FIVE LENSES INTO THE WORK OF LEV SEMENOVICH VYGOTSKY A group project presented by Stefan Carretero, Casey Cummings, Kim Csapo-Ebert, Paul Gruhn, Jonathan Lake March 2017 - EDLD 813 – Theory in Education Research

1. FIVE LENSES INTO THE WORK OF
LEV SEMENOVICH VYGOTSKY
A Group Project, Presented by
Stefan Carretero
Casey Cummings
Kim Csapo-Ebert
Paul Gruhn
Jonathan Lake
March 2017 - EDLD 813 – Theory in Education Research

2. About
(1896 – 1934)
Soviet psychologist
His works published after his death, suppressed
in 1936
Not known to the West until 1958
More: https://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/

3. His Works
(The methods of reflexological and psychological investigation, based on his January 1924
presentation to the 2nd All-Russian Congress on Psychoneurology.
The Psychology of Art, (written 1917) 1925
Consciousness as a problem in the Psychology of Behavior, 1925
Educational Psychology, 1926
Historical meaning of the crisis in Psychology, 1927
The Problem of the Cultural Development of the Child, 1929
The Fundamental Problems of Defectology, 1929
Primitive Man and his Behavior, c. 1930
The Socialist alteration of Man, 1930
The Instrumental Method in Psychology, 1930
Mind, Consciousness. the Unconscious, 1930
Adolescent Pedagogy, 1931
Research Method, 1931
Analysis of the Higher Mental Functions, 1931
Structure of the Higher Mental Functions, 1931
Genesis of Higher the Mental Functions, 1931
Conclusion to Higher the Mental Functions, 1931
The Development of Speech, 1931
Tool and symbol in child development, 1930s
On the Problem of the Psychology of the Actor’s Creative Work, 1932
Play and its role in the Mental development of the Child, 1933
Thinking and Speech, 1934
The problem of the environment, 1934
The Problem of Consciousness, 1934
The Problem of Age, 1934

4. Social Class, Race, Identity and
Perception
Stefan Carretero

5. Vygotsky was a firm believer in Socialism and Marxism
▪ Socialism could improve people
▪ Classless society to eliminate social conflict and exploitation
▪ Revolution is necessary to change: social relationships, educational opportunities,
cognitive, psychological functions, and reduce prejudice, conflict and aggression.
French Revolution
Haitian Revolution
Cuban Revolution
slavery, racism, oppression

6. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
(ZPD) is defined as what the learner can do: 1. independently, 2) with guidance, 3) what
they cannot do independently.
Two Processes
Lower Processes: natural reflexes, instincts, and hormones
Higher Processes: Social experiences that can replace some of the lower processes, also
known as “cultural reconstruction”.
An infant does not truly perceive or think about the world, he or she is submerged in it
(Vygotsky, 1930).

7. Perception
▪ In Vygotsky’s early stages, perception is associated with concrete complex
thought, later in adolescence perception processes merge with abstract,
conceptual thought forming higher forms of categorical perceptions.
▪ Perception of distance, size, weight, color and motion also depend on cues whose
significance is socially constructed.
Example: Luria (1976) found that Uzbekistani peasants perceived certain colors as
dissimilar, whereas teachers and administrators perceived those colors as similar.
Example: My interviews of Puerto Rican participants on race revealed that some
considered race to be a social construct while others considered it to be the literal color
of skin.

8. Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding
Children whose parents socialize them regarding racial history and values report more
positive self-concept than those who lacked intervention.
Cognitive lower process
▪ Ages 3-4 children are able to categorize based on color. Example: red, pink,
brown.
Scaffold: include story books with diverse characters of all shapes and colors.
▪ Ages 5-7 children can identify racial label based on socially constructed skin color
identifiers.
Scaffold: Students read Cinderella from around the world.

9. Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding
Cognitive higher processes
▪ Ages 8,9 children understand racial classification beyond physical features.
Scaffold: read nonfiction books about diverse families from various socially-economic
perspectives
▪ Ages 10 children can recognize social stereotypes associated with race. Impact of
racial attitudes and self-esteem.
Scaffold: Read and report on various diverse famous achievers of different races,
genders etc.

