V. M. WESTERBERG'S SUPER BRIEF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES SERIES.

LEV VYGOTSKY

Vygotsky was born in a very poor Russian Jewish community.

He absolutely wanted to go to University, so he played the Jewish Charitable Lottery, and... won. He studied Law and Psychology. The year he was admitted, Europe (and particularly Russia) was struck by some of the worst events in human history: The 1st World War, the Spanish flu epidemics, and the Russian Revolution. He was so poor that he could not afford flatting, so for almost 10 years, he lived in the wet basement of the University. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 37.

Because he died so young, his theory was left incomplete.

His theory is the opposite of Piaget’s. Piaget believed that natural intelligence (biology) determines the intellectual abilities of children, ie: development determines learning, whereas Vygotsky believed that the socio-cultural environment was more important for intelligence, ie: learning determines development.

Piaget: if you are born intelligent [like me], you will learn faster and better, regardless of your environment.

Vygotsky: if you have the opportunity to learn in your environment, you will become (more) intelligent.

Vygotsky also observed that because different cultures have different learning tools available (Tools of Intellectual Adaptation), children learn similar skills using different methods. For example, in NZ maths are taught at school, whereas in indigenous tribes of the Amazon, children learn maths by selling and buying goods with their family at the local markets.

Different tools = different methods but with similar results.

Vygotsky also believed that because adults are the “More Knowledgeable Others” (MoKO), they should serve as scaffolds for children’s learning. That is, the adult, for example, may help the child trace over letters until the child is able to write them for himself (the same could be applied to getting dressed, brushing your teeth, manage cutlery, etc...). The help from the adult is called scaffolding.

Additionally, children improve their own learning by talking to themselves as they play or as they do things. Vygotsky called this “private speech”.

Vygotsky believed that the intellectual difference between a child and an adult is a gap called Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD is a gap between what the child has already mastered (the actual level of development) and what s/he can achieve with educational support (potential development). The more the child learns, the smaller the ZPD gets, the closer the child is to the adult’s level.

Finally, although Vygotsky and Piaget had completely opposed views on how children acquire intelligence and skills (cognitive development), they agreed that infants are (must be) born with a certain amount of basic abilities for intellectual development:

Piaget focused on SMS (SensoriMotor Skills) and Vygotsky focused on SPAM: Sensation, Perception, Attention and Memory.

SPAM are the Elementary Mental Functions that, through interaction with the socio-cultural environment, develop into more sophisticated and effective intelligence, which Vygotsky called the Higher Mental Functions.

Elementary intelligence + Environment = Higher Intelligence

QUESTIONS:

1. What do you know about Vygotsky’s life? 2. What is the main difference between Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories? 3. Mention one similarity between Piaget and Vygotsky. 4. Give an example of how are the Tools of Intellectual Adaptation are different

in different cultures? 5. Who is the More Knowledgeable Other? 6. What is scaffolding?

7. What is Private Speech and what purpose does it serve? 8. How are the Higher Mental Functions acquired? (Maths formula)