The early childhood theorist I chose to do my research paper on is Lev Vygotsky.

Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was born in Orsha, Belarus on November 5, 1896. He was born into a long line of well- established Jewish ancestors. After Lev was born his father received a job opportunity in Gomel being the department chief of the United Bank of Gomel and so the family moved to Gomel were Lev grew up and called home. His mother actually had trained to be a teacher, but saw her place was in the home taking care of their eight children and enriching their minds by teaching them what she knew. (New World Encyclopedia) Vygotsky was home-schooled all throughout his early childhood years but decided to enter public school for his secondary education. He was an excellent student and excelled in every subject in school, especially reading speed and memory. He graduated at the top of his class and received a gold medal of completion for his exemplary work. Lev decided to go to college and got into the University of Moscow where he studied medicine and then later switched to law. He was also a big fan of Philosophy and later after graduating from the University of Moscow he received a job in Gomel teaching Literature and Philosophy. While in Gomel, Lev met and married his wife Rosa Smekhova and had two daughters. In Gomel Lev decided to set up a research facility at the Teachers College of Gomel. (New World Encyclopedia) In 1924, Lev did a presentation where he compared the methods of Reflexology and Psychological investigation. His presentation was very well received and with that he was offered a position at the Psychological Institute of Moscow. During this time, he moved to Moscow and began research on several research projects. He lived in the basement of the

institute where he came across a great quantity of archived materials at which he read. (Childhood Education Journal) An area of interest and high priority for Lev was always in education and also children with learning disabilities. In 1925, he restructured the Psychological Institute of Moscow and initiated special education services in Russia which led him to form a laboratory of Psychology for Abnormal Childhood in Moscow. According to Childhood Education Journal, Vygotsky believed children with disabilities should be in a general educational classroom. Today, including students with mild and moderate disabilities in the general education classroom is now a standard educational policy in school districts across the United States. (Childhood Education Journal) Lev Vygotsky is one of the most influential psychologists in the 20 th century. He had died at the age of thirty- eight years old. He had contracted tuberculosis from his younger brother that he had cared for. According to the New World Encyclopedia, Vygotskys scientific investigations were divided into three essential areas that are interrelated and interconnected. The three areas are Human Development, Historical-Cultural Development, and Development of Thought and Language. According to Vygotsky, children need social interaction with adults and older children to advance their psychological development. Human development is a major area Vygotsky specialized in. One of the concepts he came up with was called the zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development refers to the abilities the child already has and how with the assistance of an older child or adult, the younger child can learn from them

through guidance. The children are initially the spectators and then become participants. Interactive learning with adults and older children is the most effective way in helping the younger child cross the zone and become more independent. With the added support, the younger child learns the rules, understands the meanings and is able to help themselves and control their own behavior. There are two levels to determine a childs ability and potential the first one is the actual development level at which the child can work on a task or problem without assistance so the adult can assess and see where the child is at developmentally. The other level is the potential development level which is a child being guided and supported by another person to achieve competency. This level is also known as scaffolding. Scaffolding can be done in a few different ways, by a mentor, objects or experiences or even by a childs past learning. It permits children to do as much as they can by themselves and when they encounter a problem they cant solve on their own they receive help from a parent or caregiver. The quantity and quality of scaffolding children are given varies. The quantity refers to the level of scaffolding that is taking place and for how long. The quality refers to the different ways it is offered such as through direct attention, modeling, asking questions or simply by giving encouragement. The adults and older peers supporting the growth and development of the child can reach the highest potential and become mature adults. (Young Children) Lesser known, but still significant is Vygoskys concept on the importance of play. He believed that play was parallel to the imagination where a child extends themselves to the next level of their normal behavior, in so doing creating a zone of proximal development. Vygotsky

stressed the significance of social interactions for overall cognitive development and viewed learning as a social process. According to Childhood Education Journal, in the last decade studies have shown that social skills have been linked to resiliency, academic performance and job success. On the contrary, children with less than average social skills have been linked to delinquency, school dropouts, and substance abuse in adolescence and are considered to be the best predictor of mental health problems in adulthood. Vygotsky believed the intellectual development of children is a function of human communities rather than of individuals. Historical- Cultural Development also known as Socio Cultural Approach according to Vygotsky is a childs development that is directly linked to their culture. To understand development it is essential to understand cultures. The childs mental development, such as their thoughts, language, reasoning process, and mental functions are all associated with the social interactions the child has with the significant people in their life, whether it be the parents or caregivers for instance. Through the interactions, a child will learn habits, written language and other understandings that affect a childs assembly of their knowledge. The knowledge that is gained through these interactions is referred to as internalization. According to the text, once they internalized the information it becomes part of the childs independen t development achievement. (Early Childhood Education Today) Another concept Vygotsky came up with is Development of thought and language which concerns the inner-relationship of language development and thought. Vygotsky had written a book titled Thought and Language which discusses the connection between speech, both silent and oral language and the mental concepts and cognitive responsiveness associated with it. He

felt through these things a childs intellectual being is formed. Silent speech being different from normal speech is developed through a gradual process of internalization. Thoughts are then formed. With language, it starts usually by the child thinking out loud or having self- talk. Self- talk is usually directed towards the self when they are alone. Around the time the child starts school they may no longer use self- talk and start to have inner-speech. Speaking has two forms one being through social communication and the other through inner speech, by which the child mediates and regulates their thoughts. (New World Encyclopedia) After doing research on Lev Vygotsky and researching his theories I believe in a great deal of the concepts he developed. As a mother and a future early childhood Educator I agree with the Zone of Proximity theory and will apply it to my life with my own two children and my future students. By giving them opportunities to learn and grow and giving them the little extra support and guidance that they may need to accomplish the task or problem on their own. By giving them guidance and support I will be providing help for them only when they need it and eventually they wont need the extra help and they will become more independent and confident. Another concept I found so interesting was Vygotskys theory on the importan ce of play and socialization. I didnt realize how much kids get from interacting with others and learning and growing through play. A lot of schools today structure their school day around academics and not developmental play. Although academics are very important, in early childhood I agree with Vygotsky that children should play and have fun and be children. The children will have free time in preschool and kindergarten and have to stop after 20 minutes! That is ridiculous

because they may have just got something going and started a project and then they have to stop and transition to a non- preferred activity. I would love to have children have the freedom of open play time. Let the child get to choose what they would like to play with and see what they engage themselves in. Lev Vygotsky was widely respected for his influential work within the fields of Developmental Psychology, Education and Child Development. Vygotskys work was unknown until the 1960s when it was re-discovered. By the 1980s Vygotskys influential work became well known in the United States. He had written over 180 papers, many were published nearly fifty years after his tragic life had ended. Early Childhood professionals incorporate his theories into their classroom today.