Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist born in 1886 who developed the Social Development Theory. His theory addressed cognitive development and the role of social interaction and culture in children's development. He believed that social interaction and relationships with supportive adults are essential for children to develop higher thinking skills. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development describes how adults should interact with children to extend their learning by providing scaffolding support that is gradually reduced as skills develop. His theory emphasizes that social interaction and culture play a central role in children's cognitive development.

1. Lev Vygotsky
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2. 1. You need to provide very brief information on the
background of the theorist
• He was born on November 17th 1886 and died on June 11th 1934
• He was born in Orsha, a city in the western region of Russia.
• He attended Moscow State University, where he graduated with a degree in law
in 1917.
• He studied a range of topics white attending university, including sociology,
linguistics, psychology and philosophy.
• Back in Gomel, Vygotsky taught logic and psychology at a local college
• In 1924, he joined the Moscow Institute of Experimental Psychology.
• He was a teacher and researcher for nine years.
• Vygotsky was a psychologist who made significant advancements in the field of
child development. Vygotsky’s short career focused on child development,
developmental psychology, and educational philosophy.

3. 2. What area of development their ideas address
E.G gender differences/social needs/emotional
needs?
• The work of Vygotsky was focused on theory in cognitive development, which is
the study of how children use their brains.
• His work particularly has become known as the Social Development Theory.
Vygotsky’s main theories address social interaction in the development of
cognition.
• He believed that “the community plays a central role in the process of making
meaning”. Simplypsychology.org 2007

4. 3. A brief description of their theory (idea)
• Lev Vygotsky research showed that children’s social needs related to
their cognitive development. Relationships with adults have to be
positive and supportive in order to encourage children to be problem
solvers and thinkers and to develop their language.
• This interaction with adults is described in his devised zone of proximal
development .
• The zone of proximal indicates the point where an adult needs to
interact with a child when they see the potential for them to extend
their learning (Taylor, 2012)

5. 4. How does this theory effect the development of
children?
• According to Vygotsky, until children learn to use mental tools, such as using their
brains and intellect, their learning is largely controlled by the environment; they
only notice the things that are brightest or loudest, and they can remember
something only if has been repeated many times.
• After children master mental intellect, they become in charge of their own
learning, by attending and remembering in an intentional and purposeful way. In
the same way that using certain mental tools can transform children’s cognitive
behaviors, using other mental tools can transform their physical, social, and
emotional behaviors.
• Once children learn how to use their brain to view and make sense of the world
around them, they can transform their external behaviour and minds, which leads
to the emergence of higher functions. Children can then become “master of their
own behaviour”

6. 5.Positive aspects of the theory
• One of Vygotsky’s colleagues, psychologist Kurt Lewin, was known to have
said, “There is nothing more practical than a good theory” about Vygotsky’s
theory. Because it is based on an inclusive theory of learning and
development.
• Tools of the mind, 2014 Another important feature of this theory is the key
term scaffolding. When an adult provides support for a child, they will
adjust the amount of help they give depending on their progress. For
example, a child learning to walk might at first have both their hands held
and pulled upwards.
• As they learn to support their own weight, the mother might hold both
their hands loosely, then one hand, and eventually the child will learn to
walk independently.

7. Bibliography
• 1- http://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/lev-vygotsky.html#
GoodTherapy.org, 2007-2014
• 2- http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html Saul McLeod published
2007 updated 2014
• 3- http://www.toolsofthemind.org/philosophy/vygotskian-approach/ 2014
• 4- Children and Young People’s Workforce, Baker B, Beith K, Byers E, Daly M,
Forbes S, Griffin S, Marshall H, Essex, 2012.
• 5- http://www.toolsofthemind.org/philosophy/vygotskian-approach/
2014 and http://psychohawks.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/theories-of-cognitive-
development-lev-vygotsky/ November 2010