Development, Thought and Language - Term Paper Example

 «Development, Thought and Language» Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky is the man credited with the constructivist model of sociocultural approach to child development. He was a Russian who was much interested in the developmental and educational psychology (Wertsch and Sohmer 4). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory suggests that culture plays a big role in a child’s thought and behavior development. His theories and concepts are based on his belief that social interaction plays a vital role in an individual’s cognition development (Vygotsky, 11). Vygotsky’s theories concerning child development emphasize the notion that social learning comes ahead of development. He says that “learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological function” (Vygotsky, 90). According to Vygotsky, there are different concepts used when dealing with the sociocultural aspect of child development. These concepts are pegged on the following four basic principles: 1. Children construct their own knowledge 2. Development and social context cannot be separated 3. Learning in many cases precedes development 4. Language is an important aspect in mental development of the child (Vygotsky, 101). The socio-cultural theory proposed by Vygotsky supports the idea that learners have to find out their own truths about their world before they learn it from other sources. He supported the idea that both the learner and his instructor have an equal role to play in the learning process. Furthermore, he argued that peer collaborations have a significant impact on the learning process of an individual (Levine and Munsch, 77). He also stated that thought and speech are vital components which are utilized in increasing the ability of the learners to communicate with collaborators or peers (Feldman, 56). This view on child development has had a major impact on how people understand children learning. This paper seeks to look at how Vygotsky’s work has influenced our understanding of child development and the learning process. The major principles of Vygotsky’s sociocultural approach to children learning will be discussed in detail. The paper also includes an analysis of Vygotsky’s theories in comparison with those of Piaget. The implications that these principles have on the learning profession will also be discussed. Vygotsky vs. Piaget Piaget’s theories about child development were underpinned on the human capacity to deal with the outside world. His theories focused on the notion that intelligence was a human adaptation that was as a result of the human need to survive. He gave this form of adaptation two names: assimilation and accommodation (Truphon and Voneche 125). Accommodation means that an individual has to accommodate to different aspects of the external world. Assimilation means that he has to learn to assimilate this information to fit into his way of thinking. According to Piaget, the assimilation helps in the development of personal skills that are necessary when dealing with realities (130). Piaget also observed that children normally build a structure or consciousness, when they organize and transform information to ideas. This consciousness becomes the foundation for the development of some complex ideas as they grow up. Piaget called this mental structure a schema (Vialle and Verenikina 67). He observed that children go through different stages as they grow up. He called the first stage the sensori-motor stage which is roughly from birth to two years. This is the stage at which children learn to differentiate between external objects and self. They can also use some of their senses and movement. The next stage according to Piaget is the pre-operational stage which is when the child is between 2 and 7 years old. During this stage, the child’s thinking is mostly egocentrical. He also learns how to use language at this stage. Motor development also begins at this stage. The Concrete operational stage is the third stage when the child is between 7 and11 years old. At this stage, the child has the ability to think in a logical and sequential manner about events and objects around him. The fourth stage from age 11 onwards is the formal operational stage. The child can now think about ideas that are abstract. He also develops hypothetical thinking capacity and has the ability to think about future possibilities (Truphon and Voneche 46). Piaget’s theories and ideas have been referred to as being cognitive constructivism (Vialle and Verenikina 123). This is contrast to Vygotsky’s theories which are referred to asocial constructivism. His best known concept of Zone of Proximal Development was based upon his observations that a child was bound to do certain tasks better when they were working hand in hand with adults compared to how they performed the same tasks by themselves (Berk and Winsler,56 and Feldman,31). He stated that the interaction between the child and the adult is that helped in cognitive development. Vygotsky stressed on the importance of language and language internalization as the most significant tool that helped in the development of the child’s thought processes (Wertsch and Sohmer,66 and Smagorinsky,79). To Vygotsky, a child’s social interaction with people who are significant in his life played a major role in the development of higher mental functions. Vygotsky observed that higher mental functions developed through social interactions with significant people in the child's life (Tappan 40). He said that cultural