Jaramillo from Arizona State University, Vygotsky’s theory became the framework to the development of the constructivist theory (1996). Although these are relatively different theories, Vygotsky advocated a learning environment that focuses mainly on the interactions between peers and teachers. And similar to this, the constructivist’s view on education focuses on students independently constructing their own view of the world (Jaramillo 1996). Vygotsky’s influence was not simply on the how people understood development but also how others evolved and developed their own theories. Thus, theories of development continue to evolve and a better understanding of how development occurs in an individual is acquired.

At the centre of Piaget's theory is the principle that cognitive development occurs in a series of four distinct, universal stages, each characterized by increasingly sophisticated and

In contrast to developmental theorists such as Piaget and Steiner, Vygotsky believed that learning and development occurred in a continuous

Carol S. Dweck believes that there is a secret to raising a smart child, having a growth mind-set. Believing this she said not to boost your kids’ confidence or praise them for their good work else it would lower their ability to work harder or get bored of what they are learning because the student thinks they know it all. Though she ran an abundance of trails trying to state whether this was true or not. Dweck labeled two different kind of learners, helpless and mastery. Each person as a different way of learning; helpless believe that they are not in control of their own learning, mastery believe that only you are in control and that you grow in intellectual skills. The mind-set of these learners affect their problem solving abilities,

Learning, according to De Houwer, Barnes-Holmes, & Moors (2013), “has been defined functionally as changes in behavior that result from experience or mechanistically as changes in the organism that result from experience”. Throughout the years, a number of psychologists have come up with different theories to try and explain how young children develop and learn. Lev Vygotsky, a Russian theorist and psychologist that was born in 1896, constructed his own child development and learning theory that has strongly influenced the world of education (Nordlof, 2014; Dahms, Geonnotti, Passalacqua, Schilk, Wetzel, & Zulkoqsky, n.d.). His theory is created from concepts of both behaviorist and constructivist. Vygotsky’s theory suggests that learning and development occurs through social function as well as intentional teaching (DeVries, 2000; Nordlof, 2014; Slavin, 2015).

Vygotsky's theory was an attempt to explain learning as the end product of socialization. For example, in the learning of language, our first attempts at speech with peers or adults is for the purpose of communication but once mastered they become internalized and allow "inner speech". Vygotsky (1978, p. 56)

Lev Vygotsky was born on November 5,1896 In Byelorussia, Soviet Union. As a young boy, he began to realize that he wanted to have something to do with psychology. Not too much is known about his childhood not even where he went to school at. Until, he received his first job as a schoolteacher,teaching science to high school students in Moscow. Then in 1924 when Lev was twenty eight he was accepted into a psychological institute.This is where many young psychologists began their psychological career.while there, he wrote many brilliant articles.In 1926, he wrote his first book,The Psychology of Teaching. This is when Vygotsky’s career began to go up. Throughout his years he also came up with many theories and thesis’s. The most well known is the zone of proximal development.Another was his distinction between lower and higher mental functions in infant cognitive development.

Piaget developed a theory about the way children learn, which included three main focuses. Schemas, adaptation processes that enable the transition from one stage to another, and the stages of development. These stages are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational. Sensorimotor is from birth-18 months old and is where object permanence comes into play. This includes behaviours such as learning through the senses and reflexes and manipulating materials. Pre-operational is from 18 months to 6 years old and is known as the egocentric stage. This stage is when children form ideas based on their perceptions and overgeneralise based on limited experience. Children at this stage can usually only focus on one variable

Piaget divided his theory into four different stages of development. The first one is known as the sensorimotor stage which is

Two infamous developmental psychologists, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, have shared their knowledge on children’s cognitive development. Both psychologists had their own vision of what stimulates and helps a child grow. Jean Piaget 's theory was shaped through the thinking and understanding of how knowledge is built through a series of four stages; preoperational, sensorimotor, formal operational and concrete operational. He believed that the development was with the child themselves. On the contrary, Lev Vygotsky 's theory is shaped through adult social interactions and cultural roles. He believed that a child 's development is met based on their social environment and interactions with adults. Though both Piaget and Vygotsky had their

Lev Vygotsky believed that children learn from their own experience. As a teacher I have grown to learn that Vygotsky’s findings are true in so many ways. Just from watching the children in my classroom I see that the Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding play a huge part in the development of a child.

Vygotsky theory, the child learns through interaction with other adults and peers. Vygotsky theory is focused on the role of culture. Social interaction with adults can fulfill a child’s potential in learning. According to Vygotsky “A child’s greatest achievements are possible in play, achievements that tomorrow will become her basic level of real actions.”

Lev Vygotsky was an educator and a theorist known primarily for his sociocultural theory. Vygotsky developed the sociocultural theory, which is the theory of human development through social and cultural influences (Aimin, 2013), during the 1920’s-30’s. One of Vygotsky’s focuses was the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which is the idea of a child being appropriately challenged, this will be discussed further on. His theory stemmed from how children’s learning is impacted greatly through guidance of peers, cultural relations (language), social interactions, teachers and any other adult figure in their environment. In the last 10-15 years, teachers, caregivers, and educators have been attending more to Vygotsky’s theory and his concept of the zone of proximal development, because his work impacts how children learn in their optimal environment (Trawick-Smith, 2015). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory will be discussed through historical insight, explanation of the theory itself, how sociocultural and society relate to each other, and how the theory is applied in the educational society.

Lev Vygotsky believed that we base our knowledge on social interaction and this is called social constructivism. Vygotsky believed that when a student is in the “Zone of Proximal Development”, providing assistance and encouragement from a knowledgeable person; parent, teacher, peers, will give the student enough support to better achieve the task at hand. The presence of a support group