Essay on The Use of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory in...

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, a Constructive Learning theorist, was born and raised in a small Russian village called Orscha. He grew up in a well educated family, where his father was a banker. Throughout his early childhood, Vygotsky was tutored at home by a paid teacher. It wasn’t until he was a junior in high school when Vygotsky had his first experience with public schools. Vygotsky was always an exceptional student who enjoyed spending his free time writing. By the time Vygotsky turned 18, he wrote and published his first essay entitled â€Å"Hamlet†. Although he had a love for philosophy, history, and literature, in 1913 Vygotsky enrolled at the University of Moscow as a medical student. It didn’t take long for him to realize the†¦show more content†¦His thinking was influenced by Piaget, and Vygotsky actively tried to initiate a dialogue with Piaget about certain points of disagreements† (Broderick Blewitt, 2009, p.101). Vygotsky believe d a child’s cognitive development was gained through the interaction of one’s culture, as well as language, which is what prompted his theoretical perception development known as Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory. â€Å"Vygotsky’s promising life was cut short in 1934, when he succumbed to an attack of tuberculosis. In Vygotsky, we have another example of a truly great mind whose ideas have inspired the work of many students of cognitive development† (Broderick Blewitt, 2009, p.101). Sociocultural Theory Unlike Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, which stresses that cognitive development was expected to mature through self initiated discovery, Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory places greater emphasis on the influence a child’s culture, social factor, and language. Meaning, Vygotsky believed a child learns more from personal interaction with in his/her culture, rather than through individual experiences of chance and random. Social interaction with one’s culture plays a tremendous role in the cognitive development of an individual. Culturally specific tools and language, taught and passes from generation to generation, are perceived practice for one’s survival in socialShow MoreRelatedThe Sociocultural Theory Essay1710 Words   |  7 Pages The sociocultural theory was developed by a theorist named Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky was born in 1896 and was from the former Soviet Union. He was a psychologist who had an abundance of ideas and put them into many theories and writings. Although Vygotsky died from tuberculosis at the young age of thirty-eight, his most prominent work was done in a short period of ten years. 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These two stages describe children to the age 7 or 8 yearsRead MoreSociocultural Theory And Social Rules1726 Words   |  7 Pages When looking at sociocultural factors one is faced with a variety of models that attempt to provide a social explanation of how language is acquired. This includes an examination of such influences as the social characteristics of the setting and the learner and the social rules for second language use. While typically associated with these models, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which is based in his study of psychology, does not attempt to use culture to explain how language is acquired. InsteadRead MoreA Comparative Analysis Of Theories Of Vygotsky And Piaget1446 Words   |  6 PagesThis paper is a comparative analysis of the theories of Vygotsky and Piaget with emphasis on how the role of cultural context in child development is present in each of the theories. 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