LED VYGOTSKY

BIOGRAPHY
Born on 5th of
November 189
In Tsarist Russia
The small town
in Belorussia
called Orscha

L.S Vygotsky

Live

He grewLive
up in
Gomel, about
400 miles west
of Moscow
He was the
second oldest of
eight childre

His parents
were well
educated
His father was a
respected bank
manager
his mother who
had trained as a
teacher was a
full-time
homemaker
Vygotsky's
parents were
fluent in a
number of
foreign
languages

Parents

He studied in Moscow State University and

graduated in 1917

Vygotsky wished to
train as a teacher but
this was not an
option for Jews in
Russia, before the
revolution
Vygotsky
graduated from
Moscow University
with a law degree
in 1917

Government
sponsored schools
did not accept
Jewish teachers.

Lev
Vygotsky
Education
Vygotsky
simultaneously
enrolled in a
Jewish public
university, to study
philosophy and
history

Vygotsky therefore
enrolled in
medicine as this
profession allowed
Jews to practise
outside 'the pale' of
Jewish settlements
When he decided
medicine was not
for him, he
transferred to Law

SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Vygotsky believed childrens

thinking is affected by their
knowledge of the social
community (which is learnt
from either technical or
psychological cultural tools)

He also suggested that

language is the most important
tool for gaining this social
knowledge; the child can be
taught this from other people
via language

He defined intelligence as the

capacity to learn from
instruction, which emphasises
the fact there is a requirement
for a more knowledgable other
person or teacher

He referred to them as just

that: the More Knowledgable
Other (MKO). MKOs can be
parents, adults, teachers,
coaches, experts/professionals

something known as the zone

of proximal
development (ZPD), which is
a key feature of his theory.
There are two levels of
attainment for the ZPD

Level 1 the present level of

development. This describes what
the child is capable of doing without
any help from others.
Level 2 the potential level of
development. This means what the
child could potentially be capable of
with help from other people or
teachers.

The gap between level 1 and 2 (the

present and potential development)
is what Vygotsky described as this
zone of proximal development. He
believed that through help from
other, more knowledgable people,
the child can potentially gain
knowledge already held by them.

to gain an understanding of
Vygotsky's theories on cognitive
development, one must understand
two of the main principles of
Vygotsky's work: the More
Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and
the Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD)

MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE
OTHER

Vygotsky defined
intelligence as the capacity
to learn from instruction,
which emphasises the fact
there is a requirement for a
more knowledgable other
person or teacher

He referred to them as just

that: the More
Knowledgable Other (MKO)

The more knowledgeable

other (MKO) is somewhat
self-explanatory

MKOs can be parents,

adults, teachers, coaches,
experts/professionals

It refers to someone who has

a better understanding or a
higher ability level than the
learner, with respect to a
particular task, process, or
concept.

Many times, things you might

not first expect, such as
children, friends and
computers may be the
individuals with more
knowledge or experience

Electronic tutors have also

been used in educational
settings to facilitate and
guide students through the
learning process

In fact, the need not be a

person at all.

ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT

More Knowledgeable Other is

integrally related to the second
important principle of Vygotsky's
work, the Zone of Proximal
Development

Zone of Proximal
Development as the area where
the most sensitive instruction or
guidance should be given allowing the child to develop
skills they will then use on their
own - developing higher mental
functions

Interaction with peers as an

effective way of developing skills
and strategies

There are two levels of

attainment for the ZPD

Level 1 the present level of

development. This describes what the
child is capable of doing without any
help from others.
Level 2 the potential level of
development. This means what the
child could potentially be capable of
with help from other people or
teachers.

Through help from other, more

knowledgable people, the
child can potentially gain
knowledge already held by
them, BUT the knowledge
must be appropriate for the
childs level of comprehension

Anything that is too

complicated for the child to
learn that isnt in their ZPD
cannot be learnt at all until
there is a shift in the ZPD..

When a child does attain their

potential, this shift occurs and
the child can continue learning
more complex, higher level
material

When an adult
provides support
for a child, they
will adjust the
amount of help
they give
depending on
their progress
It draws parallels from
real
real scaffolding
scaffolding for
for
buildings;
buildings; itit is
is used
used as
as aa
support for construction
of
new material
of new
material (the
(the
skill/information to be
learnt) and then removed
once
the building
building is
is
once the
complete (the
skill/information
skill/information has
has been
been
learnt)
learnt)

Then she might

just hold one
hand, then
eventually
nothing. This
progression of
different levels of
help is scaffolding

SCAFFOLDING

For example, a
child learning to
walk might at first
have both their
hands held and
pulled upwards

As they learn to
support their own
weight, the mother
might hold both
their hands
loosely

VYGOTSKY AND
LANGUAGE
Language plays 2
critical roles in cognitive
development

1) It is the main means by

which adults transmit info
to children.
2: Language itself becomes
a very powerful tool of
intellectual adaptation.

Private speech, also

called internal speech,
refers to occasions when
people talk aloud to
themselves.

Vygotsky believed that

children who engaged in
large amounts of private
speech are more
socially competent than
children who do not use
it extensively.

Language is therefore an
accelerator to
thinking/understanding

Vygotsky sees "private

speech" as a means for
children to plan activities
and strategies and
therefore aid their
development

Language develops
from social interactions,
for communication
purposes.

Later language ability

becomes internalized as
thought and inner
speech.

Most private speech

exhibited by children
serves to describe or
guide the child's actions.