Introduction
In Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, children gain their cultural identities, perceptions, and problem-solving techniques through cooperative conversations with more experienced members of society (Crafter & Maunder, 2012). The zone of proximal development, private communication, and culture-specific tools are only a few of the ideas found in Vygotsky’s theory. Since Vygotsky firmly felt that community plays a major role in the process of “creating meaning,” his theories emphasize the crucial significance of social interactions in the development of cognition. According to Diachenko (2011) and Vygotsky (2016), during the early stages of development, a kid is wholly reliant on the assistance of other people or objects during playing time. The child’s sociocultural environment continually challenges and engages them with a wide range of activities and responsibilities. This interaction ultimately contributes to their educational development. This paper will expound on how Vygotsky’s theory applies to modern education.
Discussion
The practice of reciprocal teaching is an example of an application that reflects Vygotsky’s theory. It includes engaging conversations between the instructor and a select number of students in a more collaborative setting (Mahmoodi, 2019). At first, the instructor will demonstrate how to do each activity. After then, the teacher and the students switch places and take turns being in charge. If students are taught to pose questions while working on reading comprehension, the instructor will be able to assess the student’s level of comprehension using a question-asking method that may be incorporated into the instructional sequence. The Vygotskian theory of education is based on the concept of the zone of proximal development, which emphasizes the importance of social contact. Reciprocal teaching is based on the idea that students gradually improve their skills.
The cognitive development theory proposed by Vygotsky is related to instructional ideas such as an apprenticeship. This is a case in which an instructor or more experienced peer assists a beginner in structuring or arranging a task for the novice to work on it effectively. A teacher’s job is to figure out where each student is in their learning process at the moment and allow them to grow beyond their zone of proximal development (ZPD). The utilization of scaffolding is an essential component of this process (Puntambekar, 2022). Scaffolding refers to how the instructor provides students with methodologies and experiences that encourage them to broaden their extant schemata and integrate new abilities, competencies, and understandings. Children tend to start learning from their elders at a very tender age.
Vygotsky’s theory brings out the idea of peer collaboration which is an area that is encouraged in modern education. It is a representation of the idea of collective activity (Crafter & Maunder, 2012). When individuals from the same group work together to complete tasks, there is an educational purpose served by the social interactions that are shared. The fact that this strategy is mostly utilized in the studying of subjects like mathematics, physics, and language arts attests to the widely acknowledged influence that the social environment has on the educational process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Vygotsky suggests that adults play an active role in the development of children. The young learn from experiences gained in observing their elders, as well as the challenges they face during play. When applied to the field of education, it denotes the notion that both the instructor and the student are seen to be active agents in the learning process of children. The teacher needs to intervene in the learning of the students; yet, it is the quality of the relationship between the instructor and the learner that is regarded as being crucial in that learning.
References
Crafter, S., & Maunder, R. (2012). Understanding transitions using a sociocultural framework. Educational and Child Psychology, 29(1), 10-18.
Diachenko, O. M. (2011). On major developments in preschoolers’ imagination. International Journal of Early Years Education, 19(1), 19-25.
Mahmoodi-Shahrebabaki, M. (2019). Vygotsky, education, and literacy.
Puntambekar, S. (2022). Distributed scaffolding: Scaffolding students in classroom environments. Educational Psychology Review, 34(1), 451-472.
Vygotsky, L. S. (2016). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. International Research in Early Childhood Education, 7(2), 3-25.