mediation played a central role in the development of human knowledge (Levine and Munsch 67). According to Vygotsky, knowledge is co-constructed through interpsychological and intrapsychological interactions (Vygotsky 57). The similarities between these two constructivist theories of children learning include the way both Vygotsky and Piaget view the development and nature of human cognition or intelligence (Truphon and Voneche 188). For instance, both of them agree that individuals learn by organizing new information to what they know already. Another similarity in their theories lies in the fact that they believe that the context in which an idea is presented will affect an individual’s learning process. The two psychologists also believe that speech is a crucial aspect of children’s cognitive development (Vialle and Verenikina 137). The main difference in Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories lies in literacy acquisition (Truphon and Voneche 200). According to Piaget, a child is born with and later acquires concepts of how to respond and act. This means that as long as the child is actively involved in activities around him, the more knowledge he is likely to have. This is to say that children construct their own knowledge, which is very different from that of the adults. In Vygotsky’s view, a child acquires knowledge through social interactions. Unlike, Piaget, Vygotsky does not place much emphasis on the child’s stages of development or behavior (Vialle and Verenikina 176). From his perspective, children normally build new ideas or concepts when they interact with adults or their peers who normally give them feedback and/or assist them accomplish a certain task. To Vygotsky, knowledge is gained when the children internalize the actions and language of other around them. Piaget’s development theories are based on the developmental stages of children while Vygotsky’s theories are based on socio-cultural aspects of the child’s development (Robbins 56). I chose to concentrate on Vygotsky because his theory of socio-cultural principle of child development encompasses all the aspects involved in the social and cognitive development of a child. Piaget stage theories have some inconsistencies which makes it hard to rely on his development structure. His theory also seems to underestimate the abilities of children. He also overlooks the influence that culture and social groups have on the learning and developmental outcomes in children. Vygotsky’s Theory and Application Cultural Mediation and Internalization Vygotsky observed that child development was closely tied to the child’s cultural context (Tappan, 34). He argued that the role of culture in interpersonal communication played a big role in the developmental process in a child. He said that a child’s cognitive or higher mental development is affected by social interactions which he defined to be interpsychological and intrapsychological. Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (interapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky 57). To Vygotsky, culture and interpersonal communication within the society are some of the important tools that aid in a child’s social and higher mental development. Through the interactions that a child normally has with his parents and other adults, he comes to learn of societal norms. These norms are the minds and mind habits in that particular culture which may include patterns of speech and written language which the child learns from observation. It is through social and cultural interactions that a child learns of symbolic knowledge which is useful in development since this is where the child obtains meaning for knowledge construction (Berk and Winsler). Internalization is the process by which a child gains specific knowledge through interactions (Tappan 77). For instance, a child is not born knowing how to pour himself a cup of tea, however, through his interactions with adults and some of his peers, he is able to learn how to pour himself the cup of tea. Internalization also involves appropriation, the process by which a child makes a tool his own. For example, a pen is something that is used universally to write. However, a child can learn how to use it in his own unique way, to achieve what he wants for himself. Development, Thought and Language The role of language acquisition in a child’s development has been emphasized by Vygotsky in his sociocultural approach (Levine and Munsch, 74). A child gets the means to be able to think in new perspectives by acquiring a language. It is through the use of language that children are able to perceive what is going on around them and make sense of the world. Children normally use language to solve problems, control their behavior and while planning solutions to various situations. According to Vygotsky, there is a difference between inner speech and external speech. He said that inner speech developed gradually from the internalization of external speech. This is to say that thought processes develop socially (Berk and Winsler). These would help us understand the reason why children normally think and act depending on how they perceive or hear other people in society. Zone of Proximal Development The zone of proximal development is one of the most common of Vygotsky’s concepts of sociocultural development theory (Vygotsky, 88). When children engage in certain social behaviors they develop what Vygotsky called the zone of proximal development. This is the difference in the level of a child’s ability to do a task unaided and his ability