Vygotsky theories on cognitivedevelopment are based on two main Principles; the More knowledgeable

Other(MKO) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP)

2.0 APPLICATIONS OF MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE OTHER (MKO) IN TEACHING

The more knowledgeable other (MKO) is somewhat self-explanatory; it refers tosomeone who has a
better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner,with respect to a particular task, process, or
concept.Although the implication isthat the MKO is a teacher or an older adult, this is not necessarily the case.
Manytimes, a child's peers or an adult's children may be the individuals with moreknowledge or experience. In
fact, the MKO need not be a person at all. Somecompanies, to support employees in their learning process, are
now usingelectronic performance support systems. Electronic tutors have also been used ineducational settings
to facilitate and guide students through the learning process.The key to MKOs is that they must have (or
be programmed with) moreknowledge about the topic being learned than the learner does.

ACLASSROOM APPLICATIONS OF ZONE OF PROXIMALDEVELOPMENT

Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development is based on the idea that development is defined
both by what a child can do independently and by what thechild can do when assisted by an adult
or more competent peer (Daniels, 1995;Wertsch, 1991). Knowing both levels of
Vygotsky’s zone is useful for teachers, for these levels indicate where the child is at a given moment as
well as where thechild is going. The zone of proximal development has several implications forteaching
in the classroom.According to Vygotsky, for the curriculum to bedevelopmentally appropriate, the
teacher must plan activities that encompass notonly what children are capable of doing on their own
but what they can learn withthe help of others (Karpov & Haywood, 1998). Vygotsky’s theory does not mean
that anything can be taught to any child. Only instruction and activities that fallwithin the zone promote
development. For example, if a child cannot identify thesounds in a word even after many prompts, the
child may not benefit immediatelyfrom instruction in this skill. Practice of previously known skills and
introductionof concepts that are too difficult and complex have little positive impact.

APPLICATION OFLEVELS OF VYGOTSKY’S ZONE OF PROXIMAL

•Instruction can be planned to provide practice in the zone of proximaldevelopment for individual
children or for groups of children. For example,hints and prompts that helped children during the
assessment could form the basis of instructional activities.
• Cooperative learning activities can be planned with groups of children atdifferent levels that can help
each other learn.
• Scaffolding is a tactic for helping the child inhis or herzone of proximal development in which the
adult provides hints and promptsat different levels.In scaffolding, the adult does not simplify the task,
but the role of thelearner is simplified “through the graduated intervention of the teacher”

5.0 CONCLUSION
A contemporary educational application of Vygotsky's theories is "reciprocal teaching", used to improve
students' ability to learn from text. In this method,teacher and students collaborate in learning and
practicing four key skills:summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. The teacher's role in
the process is reduced over time.Also, Vygotsky is relevant to instructional conceptssuch as "scaffolding"
and"apprenticeship", in which a teacher or more advanced peer helps to structure or arrange a task
so that a novice can work on itsuccessfully.Vygotsky's theories also feed into current interest in
collaborativelearning, suggesting that group members should have different levels of ability somore
advanced peers can help less advanced members operate within their ZPD