VYGOTSKY

Lev Vygotsky, lived from 1896 till 1934, he was a Russian Psychologist and Education theorist, he trained at the University of Moscow, receiving a Law Degree, then going on to study literature and linguistics. Vygotsky’s work began not long after the Russian Revolution, indicating that his inspiration came from the culture of Russia at the time. The Revolution brought a significant change to the Russian culture, instead of the Tsarist authoritarian rule, the Marxism movement was sweeping through Russia, bringing with it an ideal of social equilibrium. So Vygotsky built an educational theory around the social ideals of the time, expressing the importance of social interaction towards increased learning. The political situation changed from being one individual ruler, to a communist ideal, where all is equal and available to the masses. Sharing and co-operation was encouraged, an individual’s success was viewed as reflecting the success of the culture. Vygotsky’s ideals about education were based upon social interaction with a teacher’s guidance, lesson content would be discussed amongst the students, rather than the teacher lecturing to simply fill their minds with useless facts.
Vygotsky stated that a child’s intellectual ability is based on the culture they grow up in, children gain knowledge and understanding of the world from their surrounding culture. A child needs to interact socially with other people when solving problems. Gradually a change should take place, originally the parent or teacher should verbalise all the steps taken to solve the problem, but the ideal is for the child to eventually internalise these instructions, so they can direct their own actions without so much assistance.

His theory is based around the fact that the classical style of classroom teaching is ineffective. He states that although a teacher is obviously necessary, a lesson should not be conducted in such a way that the children are given information for the sole purpose of memorising it for recitation in the future. Children should be given valuable information, to assist them in becoming aware of the world around them. The teacher should work in partnership with the children, engaging them in activities whereby they can interact with and learn from one another. From this viewpoint, children learn through interaction with their classmates, enabling them to develop their skills further. Child development occurs first through interaction between people and again within the child himself.

Another aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the Zone of Proximal Development, which is the space between what a child can do on his own and what a child can do with guidance and assistance either from a teacher or through social interaction with his classmates. We should be teaching just ahead of where the child is, constantly encouraging them to develop and achieve more!
If we only teach children what they are already capable of understanding, we are not allowing them the freedom to excel. We are holding them back, we should be encouraging them to make an effort and achieve their potential! The Zone of Proximal Development is basically the difference between what the child is currently capable of achieving and what the child is potentially capable of achieving. We should always be aiming to teach a child’s potential, therefore encouraging them to accomplish more than they may have thought possible. It is always great when children surprise themselves by their own abilities, we encourage them to attain things they may think are impossible. They are amazed when they realize they can achieve more than they thought possible, replenishing their faith in your knowledge of their potential.