10. VYGOTSKY’S VIEWS ON LANGUAGE
Casey Cummings

11. Language is Our Greatest Tool
Language is a crucial mean for communicating with the outside world.
The way in which we develop language is equally important to the role it
plays in our intellectual lives.
Language Development
Language develops from social interactions for communication purposes.
Language development leads to cognitive development.
Role of Language
Language plays two critical roles in cognitive development:
▪ Language is the means by which adults transmit information to children.
▪ Language is a tool of intellectual adaptation.

12. Three Forms of Language
Social Speech
External communication used to talk to others
Private Speech
Communication directed to self and serves an intellectual function
*Vygotzky was the first psychologist to document the importance of private speech
Inner Speech
Language and thought unite internally to prepare for social speech

13. Language Leads to Thinking and Understanding
Language development facilitates cognitive processes such as:
▪ Problem Solving
▪ Imaginary Thinking
▪ Awareness of Self and Others
▪ Planning
▪ Emotional Expression
These are all key functions, therefore, language development is an “accelerator” to thought
processes and understanding.
Exposure and practice of language will strengthen cognitive functions.

14. Vygotzy’s Studies in the Field of Language
Hypothesis: Private speech is a product of an individual’s social environment.
There are positive correlations between high rates of social interaction and private speech.
Children raised in linguistically stimulating environments internalize private speech at a
faster rate. Children raised in environments with low verbal rates and social interaction
typically have delays in all types of language development.Language is a social concept
that is developed by verbal interactions.
Words act as signals that represent objects and ideas. Language acquisition is about
fluency in addition to the growth of thought through verbal expression.

15. Current Implications
30,000 Words Theory
A recent study shows that exposure to verbal communication has an impact on children’s
academic achievement by third grade. By age three, children from less talkative families
accumulate 4 million words while children from more talkative families accumulate more
than 12 million words.
Vgotzky’s Theory of Reciprocal Teaching
Teachers and students begin the learning process through equivalent collaboration.
Interaction involves summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. Students learn
when the teacher models these skills. Teachers gradually encourage the student to work
more independently.
.

16. Current Implications continued
Collaborative Learning in the Classroom
Students work in groups with peers of varying ability in order to gain exposure to
different levels of language and thinking
Application to Second Language Learners
The role of private speech is only developed by exposure and application of language.
Learning a second language through drill and practice does not allow for practice of
social or private speech.

17. The Zone of Proximal Development and
Cooperative Learning
Kim Csapo-Ebert

18. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
Investigation of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development with
the instructional methods of Cooperative learning creates a basis
for explaining five tenets of Cooperative Learning.
1. Positive Interdependence
2. Face-to-Face Interaction
3. Individual Accountability
4. Small-Group and Interpersonal Skills
5. Group Self-Evaluation

19. 1. Positive Interdependence in Cooperative Learning
The recognition that group cooperation helps fulfill the need for
personal attainment of goals, other group members attainment of goals,
and the entire group's attainment of goals.

20. 2. Face-to-Face Interaction
This involves individual group members’ encouraging and guiding other group
members to complete tasks in order to achieve the overall group goals. The actions
include students assisting each other, exchanging resources, and offering feedback.
These actions are in line with Vygotsky's framework involving social interaction with
others.

21. 3. Individual Accountability
The third element of cooperative learning involves holding each other accountable for
mastering material by completing one’s task within the group and supporting the work
of the other members of the group.
Individual accountability encourages all members to divide equally the workload;
therefore, encouraging each member to be responsible for developing within their own
zone of proximal development. The goal is to help people develop beyond simple task
completion.

22. 4. Small Group and Interpersonal Skills
Cooperative learning involves teaching students how to maximize their learning in
small group settings. Student are also taught interpersonal skills in order to enable
them to interact competently with other students.
Vygotsky's goals were to help students use sociocultural signs (words and images) to
mediate and influence their interactions with others. He saw students development of
tools (money and computers) as a part of the “zone of proximal development” which
were necessary for human development.

