Question

1. Vygotsky and contemporary Vygotskian theorists have proposed that children’s and adolescents’ cognitive development is promoted when they work within their zone of proximal development and that scaffolding enables them to do this successfully. a. Explain the two concepts in italics, and give a concrete example of each one. b. Choose a topic or skill you might teach someone else, and explain how you would: (1) scaffold the learner’s efforts, and (2) modify the scaffolding over time. C. Use concepts from Vygotsky’s perspective of cognitive development to describe how you learned about Vygotsky’s theory in this class. Your response should include references to at least three of the following concepts: zone of proximal development, self-talk, inner speech, internalization, and scaffolding.

Answer 1

Zone of Proximal Development refers to what children can do on their own and what they could do when others are present. This would mean that children who cannot do a task on their own would be able to learn by observing how others do it. Children doing a classroom activity would observe others and start doing it on their own. Scaffolding on the other hand refers to elders, especially teachers supporting a learning until the child learns and does it on its own. When a teacher teaches a concept to children, the teacher would keep reminding them, drill them and support their learning until they had internalized it.

When one teaches bicycle to another, one would hold the cycle until the person gains the confidence and courage to ride on the person’s own. When one realizes that the person has started riding the cycle without the support of one, the person would have internalized that skill and doesn’t need the support anymore.

Children normally engage in self-talk while playing on their own which would mean that children would teach themselves by talking with them. Children would always look for support and motivation from elders through the act of scaffolding and once they know that they are supported they would be happy to learn it without thinking that they are lost.

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