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Lev Vygotsky - Sociocultural TheoryAlyssa MullinsFresno Pacific UniversityLev Semyonovich Vygotsky developed the sociocultural theory to better understand children’s thoughts and behaviors. He believed that their development derived from social interaction among people and the child’s culture that they were brought up in. From this sociocultural theory grew the zone of proximal development. This concept is the learning a child will go through in order to complete a task. However, they will only accomplish the task if they have help and assistance from a more knowledgeable person like a parent, teacher, sibling, or friend. The next element that goes along with the zone of proximal development is the term scaffolding. “Scaffolding is a tool that helps teachers encourage children to learn new tasks by adults lessening their own help” (Gallagher, 1999, p. 2). The sociocultural theory encompasses important factors that help make it a sound theory in early childhood education.Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, “places more emphasis on culture affecting development” than anything else (McLeod, 2014, p. 1). When a child is growing they will be learning what their culture deems necessary for them and their survival. An example of this is in the United States it is embedded into the children from a young age to not talk to strangers or answer the front door of a home without a parent close by, because of possible dangers. A second example is in Africa, children are taught from a very young age to hunt, gather, and fish because that is how they will feed themselves less they starve. Both examples are critical survival skills in two very different cultures, but it is what those cultures provide to its children. In addition, the “environment in which children grow up will influence how they think and what they think about” (McLeod, 2014, p. 1). Social interactions from the child’s culture help form their view of the world and those who live in it.The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the space between a child not knowing how to do something and knowing how to do it. That space is where a more knowledgeable person must step in to help the child make it to the end and learn that new skill that they had previously struggled with. The space can also be referred to as the potential in which a child has, but a helping hand is needed. Holzman stated that, “To Vygotsky, learning was both the source and the product of development, just as development was both the source and the product of learning” (Holzman, n.d., p.2). Children can achieve great things when the right people are there to show them the way. Freund is a very well known expert who agrees with Lev Vygotsky and Freund has evidence to support the zone of proximal development. Freund established an experiment that had children place furniture in the correct places of a doll house. Group one was allowed the help of their mothers beforehand, whereas group two had to do it without help. Obviously, group one did an exceptionally better job than group two because they had help. Thus, confirming that “guided learning within the ZPD led to greater understanding and performance than working alone” (McLeod, 2014, p. 4). Freund agreed and supported Vygotsky and his theory of the zone of proximal development through his own experiment.The next element within the zone of proximal development is scaffolding. Scaffolding is when the help of an adult is given, but is then lessened until the child can complete the task on their own. When scaffolding is performed it encourages the child to believe in themselves and believe that they can accomplish a task on their own. Holzman quoted Lev Vygotsky when he said, “children learn and develop by performing a head taller than they are” (Holzman, n.d., p. 3). It can be assumed that Vygotsky had the idea of scaffolding in mind because children will attempt to perform at a higher rate than they possibly can, but they then need assistance, until they can do it on their own. An example of this is when a young child begins writing their letters of the alphabet. First, an adult will show the child how to write a letter, and then the child will help the adult write the same letter. Next, the child will write the letter with some help from the adult and then the child writes the letter on their own, without any help from the adult. Scaffolding is a way for a child to grow and to learn with the assistance of someone else, until they are able to complete the task by themselves.The sociocultural theory can meet the needs of children by teaching them how to grow through social interaction within their culture. A classroom can create this same feeling by encouraging group learning. Group learning encourages different stages and strengths of learning, which will help students to grow. Also, if the teacher uses scaffolding then this will better help the children learn different kinds of material. By an adult using reciprocal teaching it allows for collaborative learning. It also lets the teacher’s direction lessen and encourages students to take more charge. If a teacher allows peer mentoring, then more knowledgeable students will help teach one another. This will cause a more successful dynamic within the classroom (McLeod, 2014). By using Vygotsky’s theory people are able to enhance learning and promote growth among children whether they are in or out of the classroom. This is a sound theory for early childhood education because it has been tested by an expert and applies to daily scenarios with children across the world in many different cultures. In conclusion, Lev Vygotsky presents several different methods of teaching in which are being used in many schools and homes. For generations to come, several others will read about Vygotsky’s teaching techniques and utilize them in daily practices. The sociocultural theory, the zone of proximal development and scaffolding are all intertwined and make for a better understanding of children and how they learn best. ReferencesGallagher, C. (1999). Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky. Retrieved from muskingum.edu 01 Sept. 2015.Holzman, L. (n.d.). Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development: The Human Activity Zone. Retrieved from 01 Sept. 2015.McLeod, S. (2014). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from vygotsky.html 01 Sept. 2015. ................
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