Lev Vygotsky

Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky (1896~1934)

 * Mozart of Psychology (well-known philosopher and historian of science Stephen Toulmin once called him)

Where did they get their PhD?

 * He got his PH.D. at the Moscow Institute of Psychology in 1925

Where have they taught / worked?
(on a wide range of topics including psychology, pedagogy, art, and literature)
 * 1896
 * Born in Orsha, Russian Empire (now in Belarus)
 * Had a Jewish family and grow up in Homel
 * Received his elementary education at home with a tutor
 * 1913
 * Graduated from a Jewish gymnasium with honors and a gold medal (pre-university schooling)
 * Entered Moscow University through Jewish Lottery intending to study medicine
 * Transferred to Law School soon after admittance
 * 1914
 * Concurrently enrolled in Shaniavsky University to study history and philosophy
 * 1917
 * Graduated from both universities (Russian Revolution)
 * 1919
 * Began to teach literature, aesthetics, philosophy, and Russian language in the newly opened vocational school
 * Teach psychology and logic in a local teachers college
 * Assumed an official position of the Head of Art and Aesthetic Education of the town Department of Education in Gomel
 * Many lectures, presentations, and essays on literature themes
 * Organized a psychological laboratory for conducting scientific experiments
 * 1924
 * Presented “The Methodology of Reflexological and Psychologial Studies” at the Second Psychoneurological Congress in Leningrad
 * Invited to join as a faculty at the Moscow Institute of Psychology
 * 1925
 * Get PH.D. with his dissertation “Psychology of Art” at the Moscow Institute of Psychology
 * 1926
 * Published a book entitled “Pedagogical Psychology”
 * 1934
 * Died of tuberculosis

What things are they best known for?

 * Vygotsky’s theory was influenced by:
 * Marxism (the political environment at that time )
 * Pavlov (emphasising the requirement for science to adopt objective methods of investigation )
 * Disagree with “Piaget” (Stages of Cognitive Development: it was possible to separate learning from its social context; Vygotsky was in the same year as Piaget )


 * 1. Lower / Higher Mental Functions:
 * Lower versus Higher Mental Functions
 * Lower Mental Functions: inherited, unmediated, involuntary, isolated individual mental units
 * Higher Mental Functions: is socially acquired, mediated by social meanings, voluntarily controlled and exists as a link in a broad system of functions rather than as an individual unit
 * Mediation: Higher mental process is mediated by tools (symbols, material or another human beings behaviors)


 * 2. Sociocultural Theory:
 * Combines social interaction and special cultural practices in the development of cognitive skills
 * Four core principles included:
 * Children construct their knowledge
 * Development can not be separated from its social context
 * Learning can lead development
 * Language plays a central role in mental development


 * 3. Constructivism:
 * Knowledge development based on an individual's active participation in problem-solving and critical thinking
 * The individual literally constructs their own knowledge base using old constructs in new situations, and adapting them to fit newly learned information


 * 4. Zone of proximal development (ZPD):
 * The gap or difference between what the child can learn unaided and what he or she can learn with the help of an adult
 * Actual development level: When he or she can work unaided on a task or problem
 * Potential development level: The level of competence a child can reach when he or she is guided and supported by another person
 * Children could perform and achieve more difficult problems when they were guided and supported by another competent individual, generally an adult
 * 5. Scaffolding:
 * The idea of a significant adult guiding a child through the ZPD is known as scaffolding
 * This concept has been further developed by Jerome Bruner and influenced his related concept of instructional scaffolding
 * The supports of instructional scaffolding may include: resources, a compelling task, templates and guides, guidance on the development of cognitive and social skills

What are their three most important publications?

 * Most famous books:
 * Thought and Language (1962)
 * The Crisis in Psychology (1927)
 * Mind and Society (1978)


 * He completed 270 scientific articles, numerous lectures and 10 books based on a wide range of Marxist based psychological and teaching theories as well as the areas of pedagogy, art and aesthetics and sociology


 * His works were published after his death in 1934, suppressed in 1936, and became much more well known in the 1980s due to the glasnost of Soviet Union

Who are their most frequent collaborators?

 * Vygotsky worked closely with Alexander Luria and A.N. Leont'ev at the Moscow Institute of Psychology until he died in 1934