23. 5. Group Self Evaluation
The purpose of cooperative learning self evaluation is to provide opportunities for group
members to gain higher productivity toward the achievement of the group’s goals. In group
self evaluation the teacher, the students, and the students in the group can monitor how
each are engaged in the learning process.
They can also monitor how the instruction is affecting each student's zone of proximal
development. Those activities below the zone will bore students, and those activities
highest on the zone may go beyond the student’s capacity.

24. The Best Ways to Use Cooperative Learning
Vygotsky's theory of zone of proximal development provides the groundwork for
explaining learning instruction. Below are suggestions from Vygotsky for making the
most of cooperative education.
Use whole and authentic activities; create a need for what is learned; use
teaching activities that favor social interaction; favor opportunities for verbal
interactions; observe and track student progress; use instruction that precedes student
development; use scaffolding during instructional activities -meaning students must
seek assistance in order to complete the task, but not so difficult that the student
becomes discouraged and does not bother asking for help.

25. References
Doolittle, P.E. (1997). Vygotsky's zone of proximal development as a
theoretical foundation for cooperative learning. Journal on
Excellence in College Teaching, 8 (1), Pp. 83-103

26. ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)
FOR THE ONLINE ADULT LEARNER
Paul Gruhn

28. Vygotsky - Hypothesis based Theory
Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning (1974, 1978)
Theory: Cognitive development is strongly linked to input
from other people.
Hypothesis: Tutoring by more able peers will have a
positive effect on the learning at-risk students.
Social Constructivism is born.
Knowledge is internalization of social activity

29. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
What a child could accomplish with an adult helper (MKO) was
more expert than what a child could do alone.
ZPD → is the difference between these proficiencies
MKO → More Knowledgeable Other
Became the basis for the school of “socially situated” learning
→ learning is more of a social process…
→ it becomes less of learning math, and
more about becoming a mathematician.

30. ZPD - Visual Models

31. Vygotsky - Development is not just biological
… biology only accounts for basic elements of human
development,
… the social environment accounts almost entirely for
higher-level cognitive processes: language, memory, and
abstract thinking.
development mechanism NOT development stages
Ages and stages of development are replaced with
the process of learning (at any age), influenced by
the social environment.

32. Vygotsky - Role of the Teacher
▪ A necessary mediator of cognitive development
▪ To present learning which is in advance of current
development
▪ social partner, teacher, more skilled peer
▪ Provides scaffolding, a supportive tool
▪ provides support
▪ functions as a tool
▪ Allows learner to accomplish tasks otherwise impossible
▪ extends the range of a learner

33. Community of Practice

34. Lev Vygotsky’s three major themes
and its application to mathematical problem
solving
Jonathan Lake

35. Lev Vygotsky’s Three Major Themes
Social Interaction
The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

36. Vygotsky- Social Interaction
Vygotsky believed that social interaction is a fundamental process in cognitive
development.
Social Interaction and mathematical problem solving: Vygotsky emphasized the
importance of language as a cultural tool (Vygotsky, 1978). He noted the more complex
the task at hand, the greater the importance speech played in whole. Students
collaborating together on complex math problems promotes mathematical linguistics and
intellectual development.

37. Vygotsky- The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)
The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) refers to the person who has a better
understanding or higher ability than the learner (e.g., teacher, coach, student).
The MKO and solving complex mathematical problems: An important aspect to solving
complex mathematical problems would be to consider the significance of the facilitator, the
teacher, and qualified students that could serve as the MKO. Teachers play an
instrumental role in providing support and guidance to their students, and students peers
play a meaningful role in understanding complex math word problems.

38. Vygotsky- Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
The ZPD examines the distance between the students ability to perform a task under
adult and/or peer collaboration, and the ability to solve a problem independently.
According to Vygotsky, learning occurs in this zone.
The ZPD and solving complex mathematical problems: children learn how to solve
complex math problems by collaborating with one another to address their various
needs. Vygotsky would claim that they learn to solve complex tasks through speech
and writing which serve as a social function to communicate their findings (Vygotsky,
1978).

39. References:
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Retrieved from http://www.cles.mlc.edu.tw/~cerntcu/099-
curriculum/Edu_Psy/EP_03_New.pdf