270
See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■ Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ Jean Piaget 262–69F
or Russian psychologist Lev
Vygotsky, the skills needed
to reason, understand, and
remember all stem from a child’s
experiences with parents, teachers,
and peers. Vygotsky saw human
development as taking place on
three levels—cultural, interpersonal,
and individual. He focused on the
cultural and interpersonal levels,
believing that our most formative
experiences are social; “we become
ourselves through others.”Vygotsky believed that children
absorb the accumulated wisdom,
values, and technical knowledge of
previous generations through
interactions with their caregivers,
and use these “tools” to learn how
to conduct themselves effectively in
the world. But it is only through
social interaction that children can
experience and internalize these
cultural tools. Even our ability to
think and reason on an individual
level stems from social activities in
the course of our development that
foster our innate cognitive abilities.
Vygotsky’s theories influenced
approaches to both learning and
teaching. He believed that teachers
should play an instructive role,
constantly guiding and nurturing
their pupils in order to improve their
attention span, concentration, and
learning skills, and so build up their
competence. This idea had a
marked effect on education,
particularly in the late 20th century,
stimulating a shift from child-
centered to curriculum-centered
teaching, and to a greater use of
collaborative learning. ■IN CONTEXT
APPROACH
Social constructivismBEFORE
1860s Francis Galton sparks
debate about whether nature
(innate ability) or nurture
(upbringing) has the most
influence on personality.AFTER
1952 Jean Piaget argues
that the ability to absorb and
process information develops
through interaction between
children’s innate talents and
their environment.1966 Jerome Bruner suggests
that any subject can be taught
effectively to a child at any
stage of development.1990 American educational
psychologist Robert Slavin
designs his Student Teams
Achievement Divisions (STAD)
to promote more collaborative
learning, and downgrade
competitive, winner–loser
approaches to education.WE BECOME
OURSELVES
THROUGH OTHERS
L E V V Y G O T S K Y ( 1 8 9 6 – 1 9 3 4 )
All higher
psychological functions
are internalized
relationships of the
social kind.
Lev Vygotsky