Chapter 6: Vygotsky

3 main ideas of Vygtosky

1) children construct their knowledge (world view)

• apprenticeship = chidlren’s involvement in structured activities with those who are more skilled 

2) development cannot be separated from social context

• Cooperative activity (specifics are culturally dependent)

• guided participation through peer tutoring and group learning

3) language plays key role in mental development => inner speech is speech for oneself while external speech is for others

• inner speech is key for development (e.g. cog monitoring, self-regulation, planning)

2 key concepts associated with Vygotsky’s Theory

1) Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): difference between what a child can accomplish alone and what can be accomplished with assistance

2) Scaffolding: support provided during learning which is tailored to the needs of the learner to help the learner achieve their goal

Rogoff et all (1993) => Q, S, D, M, R, C

Q: Does culture affect the way parents scaffold their children’s learning?

S: 18mo toddlers

D: cross-cultural, observational

M: parents tried to get child to operate a toy (which is a doll that dances when the strings are pulled a certain way) => no ground rules or guidelines regarding teaching

C: scaffolding was readily observed in parent's’ behavior, but cultural differences were also apparent 

Lidstone, Meins, & Fernyhough: Q, S, D, M, R, and C

Q: does blocking private speech affect planning in school age children?

S: 30 9yo in each expt

D: experimental (within subjects) 

M: Dual task version of the TOL task (E1 perform, E2 guess and perform) => Verbal articulatory secondary task: repeat monday 1 per sec =. spatial scondary task: foot tapping (repeat 1 per sec) 

C: planning is reliant on self-directed speech in school age children => at least when children were required to plan ahead as in Expt 2

Clark, Menna, and Manel: Q, S, D, M, R, C

Q: does maternal scaffolding affect pre-schoolers’ social skills?

S: 30 prosocial and 30 aggressive pre-schoolers

D: Quasi IV

M: 1) measure children’s social skills via questionnaires to mothers 2) measure maternal scaffoling during joint problem-solving interactions (using multiple measures like # of times mom offers to help if child is stuck)

R: all but 1 measures of scaffolding revealed a difference in favor of mothers of prosical preschoolers, and none of the measures revealed a difference favoring the mothers of aggressive pre-schoolers

C: Mothers of aggressive pre-schoolers are less able to adequately provide scaffolding for child’s cog development. This may be a failure to help child develop better self-cotrol, BUT it may also be that the child is pre-disposed to have poor self-control (always be nervous if mom is to blame)