Lev Vygotsky Sociocultural Theory

Biography: Born in Western Russia in 1896 Grew up in Gomel, Belarus. His dad was a banker and his mom didn’t work. After secondary school, he was accepted into University of Moscow. Only 3% Jewish students accepted. He also found out he couldn’t be a teacher because he was Jewish. Changed his study from Medicine to Law while pursuing philosophy studies on the side. After he graduated, he went to go teach literature and philosophy at various institutions.

His first Project: Phycology of Art Began his systematic work in phycology at 28. “Within a few years he formulated his theory of the development of specifically human higher mental functions.” –About the author, The Phycology of Art He never had any actual studies that involved kids, but his theory still proves to be true. He did have kids; two daughters. He died when they were very young His theory made him important because it has a huge impact on how parents, parent their kids in today’s world.

Sociocultural theory: “Social interaction leads to step-by-step changes in children's thought and behavior that caries greatly from culture to culture.”(1) 3 ways to pass cultural tools from one another: Imitative learning Instructed learning Collaborative learning 4 basic principles: Children construct their own knowledge Development can’t be separated from its social context Learning can lead development Language plays central role in mental development

Zone of Development: When the learner can do the task without any help. (mastered) Zone of proximal development- child uses guidance from another to help them accomplish the task. The learner cannot do- out of reach

Personal Reaction: We believe that this theory proves true, but are curious as to how he conducted his theory without having any experience with children. We think it is cool that the zone of development can apply to situations outside of child development. We also agree that a child’s development does vary from culture to culture.

Bibliography: http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/vygotsky.htm http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/articles/play-the-work-of-lev-vygotsky/ Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/lev-vygotsky.html