Task 2: Written Assignment
The Vygotskian theory of sociocultural development influence on the maturation of children and adolescence alike, is one to be acknowledged for its continued relativity to modern contexts. Research would suggest that Vygotsky’s concepts of assisted learning otherwise understood as scaffolding, in collaboration with a child’s zone of proximal development is what supports a child to reach their full potential within a learning environment.
Vygotsky theorised that cultural tools both tangible and intangible were vital to a child’s development. He believed that in order to achieve the best learning experience a child must be taught to use different tangible tools such as calculators, formulas and computers by a more knowledgeable peer or adult, in turn developing the mental tools that allow them to think for themselves. These are inclusive of traits such as private speech that children and adolescence use to guide their actions (Duchesne, McMaugh 2016, pg. 105).
Karpov’s study comparing a child’s employment of cultural tools to that of apes explains that children learn to use tangible objects as maintained by their social meaning. For example the way in which a child controls a spoon is developed by following the “logic” of it. However to grasp the “logic” of the spoon it is often that an adult must demonstrate it’s mechanics so the child may imitate their actions. Unlike animals, humans use an advanced system of mental processes that lead to the final effective use of the spoon and other cultural tools. From the initial first attempt, to learning by way of observing and copying, to the final private speech of the child internally or externally guiding themselves through the process. The key difference between humans and animals as Karpov suggests is that animals do not have the cognitive ability to imit...