to do the same task with help from a parent or any other adult. The principle of zone of proximal difference contains two features: scaffolding and subjectivity. Subjectivity refers to the process by which two individuals who have different understanding of a task begin it but they eventually end up with a shared understanding. Scaffolding is the word used to refer to the social support that a child gets from an adult during a teaching process (Levine and Munsch 66). The principle of the zone of proximal development is useful in helping us understand that children have two levels of performance, and teachers need to determine what the two levels are in order to teach them effectively. Implications for Professional Practice School Curriculum Vygotsky focused on the notion that human beings use certain cultural tools to mediate the social environments in which they live. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of learning emphasizes that children learn much thought their interaction with members of society (Tappan, 34). In the learning professional field, this can be applied to how curricula are designed. The way that educational curricula are designed should reflect and enhance interaction between children who are learning and their learning tasks. For instance, a school’s curriculum can be set so that children are able to learn not only different academic theories, but how to use and apply these theories in their everyday life. The curriculum can include those things that children are familiar with that can aid in learning. The use of e-learning in schools is pegged on Vygostky’s sociocultural theory, particularly the role of culture in learning. The computer and internet is an important part of the modern culture, and when children are taught using this technology, understanding of different concepts becomes easy. Assisted Learning The teaching process can be planned in such a way that it provides enough zone of proximal development practice for the children learners (Levine and Munsch, 135). For instance, the teacher should ensure that a child is able write properly by guiding his hand while writing. Thereafter, the child will learn how to write properly because his teacher taught him how to do it. The teacher should be able to determine the child’s level of performance and offer assistance that will enable the learner to advance to accomplish a certain task so as to advance to a higher level (Tappan, 56). Scaffolding Vygotsky’s theories also emphasize the necessity of appropriate adult help in a child’s learning process. When assisted to do a certain task, children are normally able to do things that they cannot do by themselves (Berk and Winsler). Scaffolding can be applied to a child’s learning environment to help him or her produce immediate results. Scaffolding is where an adult alters his level of assistance according to the child’s performance level. This is a highly effective way of teaching as it imparts knowledge and skills that the child needs for real-life problem solving. Zone of Proximal Development The zone of proximal development put a lot of emphasis on the influence that culture, adults and peers have on the development process of a child. Vygotsky came up with the concept of zone of proximal difference to help in the understanding of this influence. The zone in this case is the difference in the performance of a child when he performs a task by himself as compared to his performance when he is assisted in doing something by an adult or older child. The help that the child gets from an older person is what is known as scaffolding (Vialle and Verenikina, 167). Vygotsky helped in the realization that scaffolding is important in helping a child develop properly. By using the concept of zone of proximal development, it is easy to come up with ways to aid in child development (Levine and Munsch, 47). This can be done through the use of proper learning aids that can help the child learn. This concept can be used by educators to find out the different zones of proximal development for their students. They should then teach the children in accordance with their specific zones of proximal development. By understanding each child’s level of understanding, it is easy to help him or her so that they can be able to do those things that they could have done by themselves (Tappan, 45). By understanding the concept of zone of proximal development, educational professionals can create programs that encourage the co-construction of knowledge. For instance, teachers can make use of reciprocal teaching as they try to enhance learning which the children participate in. the teacher can some up with a way of teaching which allows him to understand his students and his students to understand him. Collaborative Learning These are cooperative learning activities here children can learn from one another (Berk and Winsler). The children are normally placed in different groups made up of other children who are different development levels. They can then be taught and encouraged to teach each other. Cooperative learning and co-participation can be applied in the educational context to help teachers come up with appropriate ways of bringing existing knowledge which they can co-construct with their students. This makes it possible for students to have an active rather than a passive role in the learning process. Having children to actively participate in the learning process is important as it enables them to develop cognition to help them construct meaning from events and facts presented to them. For