Learning Theories
Learning Theories 1
Running head: LEARNING THEORIES AND THE CURRICULUM
Learning Theories and the Curriculum
Learning Theories 2
Lev Vygotsky, born in the U.S.S.R. in 1896, is responsible for the social development theory of learning. He proposed that social interaction profoundly influences cognitive development. Vygotsky’s key point is his belief that biological and cultural development do not occur in isolation. Vygotsky approached development differently from Piaget. Piaget believed that cognitive development consists of four main periods of cognitive growth: sensory motor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations. Piaget’s theory suggests that development has an endpoint in goal. Vygotsky, in contrast, believed that development is a process that should be analyzed, instead of a product to be obtained. Marcy P. Driscoll stated (as cited in Riddle, 1999) that “Vygotsky believes the development process that begins at birth and continues until death is too complex to be defined by stages”. The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygoysky states: “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological) (Funderstanding, 2001). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. A second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a certain time span that he calls the “zone of proximal development” (ZPD). Vygotsky believed that this life long process of development was dependent on social interaction and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development (Kearsley, 1998). Vygotsky
Running head: LEARNING THEORIES AND THE CURRICULUM
Learning Theories and the Curriculum
Learning Theories 2
Lev Vygotsky, born in the U.S.S.R. in 1896, is responsible for the social development theory of learning. He proposed that social interaction profoundly influences cognitive development. Vygotsky’s key point is his belief that biological and cultural development do not occur in isolation. Vygotsky approached development differently from Piaget. Piaget believed that cognitive development consists of four main periods of cognitive growth: sensory motor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations. Piaget’s theory suggests that development has an endpoint in goal. Vygotsky, in contrast, believed that development is a process that should be analyzed, instead of a product to be obtained. Marcy P. Driscoll stated (as cited in Riddle, 1999) that “Vygotsky believes the development process that begins at birth and continues until death is too complex to be defined by stages”. The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygoysky states: “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological) (Funderstanding, 2001). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. A second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a certain time span that he calls the “zone of proximal development” (ZPD). Vygotsky believed that this life long process of development was dependent on social interaction and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development (Kearsley, 1998). Vygotsky
References: Bacalarski, M.C., (1994). Vygotsky’s Developmental Theories and the Adulthood of Computer Mediated Communication: a Comparison and an Illumination. Retrieved November 7, 2003 from http://psych.hanover.edu/vygotsky/bacalar.html. Funderstanding, (2001). Vygotsky and Social Cognition. Retrieved November 7, 2003 from http://www.funderstanding.com/vygotsky.cfm. Kearsley, G., (1998). Social Development (Vygotsky). Retrieved November 9, 2003 from http://members.aol.com/daidpeal/vygotsky.html. Riddle, E. M., (1999). Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory. Retrieved November 7, 2003 from www.kihd.gmu.edu/immersion/knowledgebase/theorists/constructivism/vygotsky.