Social+Constructivism

= = © Justyna = = =** Social Constructivism **=


 * Social constructivism ** ascribes the central role in the process of cognitive development to the social interaction as opposed to cognitive constructivism which claims that social interaction only triggers development at the right moment in time. The most significant bases of a social constructivist theory were laid down by [|Lev Vygotsky]. He claimed that every function in the child’s cultural development appears two times: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level.


 * Lev Vygotsky **

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky was born in 1896 in the town of Orscha in Belorussia to a middle-class Jewish family. Vygotsky was not trained in science but received a law degree from the Moscow University. He went on to study literature and linguistics and became his Ph.D. for a book he wrote on the psychology of art. On 6 January 1924, Vygotsky delivered “The Methodology of Reflexologic and Psychological Investigations” at the “Second All-Russian Psychoneurological Congress” at Leningrad. On the invitation of the Psychological Institute of Moscow's new director K. N. Kornilov, Vygotsky moved to Moscow. Vygotsky completed his dissertation in 1925 on "The Psychology of Art". He began his career at the Psychological Institute and continued it at other educational, research and clinical institutions in Moscow, Leningrad  and Kharkov  , extensively investigating ideas about cognitive development. He died of tuberculosis in 1934, at the age of 37, in Moscow.

Looking at the political situation of Vyogtosky’s times is important for understanding his theory. Vygotsky started work in psychology after the Russian revolution when the new philosophy of Marxist emphasised socialism and collectivism. Sharing and co-operation were encouraged and the success of a single person was seen as reflecting the success of the whole society and culture. Vogotsky believed that individual’s development is a result of his or her culture. He also claimed that individuals learn through social interactions with others and therefore represent the shared knowledge of culture.


 * Vygotsky’s Theory **

Three underlying themes of Vygotsky’s theory were:
 * the importance of culture
 * the central role of language
 * The Zone of Proximal Development

According to Vogtosky, culture influences our **“elementary mental functions”** which are what children have when the yare born and **“higher mental functions”** which develop through social interaction and mediation. It’s the abstract reasoning, logical memory, planning, decision making etc. The author also gives three ways in which culture tool can pass from one person to another. The first one is **imitative learning** when one person imitates the other. The second one is **instructed learning** in which involves remembering the instructions of the teacher and using them later for self-regulation. Finally, **collaborative learning** involves a group of peers cooperating.

Language plays a very important role in Vygotsky’s theory as it is one of cultural tools. It is the main channel of conveying culture as well as regulating children’s own activities. What is more, it becomes internalized and transformed into thought (Vygotsky 1978).

** Zone of Proximal Development and Mediation **
Vygotsky wrote “What the child can do in cooperation today he can do alone tomorrow” (Vygotsky 1934). This statement aptly gives the gist of two major concepts included in a model of language acquisition proposed by Vygotsky. The first one is **zone of proximal development (ZPD)** which can be defined as “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 1978). The film insreted below explaines what Zone of Proximal Development is and emphasises the significance of ZPD in the porcess of teaching children.

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In other words ZPD is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help of peers or significant others. The progression through ZPD has been described in terms of three successive stages.

At the first stage the performance is assisted by more capable others. Before children can function independently they must rely on help of others. At this stage adults use language to model the process of learning which is called social speech.

At the second stage the performance is assisted by the child. Instead of relaying on adult’s or more capable peers’ directions, the child relies on his own verbalization by repeating instructions, requests and using self-directed speech for guidance through the task. At this stage private speech is used. Learner regulates his or her behaviour by means of the same language which was used by adults at the previous stage.

During the third stage **self-regulation** occurs and the process is automatised. Thus knowledge about the task is **internalised** and transferred from the social (or intermental) to the psychological (or intramental) level. At this stage a learner uses inner speech which is a mental use of words to evoke a sequence of thought (Vygotsky 1978).



Another concept central to the social constructivist theory is **mediation**. It is said that human activity is mediated by material artifacts as well as symbolic artifacts (higher-level cultural tools) such as language which is the primary tool allowing us to connect our environment. Mediation can be described as ‘the role played by ‘significant people’, the people who learner admires, who select and modify the learning material for the learner helping him/her to move to the next zone of proximal development’ (Brown 2006). Therefore, the process of learning is equal with the constant interaction with the mediator. A learner’s parent, teacher or peer may play the role of the mediator who adjust the input to the learner’s level matching his or her zone of proximal development (Gass & Selinker 2008).

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** Scaffolding **
Scaffolding is a concept closely related to the idea of ZPD, although Vygotsky never actually used the term. It might be described as the process whereby adults offer help to a child in problem solving and adjust both the kind and amount of help to the child’s level of performance. According to McKenzie (1999) scaffolding provids the following advatages:
 * It provides clear directions for students
 * It clarifies purpose of the task
 * It keeps students on task
 * It offers assessment to clarify expectations
 * It points students to worthy sources
 * It reduces uncertainty, surprise and disappointment
 * It delivers efficiency

The film inserted below explaines the process of scaffolding and shows the importance of this process in teaching children.

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 * References **

1. Brown, D. 2006. //Principles of Language Learning and Teaching//. New York, Longman. 2. Gass, S.M. and L. Selinker. 2008. //Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course.// New York, Routledge. 3. McKenzie, J. 1999. //Scaffolding for Success//. 9 (4) 4. Vasta, R., Haith, M.M., Miller, S.A. 1995 //Child Psychology: The Modern Science// 5. Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. //Mind and Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processess.// Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 6. Vygotsky, L.S. 1962. //Thought and Language//. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.