COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AS LEV VYGOTSKY

Semianovitch Lev Vygotsky:  November 17 was born in Orsha, a town in Belarus. Lev is a graduate of law at Moscow University in 1917.

Upon completion of his studies was to Gomel where he began working as a professor of literature until 1923, later founded a laboratory school psychology teachers of Gomel, where he gave a series of lectures that later became his work of 1926 Educational Psychology .

Vygotsky Shortly after returning to Moscow to work at the Institute of Psychology, his ideas did not coincide with the major psychological theories in Europe, which were introspection. However today recognizes the great contribution of this theoretical Europe.

Semianovitch Lev Vygotsky:

Vygotsky considers five concepts that are fundamental brain function, psychological skills, the zone of proximal development, psychological tools and mediation. In this sense, it explains each of these concepts.

     For Vygotsky, two types of mental functions: the lower and higher. Lower mental functions are those with which we are born, are the natural functions and are genetically determined. The resulting behavior of these functions is limited, is conditioned by what we can do.

         Higher mental functions are acquired and developed through social interaction. Since the individual is in a specific society with a particular culture, these functions are determined by way of being of that society. Higher mental functions are mediated culturally. The behavior resulting from higher mental functions is open to greater possibilities. Knowledge is the result of social interaction in the interaction with others we become aware of us, we learn the use of symbols, in turn, allow us to think in increasingly complex ways. For Vygotsky, the greater the social interaction, the more knowledge, more likely to have more robust mental functions.

       According to this view, man is primarily a cultural being and this is what makes the difference between humans and other living creatures, including primates. The focus of this distinction between lower and higher mental functions is that the individual is not only related directly to their environment, but also through and through interaction with other individuals.

THE ZONE OF PROXIMAN DEVELOPMENT

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) refers to space, gap or difference between the skills you already have the / the child and what you can come to learn through the guidance or support they can provide an adult or a couple competent.

The concept of the ZPD is based on the relationship between the child's current abilities and potential. The first level, the child's current performance, is to work and solve tasks or problems without the help of another, with the level name Real Development. This baseline would be what is commonly assessed in schools. The level of potential development is the level of competition that a child can achieve when guided and supported by someone else. The difference or gap between these two levels of competition is what is called PDZ. The idea that a significant adult (or a couple, as a classmate-) mediate between the task and the child is what is called scaffolding. The latter concept has been well developed by Jerome Bruner and has been instrumental in the development of his concept of scaffolding in the instructional model.