Lesson 3 – Forum Discussion 1 updated

Vygotsky's theory to education is in his concept of a zone of proximal development.

This concept is important because teachers can use it as a guide to a child's
development. It allows a teacher to know what a student is able to achieve through
the use of a mediator and thus enables the teacher to help the child attain that level
by themselves. Teachers need to provide children, especially young children, many
opportunities to play. Through play and imagination, a child's conceptual abilities are
stretched. While imitating their elders in culturally patterned activities, children
generate opportunities for intellectual development.
The teacher must plan activities that encompass not only what children are capable
of doing on their own but what they can learn with the help of others. For example,
as a science teacher I’ll provide my students the detailed guide lines before they
carry out experiments. My guide lines will help the students to carry out the
experiments successfully.
Vygotsky stated that children should be taught in the zone of proximal
development, which occurs when they can almost perform a task, but not quite on
their own without assistance. With the right kind of teaching, however, they can
accomplish it successfully. A good teacher identifies a child’s zone of proximal
development and helps the child stretch beyond it. Then the teacher gradually
withdraws support until the child can then perform the task unaided.

Instruction can be planned to provide practice in the zone of proximal development

for individual children or for groups of children. For example, hints and prompts that
helps children during the assessment could form the basis of instructional activities.
Furthermore, cooperative learning activities can be planned with groups of children
at different levels where less competent children develop with help from more skilful
children.

Vygotsky had a ground breaking theory that language was the basis of learning. His
points included the argument that language supports other activities such as reading
and writing. In addition, he claimed that logic, reasoning, and reflective thinking were
all possible as a result of language. This led to the development of instructional
strategies to support growth in literacy as well as a reassessment of the classroom
setup. Teachers were to encourage leadership in the classroom, collaborative
learning, and thoughtful discussions. With the exception of independent tasks, which
were also included, the goal was to create purposeful, meaningful exchanges
between students. The role of the teacher was to facilitate learning by directing the
dialogue and confirming contributions in an effort to further motivate the students .
Social interactions with adults and more learned peers can facilitate a child’s
potential for learning. Without this interpersonal instruction, children’s minds would
not advance very far as their knowledge would be based only on their own
discoveries.