Biography

1896                 Born in Belarus, then Western Russia

1917                 Studied law at the Moscow State university, but did not graduate because of the October risings

1924                 Research fellow, Moscow Institute of Psychology

1925                 Completes writing The Psychology of Art (pub. 1962)

1926                 Secondary school teacher as well as research fellow

1926                 Completes ‘The Historical meaning of the Crisis in Psychology’ (pub. 1982)

1931                 Completes ‘History of the Development of Higher Mental Functions’ (pub. 1983)

1934                 Dies of tubercular complications

Theories

As you can see from the publication dates of the works by Vygotsky that we have mentioned, his cultural-historical social activity theory or social constructivism, although constructed in the 1920s, did not become accepted into the wider world of pedagogical theories until the 1980s. Vygotsky’s tragically early death ended his personal research, but the impact of his work still resounds today.

Vygotsky believed that children were capable of thinking and therefore learning, by themselves. Opposed to rigid rote learning practised in most educational establishments, he argued that learning is dynamic and that children learn best through social interaction, not through dry didacticism. Therefore, he posited, the cultural context of the child or learner is hugely significant in the development of the individual. This socio-cultural theory propounded the idea that human development is mediated by the society in which we live and from which we gain beliefs, values and problem-solving strategies. We do this through dialogue, mimicry and conversation.

Thus, language was seen by Vygotsky to be crucial to development. Through words, we can articulate abstract ideas and concepts. Labelling enables learners to understand the contextual relationships they experience. Through our society and culture and the structures that these give us, our cognitive and transformational development. He referred to this movement from interactive communication to internal thought about what we have learnt as internalisation.

Through communication about the worlds around them, Vygotsky believed that children could both enable a growth in vocabulary, but also help the child make sense of what they saw and teach them to interpret their experiences.

In order for all children to develop effectively, Vygotsky argued that the cultural tools of stories, symbols, and signs needed to be taught in schools. We have all experienced or noted how young children often work out problems through speech. Words and language, argued Vygotsky, not only aid communication, but the externalisation (and internalisation) of thoughts also aid problem solving and thinking skills.

But this can be taken further. Through observing as well as listening to communication and speech, children make sense of situations through the words, body language and facial shapes.

So, talking and communication is vital in learning situations for children. You are already, I am sure, beginning to see the relevance of this to tutoring.

Vygotsky also highlighted the importance of play through which children learn skills and, through mimicry, develop imagination. They also learn, by copying adults, skills and values which are preparing them for future life. He argued that learning in play and learning in the classroom should hold equal validity.

This theory was called Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).  This zone was the difference between what a child could do without any help or support and what they could do with the help and support of a more experienced and skilled person. This could be an adult, but Vygotsky also recognised the importance of children learning from more experienced peers. So the zone was a guide to the level of problem solving that a child could manage independently. The theory was an attempt to codify how two children might have different success levels, because one is more open to support than the other, or is in a context from which support can come. He saw assessment as something which should be developmental and formative.

As an extension of this theory, Vygotsky saw intelligence tests as meaningless, preferring to assess how the child attempted to answer the question or perform the test. Thus, he also emphasises the importance of the support given to the child, suggesting that the role of parents and educators is crucial. Here, he differed from Piaget, whose theories were based on the child’s own experiences.

ZPD offered an approach, but Vygotsky did not stipulate what needs to happen in this zone in order for a child to succeed. Bruner’s theories of scaffolding are certainly an extension of Vygotsky’s writings, as you will see in the later unit. The concept of successful scaffolding is dependent on the educator understanding the context, needs and individual skills of the student and while it makes sense, there are issues which present challenges for teachers to do this.

However, Vygotsky’s work and theories allowed for the development of techniques to assess and pinpoint children’s learning needs and so his work is crucial to modern pedagogical practices.

How Vygotsky Would Tutor.

From the offset, Vygotsky would ensure his tutoring lessons matched the ability, not the age of the student. He would focus on learning skills which can be applied, rather than memorising information which can be regurgitated.  Vygotsky would also not instruct students in how to problem solve but help them see the constituent parts of the task and guide them. In this way, the student absorbs or internalises the thought process and can then apply it to a new task. He would also encourage students to see how skills cross curricular boundaries. Vygotsky would also not have much regard for testing results, as he believed they would not show how the student can succeed with help, the child’s potential. Vygotsky would ensure he had worked out the zone of Proximal developmental for each student and tailored his tutoring to just stretch the student a tiny amount beyond what they could do, being mindful not to go too far beyond their ability.

Criticisms

As you will have seen, Vygotsky’s theories depend on the context from which the child comes. This raises all sorts of questions about educational democracy. They also suggest that the role of the experienced adult is crucial. As tutors, we must ward against an over-reliance on us as educators. This is something to consider when thinking about Vygotsky’s writing. We need to ensure that the student is active in their learning, rather than dependent on external support.

Lastly, Vygotsky gave little detail about the content of scaffolding and how this was to be achieved individually. It is an important concept, but there is little guidance on how to achieve this.

Glossary

ZPD: The difference between what a child can achieve independently and what they can achieve with the help of someone more experienced and knowledgeable

Scaffolding: The support given by an adult or more knowledgeable individual to help the student understand the process of how to approach a task or problem

Social constructivism: the significance of the cultural, familial environment in which the child is learning. Through their experiences, the child learns strategies and practices to help them in learning.

Internalisation: the change between a child talking through a learning process, to an internal thought process.

Cultural-historical social activity theory: this proposes the idea that a child’s learning is dependent on their historical, cultural, and social environment