VYGOTSKY’S SOCIO-CULTURAL
THEORY
“What a child can do in cooperation today,
tomorrow she/he will be able to do alone” – Lev
Vygotsky
Vygotsky’s Theory
Introduction:
Social Interaction and Language – two central
factors in cognitive development
Social and Cultural Context
Scaffolding – Vygotsky’s term for the appropriate
assistance given by the teacher to assist the
learner accomplish a task.
born November 17, 1896, in Orsha, a city
in the western region of the Russian
Empire.
he was educated under a teacher who used
the Socratic method
Known for Cultural-historical Psychology,
Lev Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development, Inner
Speech
SOCIO-CULTURAL THEORY OF
DEVELOPMENT
Factors in Cognitive Development
(Lev Vygotsky)
Social Interaction
Cultural Factors
Language
SOCIAL INTERACTION
Social environment/community takes on a major role in one’s
development.
effective learning happens through participation in social
activities, making the social context of learning crucial.
Parents, teachers and other adults – they explain, model,
assist give directions and provide feedback to the learner.
Peers – cooperate, collaborate and enrich the learning
experience.
CULTURAL FACTORS
• looked into the wide range of experience that a culture would
give to a child.
• One culture’s view about education, how children are trained
early in life, all can contribute to the cognitive development of
the child.
LANGUAGE
Opens the door for learners to acquire knowledge that
others already have
Serves a social function but it also has an important
individual function
Children talk to themselves
“talking-to-oneself” - indication of the thinking that goes
on in the mind of the child
Private Speech – a form of self-talkthat guides the child’s
thinking and action
o Vygotsky believed in the essential role of
activities in learning.
o Hands-on activities than when listening
passively
o Learning by doing is even made more
fruitful when children interact with
knowledgeable adults and peers
Zone of Actual Development
A child attempts to perform a skill alone, she
may not be immediately proficient at it.
Alone she may perform at a certain level of
competency
More Knowledgeable Other
someone who is more skilled in tasks they’re
trying to learn
teachers, parents, tutors and even peers
Zone of Proximal Development
ZPD
The difference between what the child can accomplish alone
and what the she can accomplish with the guidance of
another
Learning Opportunity – where a knowledgeable other can
assist the child’s development
SCAFFOLDING
The support or assistance that lets the child
accomplish a task he cannot accomplish
independently
Should involve the judicious assistance given by the
adult or peer so that the child can move from the
Zone of Actual to the Zone of Proximal Development
The gap is bridged between the learner’s current skill
levels and the desired skill level
Types of the Scaffolding
1. Procedural Scaffolding
helps learner use appropriate tools and resources effectively.
Besides, it is also supports learning on how to navigate the course
environment and engage in learning activities
2. Conceptual Scaffolding
helps learner decide what to consider in learning and
guide them to key concepts. Conceptual scaffolding guides
the learner regarding what to consider during learning. One
of the strategy is by using knowledge maps to scaffold
learning
4. Strategic Scaffolding
helps learner find alternative strategies and
methods to solve complex problems. Besides, strategic
scaffolding also requires an understanding of the
individual learning preferences of learners and level of
prior knowledge.
5. Metacognitive Scaffolding
supports learner in developing thinking and manage their
learning. This scaffolding prompts students to think about what
they are learning throughout the process and assists students
reflecting on what they have learnt (self-assessment)
Planning scaffolds:
Establishment of learning goals
Plan to achieve goals
Development of strategies for effective learning and
management
Monitoring scaffolds:
Tracking learner progress
Monitoring potential outcomes
Evaluation Scaffolds:
Based on results of planning and monitoring methods
Allows learner opportunity to determine effective or non‐
effective processes
Results may require revising or modifying learning strategies
SCAFFOLD AND FADE-AWAY TECHNIQUE
As learners become more proficient, able to
complete tasks on their own that they could not
initially do without assistance
When the MKO scaffolds, the process moves in four
levels:
1. I do, you watch
2. I do, you help
3. You do, I help
4. You do, I watch
PIAGET VYGOTSKY
More individual in focus More social in focus
Believed that there are Did not propose stages
universal stages of but emphasized on
cognitive development cultural factors in
cognitive development
Did not give much Stressed the role of
emphasis on language language in cognitive
development
“Knowledge is the product of the interaction
between an individual and the environment,
understanding such as something social and
cultural, not just physical”
“The teacher should play the role of
facilitator, not of a provider of content”
“Teaching is Mentoring and Mentoring is
Helping”
