Memory Vygotsky Style “The very essence of human memory consists in the fact that human beings actively remember with the help of signs.” By Meghan Elfelt

Biography 1896 – 1934 1 of 8 kids – Dad was a banker and mom was a teacher Grew up in Gomel (port city in Western Russia) Jewish (3% quota to enter university and he made the drawing) Graduated from Moscow University with a law degree After a brilliant speech in 1924, he had an electrifying effect on the young psychiatrists Received job at the Moscow Institute of Psychology First big research project was in 1925 with his psychology of Art Wrote 7 books and dozens of articles before he died of tuberculosis at the age of 37

Vygotsky’s Main Ideas His fundamental insight was that children need social interaction with adults and older children to advance their psychological development. Cognitive Development He places emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development which contradicts Piaget’s view of universal stages and content of development Social factors and the role of language are contributors

Terminology The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) “The distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers.” (Vygotsky)

Terminology Cont.. Scaffolding “Those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner’s capacity, thus permitting him to concentrate upon and complete only those elements that are within his range of competence.”

MEMORY Natural Memory Arises out of direct influence of external stimuli upon human beings Memory does not develop in children all at once Memory grows and develops in childhood 25 years old is the high point of memory

Vygotsky’s “Signs” Signs – Various psychological tools that people use to aid their thinking and behavior Notched sticks and knotted ropes Speech – Our ability to talk to ourselves (to think with the help of words) contributes enormously to our powers of thought “Inner speech” – when people talk aloud to themselves Vygotsky sees ”inner speech" as a means for children to plan activities and strategies and therefore aid their development. Language is therefore an accelerator to thinking/understanding.

3 Stages In The Development of Mediated Remembering 1st stage (ages 4-8) – Child is not capable of mastering his behavior by organizing special stimuli. They ignore aids or use them inappropriately. They “do not yet know their capacities and limitations” or how to use external stimuli to help them remember things. 2nd Stage (ages 9-12) – The introduction of aids as a system of external stimuli raises the effectiveness of the child’s activity considerably. 3rd Stage (Adults) – At this higher stage of development, behavior remains mediated. The external sign of the school kids has been transformed into an internal sign produced by the adult as a means of remembering. No need for external cues for they make mental notes to themselves inwardly.

Memory Game

“House Cards” – Signs

What am I testing? I am testing whether or not I can teach the children to use the “house cards” (signs) to aid their memorization. Vygotsky believed that “aids” actually hinder young children. Hypothesis: I believe that both the first and sixth graders will use the “house” cards (signs) to help them remember the animals better, thus, proving Vygotsky wrong.

CHALLENGE ONE “I am going to give you the cards and I will give you one minute to memorize the animals. READY, GO!” After the one minute, take away the animal cards. Ask the kid what he/she remembers?

CHALLENGE TWO Show the kid the house cards and match them with the animals together. Stack the house cards in a pile and tell the kid they can use them to remember the animals. Start the timer and observe to see if the kid looks/uses the “house cards” After a minute ask, “What did you see?”

Results – 1st Grade Name Grade Age Sign Use Kid 1 F 1st 7 none Kid 2 M Gender Grade Age “Do you think you have a good memory?” Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Sign Use Kid 1 F 1st 7 “A little bit” 7 animals none Kid 2 M “yes” 6 animals Kid 3 Nods head and smiles Kid 4 “yeah” Kid 5 4 animals Kid 6 “Uh, sure.” 8 animals

Why didn’t you use the “house cards?” (1st Graders) Student Why didn’t you use the “house cards?” Kid 1 “B/c I wanted to remember them and I didn’t want to look what they were.” Kid 2 “I didn’t need them, b/c I already knew most of the animals.” Kid 3 “B/c I didn’t really need them, b/c I memorized them, I thought of houses and animals.” Kid 4 “B/c I thought I could remember the animals.” Kid 5 “Like what would I do?” Kid 6 “B/c I think I memorized them already, maybe it would be harder b/c I tried to remember them b/c there are so many.”

Results – 6th Grade Name Grade Age Sign Use Kid A F 6th 11 yes Kid B M Gender Grade Age “Do you think you have a good memory?” Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Sign Use Kid A F 6th 11 “Yes” 7 animals 8 animals yes Kid B M “yes” nods head none Kid C 12 “yes” Smiles big Kid D “A little bit.” Kid E “Yes, mhm.” Kid F “Im kind of good.”

Why didn’t you use the “house cards?” (6th Graders) Student Why didn’t you use the “house cards?” Kid A Yes. “Cuz I would know where they go and imagined where they would be.” Kid B No. “I thought it would easier without the cards because I knew where they (animals) lived before.” Kid C Yes. “If you associate something with the animal, it will help you remember.” Kid D No. “I see more houses than animals in reality whenever I go anywhere.” Kid E No. “I felt like I didn’t need them b/c I got to look at the animal cards again and therefore they were in my head better.” Kid F No. “I didn’t need them (house cards) b/c I kind of had all the animals memorized in the first one and I wanted more fluidity. I also didn’t want to stumble using the house cards.”

Conclusion 1st Graders The young kids were not able to discover how to use the “house cards”. Even after I explained to them how the “house cards” could help them, children at this age were incapable of using these external stimuli in order to organize their own behavior. Signs hindered these children.

Conclusion…. 6th Graders Only 2 out of the 6 used the “house cards” and only 1 of the 2 was successful in receiving a better score. They are most likely on the verge of understanding their capacities and limitations when it comes to memory and for some, the signs raised the effectiveness of the child’s activity.

What does this mean? Vygotsky was right!  The “house cards” (signs) actually hindered the 1st graders and most of the 6th graders.

Limitations Familiarize myself with the children beforehand so some of them wouldn‘t be so nervous I wish I had been in a quieter atmosphere (lunch room/hallway) I would visit in the afternoon so I wouldn’t be testing them right before/during/right after lunch/recess. Too hectic! I would have liked to have tested more than 12 students and more ages Use different wording in my questions… “This time you get to use the house cards to help you win” and place them in the kids’ hands in addition to the animal cards It also would have been nice to have a partner to take turns taking notes and observing the kids – it was difficult to concentrate on so many things at once

Bibliography http://itls.usu.edu/~mimi/courses/6260/theorists/vygotsky/vygobio.html http://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Lev_Vygotsky http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/vygotsky.htm#Biogra phy Crain, William. Theories of Development. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc, 2011. Vygotsky, L.S. Mind in Society. Massachusetts: Harvard Uninversity Press, 1978. Vygotsky, L.S. Educational Psychology. Florida: St. Lucie Press, 1997.