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by Jaime Budzienski

You're the mama of a toddler -- between the tantrums, night wakings, and overall mayhem, you don't exactly have the time to brush up on developmental theory. But you might be surprised to realize that the ideas of child development heavyweight Lev Vygotsky -- best known for his Social Development Theory -- can be applied to simple, every day toddler activities. The main ideas in Vygotsky's theory continue to inform us. Try these activities inspired by Vygotsky's theories with your toddler.

The Zone of Proximal Development

This principle of Vygotsky's work, the Zone of Proximal Development, is a concept that refers to the area where a child needs guidance and encouragement in order to achieve a skill, according to SimplyPsychology.org. Any activity that's a bit difficult for your toddler -- putting a diaper on a doll, solving a puzzle, or drawing a letter -- provides an opportunity to work within her ZPD, says Wisconsin's Early Childhood Excellence Initiative. Try not to be an overbearing Mamazilla and do things for her, but provide just enough help in order for her to accomplish something difficult and feel like a million bucks.

The More Knowlegdable Other

The More Knowledgeable Other is Vygotsky's idea that a key way kiddos learn is from another person with more knowledge and experience, notes SimplyPsychology.org. A key way toddlers tap into the MKOs in their lives is through group activities. KidsHealth.org recommends playing the Hokey-Pokey with a group of toddlers, during which they can learn from the instructor and peers where their body parts are. Playing with a parachute lets little ones take cues from others about direction. And hey, if your tot still doesn't know her left from her right, don't worry -- surely, she will bump into many other MKOs in the years to come!

Private Speech

According to Vygotsky, a key way toddlers learn is to engage in what he called "private speech"; essentially, they chat their way through planning and doing activities, and as a result, boost their powers of thinking and understanding, says SimplyPsychology.org. As cited in an article on ScienceDaily.com, Adam Winsler, a professor of psychology at George Mason University, notes that using private speech improves children's communication skills with others. Demonstrate self-talk for your tot. Talk to yourself about how you're getting your keys so you can go to the store and buy milk, how you're turning on the windshield wipers because it's starting rain. Try to ignore the strange looks you get as you blabber away to yourself. Vygotsky would be proud.

Social Interaction

Vygotsky believed that social learning was key to cognitive development. In real life, this translates to kiddos playing an active role in learning, also known as reciprocal teaching. Summarizing, question-generating, clarifying, and predicting are the main principles of reciprocal teaching, according to Education.com. You can pave the way for this type of thinking during every-day activities. After you go to the park, summarize what you did there together; before bed, ask your toddler questions about his day. Make predictions together about what's going to happen tomorrow. These conversations might make your head spin as they jump from The Wiggles to purple cats to the potty, but believe it or not, they're helping your toddler's brain form important, lasting connections.

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Activities to Teach Toddlers With Vygotsky's Theory

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You're the mama of a toddler -- between the tantrums, night wakings, and overall mayhem, you don't exactly have the time to brush up on developmental theory. But you might be surprised to realize that the ideas of child development heavyweight Lev Vygotsky -- best known for his Social Development Theory -- can be applied to simple, every day toddler activities.

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"What a child can do today with assistance , she can do by herself tomorrow" - Lev Vygotsky

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An Introduction to Using Vygotsky Scaffolding in the Classroom - Udemy Blog

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If you’re new to the field of teaching, it’s important to know the ways in which students learn and the ways in which their brains develop. Effective teaching involves a careful knowledge of the specific students you teach and where they are on their learning journey. Depending on what subject you teach, you should have […]

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The second important aspect of Vygotsky's theory is the role of play in his theory. According to this perspective teachers need to provide children,especially young children, many opportunities to play. Through play, and imagination a child's conceptual abilities are stretched

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The most important application of Vygotsky's theory to education is in his concept of a zone of proximal development. This concept is important because teachers can use it as a guide to a child's development. It allows a teacher to know what a student is able to achieve through the use of a mediator and thus enables the teacher to help the child attain that level by themselves.

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Why is 'dialogic process' of teaching and learning important?

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Why is 'dialogic process' of teaching and learning important?

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It is important to use dialogue in classrooms to learn from others and hear other people's arguments.

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How might educational functions of classroom talk be developed?

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How might educational functions of classroom talk be developed?

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Classroom talk could have educational functions if group-activity is allowed and well structured by a teacher so they stay on topic

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Is there a variation in the implementation of these methods between institutions and/or between subjects? Why do you think this might be? 

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Is there a variation in the implementation of these methods between institutions and/or between subjects? Why do you think this might be? 

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School is more group work based
Uni and some colleges are more lecture base - not very much interaction between students and teachers

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What are the key concepts/themes of Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory of cognitive development?

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What are the key concepts/themes of Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory of cognitive development?

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The key concepts/themes are socially interaction, children learn from others.
Zone of proximal development
Guided participation
Social scaffolding
Language and thought are integrally related.

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Examples of the theory being applied in our experience

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Examples of the theory being applied in our experience

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Grouped tables

Workshop

One-to-ones