Vygotsky+-+Pierre

Lily F. Pierre
=Lev Vygotsky=

This work takes a look at the constructivism theory; it will feature the work of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). There are three main categories or philosophical frameworks under which learning theories fall: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

Behaviorism focuses only on the empirically observable aspects of learning. Cognitive theories look outside behavior to explain brain-based learning. Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the principle that, by reflection, on our experiences, we create our own understanding of our world. Each of us creates our own "rules" and "mental models" to accommodate our new experiences.

Vygotsky’s idea : Learning is an energetic, practical process. The constructivism views learning as a progression in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts. The learner is viewed as an information constructor.

The overall concept: The Social Development Theory argues that social interaction precedes development; consciousness and cognition is the end product of socialization and social behavior. People actively construct or create their own subjective representations of unbiased reality. New information is connected to prior knowledge, consequently mental representations are subjective. In aligning with Vygotsky’s learning theory, children must discover their own world and reality, through positive learning experiences. Cognitive learning and development skills may result as the child builds vocabulary and becomes a social learner. As the child learns to master any given task, it also learns how to build strong self-esteem, and will engage in cooperative learning with others. The child feels that she is now ready to take on a new level of understanding and learning. She feels that she is now empowered, and has a sense of accomplishment, which her cognitive abilities have progressed, and she is able to take the next step forward in learning and development. With enriched cultural and social experiences the child becomes more adaptive with her new found educational resources. She now is less of a behavioral threat and problem to the classroom, and other learners, with her newly found self-mastery. According to Vygotsky, he believes that a child’s social repetitions which have led to step by step changes in her development, through her thought and behavior patterns. Behavior can greatly become influenced, when the child has strong tools, which reinforce her cultural experiences, to become adaptive in her learning.

Vygotsky’s theory supports learning contexts in which students play an active role in learning. Roles of the teacher and student are therefore shifted, as a teacher should work in partnership with their students in order to help simplify meaning construction in students. Learning therefore becomes a give-and-take experience for the students and teacher.