Social Interactionist Theory Explained

Instructional Scaffolding

Instructional Scaffolding is the concept of providing assistance and support to foster learning of newconcepts and skills in students with the intention of helping them achieve their learning goals. Theconcept is adopted by Jerome Bruner from Lev Vygotsky's Social Interactionist Theory.

Lev Vygotsky was a renowned Russian psychologist who gained popularity for his in-depth study onhuman development. Vygotsky through his intense research in the field hypothesized that thedevelopment of higher cognitive processes from basic abilities (attention, sensation, perception, andmemory) emerged from social interaction and communication.

Vygotsky's theory completely contradicts Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Piagetsuggests that development in the cognitive ability of a child is a result of independent explorationand personal experiences. On the contrary, Vygotsky in his theory reasons the development incognitive ability as a result of learning via increasing social interaction and communication. UnlikePiaget's view that development must necessarily precede learning, Vygotsky stated that learningwas a stepping stone to a higher level of cognitive abilities, and hence, development succeedslearning.

Vygotsky's Social Interactionist theory is based upon certain fundamental aspects, which areexplained below. Take a look.

What is the Social Interactionist Theory?

The theory reasons the development of language with greater emphasis on the effects of socialinteraction between the developing child and linguistically superior adult.

Effects of Culture and Social Influences

According to Vygotsky, most of the interaction by a child during early childhood is completely need-based; however it's internalization by the child gives it meaning, thus, forming the roots of linguisticdevelopment.

? The language and cognitive development of every child is carried on in a unique way, saysVygotsky. This is because every child grows within a unique set of morals and values, and isinfluenced by different cultures. For instance, minor differences in speech show how culture playsan important role in the cognitive development of an individual. The western cultures emphasizemore on the individual than the group, which is the opposite in case of Asians. An American with agroup of friends would say, "I'd like to have a beer, would anybody like some?". On the other hand,an Asian would say "Shall we have beer?" or "How about some beer?" Notice that in the former, theemphasis is more on the self, while in the latter, it is more on the group.

? Let's take another example that's universal to all cultures. When a person receives a phone call ormakes one, the first thing that he/she utters is a 'hello'. The parents are very excited to make theirbabies talk over the phone to a relative or a friend. When they stick the phone to the child's ear, they

ask him/her to say hello; the person on the other end also says 'hello' to the child. The child doesn'tknow what exactly is happening, who's yelling from the other side of this small, plastic, light-flashingdevice. However, with a little observation and assistance from his/her parents who are constantlytrying to make him/her speak, the child tries to internalize and derive meaning from the data he/shereceives, and tries to blabber or utter something imitating the parents. This act is reinforced, andhence, is learned quickly and fosters to linguistic development.

More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)

? As the name suggests, this is any person or thing like a computer, which is more knowledgeablethan the learner. In a child's case, this refers to his parents or teachers.

? Vygotsky, by this aspect, tries to explain that any person, who has a better understanding of acertain thing, when assists another who doesn't have any idea of it is likely to foster the process oflearning resulting in cognitive development.

? He believes that the number of things that can be done by the guidance of a MKO exceed thosethat can be attained alone.

Zone of Proximal Development

The zone of proximal development is reached when a learner attains a skill that he couldn'tindependently, with assistance from a MKO.

? For example, a child is not able to draw a house, but he can draw straight lines and circles. Thechild's father assists him/her by laying a set of dots on paper, and asking the child to connect them,which forms the drawing of a house. After a few repetitions of connecting the dots, the child candraw a house without the dots, and eventually perfects the skill by drawing more and more houses.

? The zone of proximal development lies between what is known and what is not known.

Linguistic Development

? Vygotsky classifies language into three forms: (i) social speech which refers to communicationused to talk to others (evident from age two); (ii) private speech which refers to self-directed speech(evident from age three); and (iii) silent inner speech which refers to constructive thinking.

? The first two forms of speech are completely need-based. In social speech, the child communicatesto suffice its needs. Communication could be crying or other peculiar gestures understood by theparents. Private speech develops when the child has learned to speak certain syllables and words.The child would then speak to him/herself when playing alone. Children mostly indulge in privatespeech when performing tricky or difficult tasks, especially to guide their own self or regulate theirown behavior. Private speech is believed to enhance memory, provide motivation at difficult tasks,foster better communication abilities, and promote creativity in children.

? As per Vygotsky, there isn't any connection between thought and speech in the initial years of life.Speech and thought become interdependent after the age of three, wherein the child learns tointernalize the learned language fostering cognitive development. The internalization ordisappearance of private speech is observed when the child begins schooling.

Criticism

? Although Vygotsky's work provides analtogether different perspective on the topic ofcognitive development, there are certainweaknesses to his theory that should not beoverlooked.

? Critics are of the opinion that the concept of the'Zone of Proximal Development' is somewhatvague; firstly because it doesn't provide a precisepicture of the learning ability, style, and pace oflearning or the current level of development, it doesn't take into consideration individualdifferences, and it is too general. This is also evident from the absence of a common metric scale tomeasure an individual child's zone.

? Secondly, the theory underestimates the abilities of the individual showing much greater emphasison sociocultural effects. Too much help and assistance could make the individual lazy and habituatedto expecting help in tasks, which he/she can easily accomplish.

? Thirdly, as the theory gives a single model of development, it fails to take into considerationdifferent developmental levels. Children's interests, needs, and abilities vary at different ages, whichinfluence the type of learning they seek out, and the effects it has on them. Hence, eachdevelopmental level proves to be of great significance in the child's cognitive development as awhole.