Vygotsky's Theory. By: Omentus Alan N'debe Korlison Posted: Dec 21, 2010

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1 Vygotsky's Theory By: Omentus Alan N'debe Korlison Posted: Dec 21, 2010 Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was born in Western Russia (Belorussia) on November 5th He graduated with law degree at Moscow University, taught at various institutions, published his major project in 1925 called Psychology of Art, worked as a psychologist with Alexander Luria and Alexei Leontiev and died in 1934 of tuberculosis (Gallagher, 1999). Vygotsky's family was one of the most educated in the town. Lev's father, Semion L'vovich, graduated from the Commercial Institute and worked as a manager at the Gomel bank. Lev's mother Cecilia was the heart and soul of the family, who was also an educated woman that was fluent in several languages but had to stay home and take care of Lev and his seven brothers and sisters The Vygotsky's family was very tightly knit being united by common interest in history, literature, theater, and art. The family had a tradition to get together after the evening tea and talked amongst them about whatever came to their mind, or read aloud either classical novels or newly released ones The family lifestyle was very modest, in that, Lev and his brothers and sisters had only one set of clothes each that was made by their mother, but there was always money to purchase books. They were often taken to play productions, and talented actors also visited them. Lev and his brothers and sisters were exposed to performing acts and literature. Lev grew up as a sociable boy, because his peers were drawn to him that shared his interest in stamp collecting, chess, and reading adventure novels. He learned the Esperanto language on his own during a summer, when he was swimming or taking his sisters and friends in a boat He studied independently and received his elementary education at home, but only having a tutor for advice and consultation. He was predicted to be a brilliant Mathematician, or a Philologist, because he did extremely well in all of his subjects. He marked his learning with seriousness and maturity and he preferred literature and philosophy as his subject. He was never a condescending person because of his advance abilities and level of knowledge, but he carried himself in a conservative manner and was always ready to help out anyone who needed it According to Vygodskaya, his willingness to help out everyone stayed with him all his life, even ignoring fatigue. Lev graduated in 1913 from gymnasium (a secondary school in pre-revolutionary Russia that prepared students for the University), with a gold medal. Upon his graduation, his parents suggested that he enrolled in medical school, because philology graduates became teacher in most cases and it was a position that was not available to Jews in pre-revolutionary Russia. He listened to his parents' suggestion and enrolled in the Medical School of Moscow University, but only stayed there for a month, because medicine was too distant from his true interest. He later enrolled in Law School of the same university, but in 1914 without interrupting his education at the Law School enroll in the historical-philisophical division of the Shanavsky's University. The government however did not accept the degrees awarded, and graduates received no official recognition, but the instructional level was very high and students received a solid education why attending Page 1 of 5

2 the University. All during his studies in Moscow, it was because of his sister Zinaida that he stayed there. They shared common interest and attended lectures together as well as theater. Lev watched actor Kachalov in his role of Hamlet was the turning point in his life, because he was so mesmerized that several years later he dedicated a thesis and a public lecture which he entitled: "Kachalov Hamlet" He was expected to present a thesis towards the end of his studies at the Shanavsky's University. He chose Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet". He wrote the first part in the summer of 1915 and the second part in the winter of 1916 in Moscow. Prior to writing his thesis on the tragedy, Lev undertook an in-depth study of the tragedy and its translation, and while analyzing it, he gained knowledge of the philosophy of literature. This was his first scientific research paper. This work was published fifty-two years after it was written It survived several editions, translated into numerous languages, and received high marks from the leading specialist in the field. Lev ended his education at both universities towards the end of It was difficult to find a permanent job, because German forces occupied the city. Lev also had two sick relatives on his hand upon completing college, his mother recovering from a bout with tuberculosis, and his younger brother who also contracted the disease. His younger brother died just before his fourteenth birthday, his second brother died of typhoid fever and his mother, stricken by grief, fell ill again Lev Vygotsky started to actually teach literature, aesthetics, philosophy, and Russian language in January of 1919 when Russian rule was reestablished in Gomel. He was made the Head of Art and Aesthetic Education of the town Department of Education in Gomel. His attraction was towards everything that contributed to the development of culture and education. He had two passions to which he stayed faithful all his life: literature and theater. He often presented literature critiques and reviews of a particular piece of literature or a creative work of a particular author. He ran a weekly group of readers where novels and poems (both classic and contemporary) were read, discussed and analyzed. He was deeply involved in all aspect of this activity from choosing the repertoire and looking after the production to visiting other towns recruiting acting troupers He organized a psychological laboratory where he conducted scientific experiments. He was selected best teacher of the Gomel Providence. He prepared and completed his first psychological investigation and presented it at the Second All-Union Psychoneurological Congress. In January of 1924, Lev was invited to the 2nd All-Union Congress on Psychoneurlogy held in St.Petersburg were he presented a paper on "Methods of Relexological and Psychological Investigation". This was the first time the psychological world saw and heard him. His presentation was done without a note of any kind in his hands. Immediately after his presentation, he was invited to join the staff of the Moscow Institute of Experimental Psychology He lived in the basement of the building that hosted the institute. Research was the primary content of his life at the age of twenty-seven. His accomplishments are many, but the most important ones are: He became one of the leading Soviet psychologists. He worked in the center for physically handicapped and mentally retarded children at the Department of People Education. He presented a comprehensive report at the conference on education of deaf and mutes in London in He also familiarized himself with the works of psychological laboratories and special schools by visiting England, France, Holland and Germany Lev Vygotsky fell ill upon his return with tuberculosis in the fall of It was also during this year that he Page 2 of 5