example, the teacher may structure his teaching methods to include not only lectures, but interactive sessions where the children can have a chance to say what they think about the topic and how they understand it. Alternative assessment According to Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, there are two levels of development in children. One is the actual development level, which is measured by what a child can do on his own without any assistance. The second level is the level of potential development which is measured by what a child can achieve with external help (Vialle and Verenikina, 17). Alternative assessment for child learning must therefore be used when dealing with children who have different levels of actual and potential developments. The assessment methods have to target both levels of development. Learning environments Children should learn in socially rich environments so that they are able to explore knowledge with their fellow learners and teachers or instructors. These socially rich environments should also be equipped with all the culturally relevant material that the child needs in order to develop his thinking capacity without any hindrances. Vygotsky’s theories promote the idea of having learning contexts in which children themselves are actively involved in the whole learning process (Levine and Munsch, 179). Involving the children in the learning process is effectual in imparting knowledge that will help them deal with real life situations in the future. Conclusion Vygotsky’s contribution to the psychology of child learning and development cannot be denied. His theories when compared to those of Piaget are more practical and they take into account most of the major aspects regarding a child’s development. He popularized the importance of sociocultural theory in childhood education. This theory explains how social and cultural interactions are important for a child’s cognitive development. This is to say that by participating in cultural events and practices, a child learns the important things in his culture. This helps in the child’s development of various problem-solving skills, which are normally enhanced through a formal education and further interactions with peers and adults alike. Vygotsky’s theories have helped shape much of the education system as it is today. The incorporation of culturally relevant material in the learning environment is a practice that many educators are using in a bid to ensure that children have a holistic kind of education. This means that following Vygotsky’s sociocultural model, children can develop their motor and cognitive skills in a way that will enable them deal with life’s realities in future. The sociocultural development theories associated with Vygotsky have varying implications in the educational profession. The curriculum used in schools should enhance interaction between children who are learning and their learning tasks. This is in line with Vygotsky’s cultural mediation and internalization model which states that children’s social interactions play a big role in their cognitive development. In assisted learning, in assisted learning, educators should have a teaching program that allows them to determine their students’ level of performance and offer assistance that is appropriate for that performance level. Vygotsky also emphasizes on the need for adult assistance in his scaffolding principle. The implication of this is that educators have to be ready to adjust the level of assistance so as to ensure that every child has an understanding of what is being taught. The implication for the principle of zone of proximal development is closely connected to the principle of scaffolding. Teachers should not only assist children to learn according to their performance levels, they should also encourage them to learn from each other. The concept of zone of proximal development allows teachers to enhance co-construction kind of knowledge sharing so that children can be able to do the tasks that they would have been able to do by themselves. Vygotsky’s theory also has a major impact on collaborative learning. Teachers can use this concept to encourage children to learn from one another. In the area of alternative assessment, teachers should use different levels of assessment methods to coincide with each child’s learning capabilities or level of development. In summary, Vygotsky’s theories reflect the basics of children learning, which are derived from cultures and norms in society. When children learn in socially enriching environments, they are able to internalize the facts that they learn in a way that they can use them to deal with real life situations in future. Works Cited Berk, Laura and Adam Winsler. Scaffolding Children’s learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education. School Psychology International, 1998, vol. 19 (2) pp. 189-191. Feldman, Robert S. Child Development,3rd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson- Prentice Hall, 2004. Print Levine, Laura and Joyce Munsch. Child Development: An Active Learning Approach. London: Sage Publishers, 2010. Tappan, Mark B., Moral Education In The Zone Of Proximal Development, Journal of Moral Education, June 1, 1998, Vol. 27, Issue 2 Tryphon, Anastasia and Jacques Voneche. Piaget-Vygotsky: The Social Genesis of Thought. London: Psychology Press, 1996. Print Vialle, Wilma and Verenikina Irina. Handbook on Child Development. Perth: Cengage Learning, 2000. Print. Wertsch, James and Richard Sohmer. 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