Lev Vygotsky, A Russian Developmental Psychologist

Lev Vygotsky, a Russian developmental psychologist, was born in Orsha, Belarus on November 17, 1896. His primary education was provided at home by his mother and he then entered public school for his secondary education and graduated at seventeen followed by attendance at the University of Moscow. He originally chose medicine as his course of study, but switched to law. During this time he also studied humanities and psychology at Shanyavsky University.3 Upon graduating from college in 1917 he began to teach literature and philosophy as well as pursue his interest in the fine arts. 1 Soon after Vygotsky graduated, the Russian Revolution occurred and Marxism took its hold on the region.4 Vygotsky was heavily influenced by the Marxist cause†¦show more content†¦This refers to the influence having more knowledge and ability with respect to concepts and skills. †¢ Zone of Proximal Development – simply stated this is the expanse between the ability to independently solve a problem and perform the associated task and the need to do so with guidance. Because of inherent limitations of learning without an external influence, this â€Å"zone† represents the learner’s potential. The key is to challenge the learner’s ability with guidance, and gradually reduce the assistance as it becomes apparent that learning occurs. †¢ Authentic Activities – the need to mimic real life situations and activities with learning. Vygotsky’s theory is considered to be a component of the Constructivism philosophy of education which states that humans learn from experience.7,8 With this philosophy learning is considered to be an active process in which the learner â€Å"builds† knowledge based on personal experiences and social interactions.8 Several references emphasized the fact that Constructivism is not a pedagogy theory, and that the learner constructs knowledge through the exposure to a variety of pedagogical approaches.8 This philosophy was also influenced by: †¢ Jean Piaget who postulated learning occurs in four stages: 1) assimilation and accommodation with one’s environment; 2) interaction with physical environment that produces object classification;Show MoreRelatedLev Vygotsky Essay Outline835 Words   |  4 PagesLev Vygotsky was known as the creator of an original branch of psychology in the Soviet union. He is also known for writing many books on psychology. 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