Essay about Sociocultural Learning Affects the Development of Children

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Sociocultural Learning Affects the Development of Children

ECE 101
Professor Kara Bullock
Chakera Simon
October 12, 2010
Sociocultural Learning Affects the Development of Children
Lev Vygotsky believed that children learn from their own experience. As a teacher I have grown to learn that Vygotsky’s findings are true in so many ways. Just from watching the children in my classroom I see that the Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding play a huge part in the development of a child.
Lev Vygotsky has had increasing influence on the practices of early childhood professionals. (Morrison, 2009). The work of the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky provided the grounds for the use of sociocultural learning theory. Vygotsky
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Therefore, the ZPD is crucial for identifying each child's readiness to benefit from instruction. Vygotsky is also known for being a constructivist. Constructivists believe that humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas. The constructivist point-of-view supposes that children construct their own knowledge through their own experiences, with much of the learning being created inside the child. (Eliason & Jenkins, 1999). It focuses on the learner and the teacher provide the core activities. Scaffolding instruction originates from Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and his concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky defined scaffolding instruction as the role of teachers and others in supporting the learner’s development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level. Scaffolds are temporary. As the learner’s capabilities develop the scaffolding provided by the more educated other is gradually stopped. Finally the learner is able to complete the task or master the concepts by themselves. Therefore the objective of the educator, when using the scaffolding approach, is for the student to become independent and a self-controlled learner and problem solver. As the learner’s knowledge and learning ability increases, the educator gradually reduces the supports provided. According to Vygotsky the outside scaffolds provided by the educator can be removed