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Strengths and weaknesses of Vygotsky''s theory
Characteristics of cultural relevant teaching
Strengths and weaknesses of Vygotsky''s theory
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Key concepts:
• Play is a means by which children develop and learn.
When children play, is a way for them to develop and learn new skills. The children that play have a positive future comparing to those that don’t play at all. For example, I was a reading an article regarding the generation from today. There was a study conducted with two groups of children. One group had no technology and was in nature camping. The other group wasn’t in the nature camp. The children that had no technology were able to recognize the emotions from the picture. Playing helps the children to interact and assimilate the roles to the real life world. According to the text, we learn best when we are having fun (p. 287). The reason is that the children are having first-hand experience and impact events are easily to recognize. When we play, we start to develop his concepts: imaginary friend, cognitive, language, feelings, empathy, empathy, and many more. It seems that as young children play, they learn many cognitive and social skills that result in social competence later in their childhood (p. 287). Also, as
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Vygotsky’ theory of sociocultural development would be evident in the way the teacher interacts with the children and families and in the man symbols of the culture in the room. (p.63). Also, is important for the child to know the norms of their families. For example, the primary language in their family is important. Having a Hispanic person and not knowing Spanish it will affect the child development. The child will have a difficult time to communicate with the family. There would be posters showing “our community” and dramatic play materials that replicate the kitchen and workroom equipment used in the children’s own households; teacher would adjust the language they use and the type and amount of help they give children according to the child’s ability to accomplish the task at hand
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
Lev Vygotsky’s theory of learning begins with the idea that cognitive development occurs from sociocultural origins, that through social interaction children learn how to think (Duchesne, McMaugh, Bochner & Krause pp. 84) and how to use and access language and communication skills specifically as members of their culture and society.
Sociocultural theory was introduced by the psychologist Lev Vygotsky, a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner. Vygotsky believed that parents, caregivers and the culture at large were responsible for a child's cognitive development, especially in regards to the development of higher order functions. From this perspective, when children are participating in an activity with a peer, caregiver or parent, their actions are based upon the environment in which they learned to navigate social relationships. As children age, their personalities and capacities are further developed by their interactions in a particular society, determined by cultural and historical events. A sociocultural perspective would be utilized in a situation in which
An Article by Dr. Leong and Dr. Bodrova (2016) stated that play is beneficial to children’s learning especially when it reaches a certain degree of complexity. When they engage in play activities most of their early years, they learn to delay gratification and to prioritize their goals and actions. They also learn to consider the perspectives and needs of other people and to represent things significantly to regulate their behavior and actions in a cautious, intentional way.
Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, a Constructive Learning theorist, was born and raised in a small Russian village called Orscha. He grew up in a well educated family, where his father was a banker. Throughout his early childhood, Vygotsky was tutored at home by a paid teacher. It wasn’t until he was a junior in high school when Vygotsky had his first experience with public schools. Vygotsky was always an exceptional student who enjoyed spending his free time writing. By the time Vygotsky turned 18, he wrote and published his first essay entitled “Hamlet”. Although he had a love for philosophy, history, and literature, in 1913 Vygotsky enrolled at the University of Moscow as a medical student. It didn’t take long for him to realize the medical field wasn’t his calling, so he transferred to the school of law. While attending law school, Vygotsky also enrolled in Shaniavsky University to pursue a degree in history and philosophy, which he remained so passionate about.
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.
All children play and it is something that most children do because they are having fun, but without realising children are developing and learning skills when they are engaged in play. Play helps stimulate the mind as it is practical and gives children the chance to explore and experience new situations. It can also ensure that children get to think by themselves and be spontaneous as they control their own play. Children get the chance to be creative and imaginative which develops independence for children. Play is vital for child development and helps children develop five main areas of development:
It stated that, "Sociocultural approaches to learning and development were first systematized and applied by Vygotsky and his collaborators in Russia in the 1920s and 1930s. They are based on the concept that human activities take in cultural contexts, are mediated by language and other symbol systems, and can be best understood when investigated in their historical development (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996). " At the core of this theory, "Vygotsky focused on the way that a child co-constructs meaning through social interaction, and the role word meaning plays in the development of thinking(Mahn, 1999). " It seems as though Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory is continuous. This theory is continuous due to the emphasis it places on the need for social interaction in the growth of humans mentally, linguistically, and socially.
Many theorists have tried to define play as a concept, however, no two agree on a set definition. Their backgrounds and induvial lifestyles influence the way they see the importance of play. Reed and Brown also believe that there isn’t an agreed definition of play because is something that is felt rather than done (Reed & Brown, 2000 cited in Brock, Dodd’s, Jarvis & Olusoga, 2009). In spite of this, it is clear that most theorists uphold the ethos that play is imperative to a child’s learning and development. There is a wide range of different studies and theories which helps us develop our own perception of what play is. In my personal experience I have found play to be a way of expressive our emotions, exploring and learning new things, thus
Lev Semenovich Vygotsky is a sociocultural theorist that believed cognitive development occurs within ones environment and social interactions. People are a product of their environment and will likely retain information and acquire similar ideas to those that are around them. Vygotsky had multiple ideas supporting his theory, such as cultural tools, psychological tools, language, scaffolding, and the zone of proximal development.
Children have a natural inclination to play, alongside a natural instinct to learn and to be curious and inventive, which are characteristics of the human race in general. This quote taken from Janet Moyles is a good starting point for this essay. It is well known that children love to play. If a child were to be left to his/her own devices they would happily play and create new worlds anywhere they were left. It has been well documented and researched that children learn excellently through play. However they are not always given the opportunity to do so, instead being told to, ‘finish your work and then you can go play’. Obviously this is not always the case, but the fact that it is a common practice shows that we do not all fully appreciate the importance of play to children’s learning. This essay will attempt to show how children learn through play, making reference to current theory and practice. I will also give examples from my own first-hand experience of how children learn and develop as people through play.
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’s Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. Vygotsky discusses his view from the angle of children’s psychological development. Any higher mental function is a social function originally, which is the core issue of all internal and external activities. In the cultural development of children, every higher mental function appears twice at two sides. The first is social, interpersonal relationship between minds, and the second is the psychological category within children; all higher mental functions are the internalization of social relationships (Vygotsky, 2004b:388). The psychological development should be understood from historical points instead of abstract points, from its indivisible relations
Holistic development of young children is the key determination and through play they are able to survive and become physically healthy, able to learn, and emotionally secure and into where they progress into responsible and productive adults with positive reinforcements in the future. When there are societal issues that are barriers such as “technology, childhood obesity, culture, etc.” (Gaston, A, Module 1, Unit 1, 2016), children are then unable to revel in freedom of movement in where play is adventurous and brings out positive behavior. “Play supports the holistic development through the development of intellectual, emotions, socially, physical, creative and spiritual” (Gaston, A, Module 1, Unit 2, 2016), signifying that holistic development is an important factor to be aware of as the child grows. An example would be when in Workshop 1 of Social and Cognitive Styles of Play, we had to play in the given activity for the time being and observe our members and distinguish what kind of cognitive play it was. And one of the assigned question to
... a positive role in the human development. People learn to insert playtime in their daily schedule without having it to interrupt with each other.