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Strengths and weaknesses of sociocultural theory
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Strengths and weaknesses of sociocultural theory
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The sociocultural theory was developed by a theorist named Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky was born in 1896 and was from the former Soviet Union. He was a psychologist who had an abundance of ideas and put them into many theories and writings. Although Vygotsky died from tuberculosis at the young age of thirty-eight, his most prominent work was done in a short period of ten years. When he died in 1934, the Soviet Union held most of his work and it was not until about 1960 that his work was translated into English. Currently in the education field, Vygotsky’s main work on the sociocultural theory is getting a lot of attention. Vygotsky believed that during the early stages of life as infants, language (nonconceptual speech) and thinking (nonverbal thought) were separate areas of development. Nonconceptual speech would be a child mumbling words without completely understanding their meaning. A child observing or playing with an object without using words would be nonverbal thought. As intellectual development continues, verbal thought begins connecting these two areas during early childhood. When this starts happening, children start using self-directed speech, “a verbal behavior in which children talk to themselves, naming objects or narrating their actions-particularly as they solve problems” (Trawick-Smith, 2010, p.53). This action demonstrates that children are being guided in learning through using language. Vygotsky believed that this verbal thought became more and more prominent throughout development and this learning continued to progress within the rest of the child’s life. The basic principal of the sociocultural theory is the belief that intellectual development is “highly influenced by language, social interaction, and cul... ... middle of paper ... ...ces in attempts that they will appreciate and gain knowledge of different cultures. The child’s personal needs or ways of learning will also be taken into consideration when planning activities. Knowing about this theory will give me an idea of what to expect when teaching and how I can facilitate the teaching and learning experience for both myself and the child. Works Cited Grace, E. (2010). "Vygotsky & Socio-Cultural Theory - Kids Development." Kids' Progress, Behaviour, Learning and Thinking at Kids Development (UK). http:// www.kidsdevelopment.co.uk/vygotskysocioculturaltheory.html Scott, S. & Palincsar, A. (2003). Sociocultural Theory. Education.com. http:// www.education.com/reference/article/sociocultural-theory/ Trawick-Smith, J. W. (2010). Early Childhood Development: a Multicultural Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
This reading reminded me about how Vygotsky’s theory is mostly based on the interactions and influences help children to learn. I really do believe this theory is very accurate, because students can learn from each other. If a teacher is having trouble explaining a complex topic to a student, another student can explain it in more relatable way. Also, I was fascinated when I read about what cultural tools, were and how they related to Vygotsky’s beliefs. Learning about what cultural tools were, helped me to broaden my understanding of how crucial cultural tools are to student’s learning process. Also, the chapter did a great job of elaborating on how these tools can help to advance and grow in the understanding of student’s thinking process. Another aspect of this reading that interested me was the elaboration on private speech and the Zone of Proximal Development. Each of the definitions displayed help me to advance my own thinking on what it was and how it is used in regards to the education of students. The description of what private speech and how it is basically the inner narration of their thinking process helped me to understand how this aspect can help with students learning. Also, the Zone of Proximal Development helped me to make a connection to both what is and how it relates to private speech as well. The Zone of proximal development plays a crucial role in the
The article talks about how teachers need to have cultural compatibility. While it might be difficult for some teacher to grasp and understand the different cultures behaviors and beliefs. For those teacher that can are more likely to provide a learning environment that is enriching and responsive to the children’s different cultures. Teacher should have “meaningful interactions with members of other cultures and promote cultural disequilibrium (Colombo, 2005, p. 2).” Activities that have this are more likely to increase cultural competence.
Vygotsky believes that a child’s cognitive development originates in socialization activities, and then goes through a process of increasing individuation. He argued that self-directed speech did not show any cognitive immaturity, but did show some form of development. He claims that private speech represents a functional differentiation in the speech of a child, or that a child begins to differentiate between speech that is directed towards the others and speech that is self-directed.
Sociocultural theory explains how individuals mental functioning is related to cultural, institutional, and historical context. It would explain that Jakes role in society, and participation in social interactions and culturally organized activities, is the reason for his maladaptive behaviors, and it’s the roles of society that influence psychological development.
Lev Vygotsky stages of development were not defined by age or biology. Social and cultural experiences were the basis for his theory. Consciousness was an end product of social interactions (Kearsley, 1994-2010). The history of the child’s society and his own personal history determine how the child thinks. Language is crucial for development as it is with words that a child conceptualizes and makes sense of the world (Schütz, 2004). A precept of Vygotsky’s theory wa...