3 dedicated to defend his dissertation entitled "Psychology of Art", but his illness got worse and he was excused from the public and allowed to teach at institutes of higher education. He was literally between life and death. When he knew that he had a shorter time on earth, he worked feverishly at his methodological essay entitled "Historical Meaning of Crisis in Psychology". This work was published fifty-five years after he wrote it In 1926, after he regained his health, he published his first major work, a book titled "Pedagogical Psychology", at the same time he was working on other books entitled "Thought and Speech", "History of the Development of Higher Psychological Functions", and "Problems of Mental Retardation". He also edited numerous books and manuscript of Russian and foreign scientists. He wrote many introductions, prologues, and critical comments. Vygotsky enrolled in medical school and completed three years of medical training when he realized and deliberated the problems of psychology of normal and abnormal child. In 1926, Vygotsky founded a laboratory, where he studied the psychology of abnormal children and upgraded it to an Experimental Institute of Defectology. As the head of research, he had consultations with children that were referred to the institute for evaluations. During which time coworkers, teachers, doctors, psychologist and students from all over Moscow would come to see how he gave detailed analysis of each case, pointing out the difficulties or deviations in the development of the child, planning pedagogical efforts to help the children, describing practical recommendations to the parents and teachers Lev S Vygotsky worked feverishly and left behind two hundred and seventy pieces of scientific work in his thirty-seven years on earth. Lev believed that human development was primary drive by social interaction, culture, and language. He also believed that individuals, at an early age, learned to use tools developed by their culture to interact and communicate. Tools or signs, such as speech could be used at an early age to express needs or wants. Once children learned to use the tools of their cultures to communicate, their minds could expand and language could become internalized. Vygotsky believed that this internalized speech could influence thought and help individuals solve problems. He referred to this internalized speech as interpshycological. He also believed that thought and language were connected and that children developed cognitively when they understand their cultural tools and could master their internal thought processes (Unknown, as cited in Vygotsky, 1987). Vygotsky also believed that cognitive development was influenced through social interaction. He also felt that scaffolding, which is the process in which individuals develop social or cognitive understanding through the support of a confident peers or adult, could be used to support and individual's development. He developed the idea of zone of proximal development, which is considered a point just above the student's current developmental level that can be influenced through the support of an adult (Unknown, as cited in Vygotsky, 1987). Thought and language for both Vygotsky and Piaget play important roles in their development of cognition theory. The major difference between the two theorists is that, Piaget believed that the child is the most important source of development (cognition), whereas Vygotsky believed that social and cultural environment is the primary force in the development of a child's cognitive development (Salkind, 2004). Vygotsky believed that the child is part of the world and the dialectical process of the child is when his ideas originate and develop, but in contrast, Piaget believed that the child s idea is extended from him to the world. Vygotsky also believed that development is a process that is the result of the child's social, cultural, and historical environment, while Piaget believed that development results from a natural process. Vygotsky looked at the unending and orderly patterns of factors, while Piaget looks at his four stages in a child's development (Salkind, 2004). Page 3 of 5

4 Although there is a fine distinction between Vygotsky and Piaget theory about cognition, but they complement each other. Students of development need to be well knowledgeable of both views. Vygotsky views the world of the child and the child's development from the perspective of the culture in which the child develops and Piaget views the child's world and its development from the perspective of the child (Salkind, 2004). One major component of Vygotsky's theory is the zone of proximal development, which he described as the distance between the actual developmental 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 peer (Thomas, 2001). According to Vygotsky, 1978 as cited in Thomas, 2001, the zone of proximal development defines those functions that have not yet matured but are in the process of maturing, functions that will mature tomorrow but are currently in an embryonic state. These functions could be termed the "buds" or "flowers" of development rather than the "fruits" of development. Lev S Vygotsky believed that every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, between people, which he refer to as interpsychological and then inside the child which he refer to as intrapsychological (Unknown, n.d.). Development, in Vygotsky's theory applies mainly to mental development, such as thought, language and reasoning process. These abilities were understood to develop through social interactions with others, especially parents and therefore represented the share knowledge of the culture (Unknown, n.d.). He was very much interested in knowledge rather than intellectual development, because he wanted to know the interrelationship between thought and language by questioning humans as to how they advance so far in diverse directions during their short lifespan. Cognitive skills and patterns of thinking are not primarily determined by innate factors, but are the products of the activities practiced in the social institutions of the culture in which the individual grows up. Consequently, the history of the society in which a child is reared and the child's personal history is crucial to determining the way in which that individual will think (Goldfarb, 2000). References Gallagher, C. (1999, May). Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky. Retrieved November 8, 2006, from Goldfarb, M. E. (2000.). The Educational Theory of Lev S Vygotsky ( ). Retrieved November 8, 2006, from Miller, P. H. (1993). Theories of Development Psychology (3rd ed.,). New York: Freeman. Salkind, N. J. (2004). An Introduction to Theories of Human Development. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Ltd. Thomas, R. M. (2001). Recent Theories of Human Development. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc. Page 4 of 5

5 Unknown. (n.d.). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved November 8, 2006, from Unknown. Candidate demonstrates a clear depth of understanding of major concepts, principles, theories and research related to development of children and young adolescent. Vygodskaya, G. L. (n.d.). His Life. Retrieved November 20, 2006, from About the Author Omentus Alan N'debe Korlison hails from Liberia, West Africa, and is a candidate for the Doctoral Degree in Psychology (Organizational Leadership) at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and a graduate of the Wilmington University of Delaware with two Masters degree, one in Community Counseling and the other in the Administration of Justice (Criminal Justice). Printed From Back to the original article Page 5 of 5