Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development focuses on the important contributions society makes to individual development and emphasizes the interaction between developing people and the culture in which they live.
Moreover, this theory also suggests that human learning is largely a social process.
- This theory focuses not only on how adults and peers influence individual learning.
- But also on how cultural beliefs and attitudes affect the way education and learning occur.
We can point out that Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory is one of the foundations of constructivism, as it argues that children, far from being mere passive recipients, build their own knowledge, their own scheme, from the information they receive.
“Knowledge that does not come from experience is not really knowledge. Lev Vygotsky?
Vygotsky said the community plays a central role in the process of “giving meaning. “That’s why his sociocultural theory of cognitive development emphasizes the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition.
According to Vygotsky, children still have a long period of brain development ahead of them. In addition, each culture would provide what it calls tools for intellectual adaptation, which will allow them to use their basic mental skills in a way that is sensitive to the cultures in which they grow.
According to his theory, learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the culturally organized development process, especially human psychological function; in other words, social learning tends to precede development.
Like Piaget, Vygotsky claimed that babies are born with basic skills for intellectual development. These basic mental functions are: attention, sensation, perception and memory.
It is through interaction within the sociocultural environment that these functions become more sophisticated and effective mental processes and strategies, called superior mental functions.
In this sense, Vygotsky considers that cognitive functions, even those performed in isolation, are affected by the beliefs, values and tools of intellectual adaptation of the culture in which a person develops and are therefore socioculturally determined. adaptation varies from culture to culture.
Vygotsky believed that each culture had unique differences. Because cultures can vary considerably, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory suggests that the course and content of intellectual development are not as universal as Piaget thought.
One of the most important concepts of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development is the proximal development zone.
According to Vygotsky, the nearby development area is the distance between the actual level of development determined by solving problems independently and the potential level of development determined by solving problems under the direction of an adult or in collaboration with other more capable partners.
Essentially, the nearby development area includes all the knowledge and skills that a person still cannot understand or execute alone, but who can learn with advice.
As children improve their skills and knowledge, they can gradually expand this nearby area of development.
Vygotsky considers the area of development nearby to be the area where the help of a more experienced person can gain greater value in the learning process. In other words, it is the place where the apprentice can benefit most, in terms of learning, from having a specialist.
Vygotky’s theory also highlighted the importance of the game for learning. Parents and teachers can use this context to find out where the child’s nearby developmental area is and take them there.
We talk about the area where there are tasks that are a real challenge for the student; a set of challenges that, given their level of development, can be overcome with little support.
Vygotsky also sees interaction with colleagues as an effective way to develop skills and strategies, which are stimuli that typically have a very similar area of development.
That’s why it suggests using cooperative learning exercises, in which less competent children develop with the help of more qualified peers.