Vygotsky placed much more emphasis on language that Piaget (book). Vygotsky’s theory focuses on the role of interpersonal processes and the role of the child’s community and culture which provide a framework from which the child’s construction of meaning develops (book). Although Vygotsky stressed that the process must be in in the context of the child’s culture and the tools available within that culture. Vygotsky was always especially interested in cognitive processes which underline understanding which has led to the concept of shared understandings that occur when people communicate with each other. Vygotsky argued that through the use of language formed through social interaction a child can develop as a thinker and a learner (book). As a conscious individual people could not accomplish very much without the aids and tools within their culture such as language (book). Piaget argued that language was strongly influenced by the underlying cognitive structures within the individual child (book). They also disagreed on the egocentric speech of children. When observing children Piaget concluded that half of the mistakes children made was down to egocentric speech which he argued showed that children have not tried to communicate with another or adapted so others can understand them he also argued that young children did not seem to care if anyone else could understand them and
However, both theorists believed that a person goes through a sequential process during their development. They were also both aware that one gains knowledge through experience and not through passive learning. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory was his main focus and it helped him make sense of a person’s cognitive development through the way they interacted with others and emphasised on one’s social interaction (blabla). Vygotsky focused on how learning consisted of gathering knowledge and skills from the social community and the different attractions a person observes (v2); a process known as internationalization. His theory was based on two key concepts, first that knowledge can be developed through the experiences a child lives (v1), and an example would be a child seeing his parents arguing over their beliefs; he’d learn how he should have his own belief and learn how to argue for it....
Four years later in 1917, Vygotsky graduated from Moscow University and landed a job as a literature teacher at one of the local secondary schools in Gomel, Russia. He would continue his work as a teacher from 1917-1924, when he resigned to accept a job at the local teacher’s college. There, one of Vygotsky’s responsibilities was to teach courses in psychology, which is what sparked his interest in psychology, specifically cognitive development of children. During 1924, Vygotsky met a man by the name of Alexander Luria who worked at Moscow’s Institute of Psychology (MIP). Impressed by Vygotsky’s work, Luria offered him a job working at MIP, which allowed him the opportunity to work and study the cognitive development of children and adults suffering from numerou...
Psychology is one of the newest sciences. Because it is the science of the mind and behavior, it is also less concrete than some of the other sciences. Over the years, social scientists have developed theories or perspectives based off of their observations, research, and the perspectives of other scientists. Although there is some overlap, each of the major perspectives of psychology is unique. As a result, they each have strengths and weaknesses and explain psychology in a different way. One theory, the sociocultural perspective, is exactly what its name suggests. It’s the idea that the society and groups that an individual belongs to are what influences development, thoughts, and behavior. The sociocultural perspective was pioneered by a Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, in the 1920’s (John-Steiner, 1998). Vygotsky stressed the idea that children learn through what he called guided participation (Sigelman, 2009). His theory was that children develop through interactions with parents, teachers, and other knowledgeable members of the culture and are given tools to adopt the group’s way of thinking.
Students’ background will determine as well the abilities of students, parents’ level of education and origin will enhance students’ language skills or will limit them; once the students arrive at school if the teacher promotes the interaction within children through lesson activities that target the competence of language, students learn from other students. If the cultural diversity is promoted in the classroom by the educator, all the students’ cultures will be linked to the curriculum, and the language development plus a cultural enrichment will diminish the opportunity for students to fall
For Vygotsky, children are seen as active beings on their development through social interactions with parents, teachers, and other adults, as well as by participating in their cultural activities. The interactions they have with other individuals and their culture opens their minds to new information and helps develop skills not previously attained. To further understand cognitive development in Piaget and Vygotsky’s theory, we must first look at the processes involved.
Pg97 Children will learn to do more with the help of someone who is more knowledgeable than them. For example, a child would not know how to pronounce the alphabet on their own as they don’t know what the letters stand for, with the guidance of their teacher or caregiver they will know what sound each letter makes. “Through joint activities with more mature members of their society, children master activities and think in ways that have meaning in their society”pg97. Vygotsky had a number of key concepts to support his theory. The main ones included the Zone of Proximal Development, ZPD, scaffolding and Culture tools.
...nstructivism. Core to social constructivism practices is the creation of a social environment where students can use language to communicate, collaborate and socially interact with each other to learn. The prevalence of constructionist principals in current education attests to the importance of Vygotskys’ theories and their successful application in the classroom.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for
Socio-Cultural Theory. The socio-cultural theory is a concept by experts that looks at the essential influences that humanity makes to individual development. It stresses the collaboration between developing individuals and the ethnicity in which they exists. It indicates that human learning is largely a societal process.