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Works to explain how individual mental functioning is related to cultural, institutional, and historical context; the roles that participation in social interactions and culturally organized activities play influencing psychological development.

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Lev S. Vygotsky, Russian psychologist, argued:

the social dimension of consciousness is primary

the individual dimension of consciousness is secondary

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1. Individual development has origins in social sources.

2. Both individual and social human action is mediated by semiotics (tools and signs that facilitate co-construction of knowledge).

3. The two above themes are best examined through genetic/developmental analysis.

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Vygotsky focused on unity and interdependence of learning and development.

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Vygotsky focused on unity and interdependence of learning and development.

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Cognitive development indicator

Actual developmental level: independent skills a child can demonstrate

Potential developmental level: what a child can do with assistance

ZPD is the difference between these two levels

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Differs from Vygotsky's ZPD because:

It focuses more on the interrelatedness of children interactions with caregivers ("guided")

Distal and non-verbal communication can still be "guides" -> broadened beyond language-based interactions

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Kant: proposed the mind provides the categories of knowing and experience yields the content

Piaget: children acquire knowledge about relations through experiences manipulating the world

BOTH constructivism and sociocultural theory are concerned with activities children engage in to learn

Constructivist: individual

Sociocultural: learning as enculturation

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Dynamic assessment in context: looking at the different ways individuals who earned the same score achieved that score

Instructional informed by sociocultural theory has an additional focus on the discourse, norms, and practices associated with communities

Consistent with inquiry based approaches with teacher mediating students

Sociocultural theory could be used to examine and improve disparities based on student socioeconomic status in current educational system

Used in consideration of online learning and its challenges

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Explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world; intelligence is not a fixed trait and cognitive development is a process of biological maturation and interaction with environment.

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concerned ONLY with children

focused on development rather than learning

proposes STAGES of development rather than gradual increase in cognitive complexity

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To explain the mechanisms and processes by which we develop into individuals that can reason and think.

Children construct understandings of the world then experiences discrepancies between what they know and what they experience.

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1. Schemas: building blocks of knowledge that enable us to form a mental representation of the world; a way of organizing knowledge

2. Adaptation: enables transitions from stages

Assimilation: using existing schema to deal with a new object/situation

Accommodation: existing schema (knowledge) does not work and needs to be changed to deal with the new

Equilibration: when a child's schemas can deal with new information through assimilation; moves development along; not necessarily steady and constant

3. Stages of cognitive development:

sensorimotor (age 0-2)

object permanence- requires ability to form a mental representation of an object

preoperational (age 2-7)

thinking symbolically

thinking is still egocentric

concrete operational (age 7-11)

major turning point in cognitive development

beginning of logical/operational thought (can work things out in their head)

formal operational (age 11+)

able to think abstractly and test hypotheses

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Learning through discovery/exploration

Flexibility in curriculum

Centrality of play in children's learning

Use of environment

Importance of evaluation of progress not just assumption of understanding

Role of teacher is to FACILITATE learning

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Scaffolding in relation to ZPD: assistance