- Youth Development
- Theories of Youth Development
- Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
- Vygotsky's Sociocultural Learning Theory
- Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model Theory
- Other Theories of Youth Development
- Connecting Youth Development to Library Services
- The SEL Competencies
- The SEL Settings
- Tying it All Together
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Learning Theory
“What a child can do with assistance today she will be able to do by herself tomorrow.”
– Lev Vygotsky
Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s (1896-1934) sociocultural learning theory emphasizes the role of social interactions with parents, caregivers, and peers in cognitive development.
Excerpt from LIS 516: Youth Development and Behavior in a Digital Age by Dr. Katie Davis and the University of Washington
Key Concepts from Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Learning Theory
Cognitive Tools
Cognitive tools help us learn. Cognitive tools are anything that helps a child process information: things like maps, clocks, books, music, mnemonic devices, etc. They help learners form meaning and understanding.
Example: Before facilitating a meeting of the robotics club, Jacqui prepares a “cheat sheet” with examples and explanations of basic concepts.
Zone of Proximal Development
The Zone of Proximal Development is the “sweet spot” for learning. The “ZPD” exists in between the range of tasks that a young person can perform on their own, and those they can only do with significant help. For example, a teen struggling to learn how to code can be supported by mentors or peers who guide her in solving problems. Through this scaffolding, she gains more confidence and advances her skills.
Example: At a meeting of the robotics club, Mateo is struggling to program his robot. He knows how to make it do simple tasks, but he wants to do something far more advanced. Mateo is trying to move from a task he has mastered to one that is outside of his abilities–in other words, he is trying to move through a “ZPD” by himself.
Scaffolding
Other people support learning through social scaffolding. Like the temporary platforms used by builders during the construction of a building, social scaffolding is the provision of “just in time” cognitive tools and support to help a learner move to a new stage of mastery. Scaffolding can come from adults or peers, or from other sources like online forums or web searches.
Example: Jane, another participant, notices Mateo’s frustration and shows him a similar program that she is working on. With the help of Jane’s example, Mateo is able to figure out how to make his own robot do new things.
The zone of proximal parallel parking development
Blogger and former teacher JoEllen describes her personal experience with scaffolding and the ZPD in this excerpt from her cuppacocoa blog. She describes how she learned to parallel park:
“It wasn’t until a friend sat in my car and gave me the crucial tip to wait until the side-view mirror lined up just so with the parked car in front, that I finally figured it out. He got in the driver’s seat and showed me, and then he sat in the passenger’s seat and coached me while I tried again… I was in the zone of proximal development for parallel parking. There was a good amount of driving technique I had down, but I needed some coaching to get parallel parking down. A friend was there, he saw what I was doing, knew how to fix it, and showed me the way.”
Read the rest of her post, The Zone of Proximal Development.
Scaffolding explained
Putting sociocultural learning theory into practice
Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory can be seen in the relationships and shared purpose principles of connected learning. Social scaffolding strategies include:
- Showing or demonstrating techniques and activities, not just describing them
- Connecting learning to prior knowledge by asking youth to share their ideas and experiences
- Encouraging youth to learn from each other through group discussions and projects
- Providing opportunities for peer feedback