Social Development Theory

Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was well known for his learning theory

published in 1962. Vygotskys theory established the foundation for Constructivism.

Constructivism includes three main points: Social Interaction, The More Knowledgeable Other,

and the Zone of Proximal Development.

Vygotskys theory of development has three central pieces. Social Interaction, The More

Knowledgeable Other, and the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotskys Social interaction

aspect of the theory states that social learning precedes development, that community plays a

central role in learning, and that social interactions along with guided learning will affect

cognition. According to Vygotsky, cognitive development starts as social activities such as

reading a book with a parent. Vygotsky believed that play allows children to bolster cognition.

This is the start of speech and reasoning.

The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) piece states that cognition is developed with

others- not alone. Surrounding children with those that are more knowledgeable (teachers,

mentors, parent) helps them to develop cognition. This MKO does not even need to be a human.

In many cases, this can be a technology platform or other electronic support resource.

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) states that children can perform more difficult

activities with the help of a more knowledgeable individual. Scaffolding is the key to success.

There are 2 levels. Present level of development is what they can do alone. Potential level of

development is what the child would be able to accomplish with the help of others. The Zone

of Proximal Development are the tasks that children can complete with the help of others, but not

yet on their own.

 https://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html

Vygotskys theory states that speech is developmental. Speech is used in the beginning

as a way to communicate needs. As the child gets older, the speech is then used as a tool for

thinking. There are four stages- preintellectual speech, autonomous speech (12 months), naive

psychology (24 months), and communicative speech (age 3).

There are classroom applications for Vygotskys theory. For example, Reciprocal

teaching is a method where students play an active role in learning. This model is collaborative

between teacher and student. Summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting are directly

taught to students and as time progresses the teachers role diminishes. This is much like a

whole group mini lesson, that evolves into a small group situation, and then to tutoring as

necessary. Scaffolding and heterogenous group work are important techniques that can be used

in the classroom to apply Vygotskys theory.

Vygotsky defines intelligence as the capacity to learn from instruction (Lev Vygotsky

Cognitive Development, 2013) and believed that cognition was the end product of

socialization (McLeod, 2014). He argued that the factors of society promote learning.
Vygotskys Social Development Theory states that culture and social environments establish the

cognitive growth and development in both speech and reasoning. With that knowledge, educators

can apply classroom techniques and resources to ensure student success in both critical thinking

and real world application.

Key Elements of Social Development Theory

The key element of the Social Development Theory is social interaction and how it

encourages cognitive development. Vygotsky (1978) states: "Every function in the child's

cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level;

first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This

applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All

the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." (p57).

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development.html
Compare and Contrast - Social Development Theory vs Social Learning Theory

Social Development Theory

Cognitive development is limited to a certain range at any given age.

Full cognitive development requires social interaction

Language plays a central role in mental development

Children construct their knowledge

Development cannot be separated from its social context

Less skilled people learn from more skilled

Knowledge is created through interactions with other people and objects in culture
Social Learning Theory

Monkey See Monkey Do Method

Emphasis on social factors contributing to cognitive development

Observational Learning - Observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotions of

others (duplicating)

The focus is not whats going on inside a person (traits), but whats going on outside the

person (environment).

Culture affects cognitive development

Similarities

Cognitive development is based on the role of others.

Culture is an important factor in cognitive development with both theories.

 Sample Lesson

Student Expectations:

Reading 5th Grade (3a): Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students

analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural,

historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their

understanding. Students are expected to: compare and contrast the themes or moral lessons of

several works of fiction from various cultures;

Social Studies 5th Grade (22a): Culture. The student understands the contributions of people of

various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to the United States. The student is expected to:

identify the similarities and differences within and among various racial, ethnic, and religious

groups in the United States;

Objective:

Students will make text to self connections, text to text connections, and text to others

connections to compare and contrast a variety of cultures.

Product:

Student will use a Venn Diagram to brainstorm similarities and differences among two cultures

with a partner. Student will then write an essay describing the similarities and differences among

two cultures.

Lesson:

Teacher will explain to students that we will be learning about different cultures and home lives

in America. Teacher will tell students to listen to the read aloud and think about if they have

anything in common with the authors story. Teacher will then read Let's Talk About Race by
Julius Lester and Karen Barbour. After the story, students will work in pairs and discuss how

their life is similar or different to each others and to the text. The teacher will have resources

available to the students such as; Hairs by Sandra Cisneros, From Miss Idas Porch by Sandra

Belton, Grandfathers Journey by Allen Say. Students will switch partners and fill in their Venn

Diagram. Students will be asked to use one of the following books and compare to either; their

life, partners life or another resource. After the Venn Diagram, students will

write an essay about the similarities and differences on their own.

Materials:

Let's Talk About Race by Julius Lester and Karen Barbour

Hairs by Sandra Cisneros

From Miss Idas Porch by Sandra Belton

Grandfathers Journey by Allen Say

Venn Diagram worksheet - Blank

Pencils

Lined Paper
 Research Study

Doctoral Student Judith Rollins Burch at LSU completed a study showing the teacher/student

dialogue and conversations are integrally important in supporting students as they work to

become literate problem solvers who are competent and independent learners.

About the students:

Title 1 school

10 students, 1st grade

All general education

At risk of not succeeding at becoming readers and writers

Verbal abilities indicated they should be performing on or above grade level

Focused Strategies of Scaffolding

leveled texts selected at students instructional reading level to deliver strategic reading

instruction

explicit, direct teacher language to support student acquisition of reading and writing

strategies

writing instruction to support and expand students reading knowledge, skill, and

strategies

Results with the use of scaffolding during reading and writing instruction:

impacted the students by fostering the internalization of new concepts and strategies

which in turn improved each of the pilot and case study students academic performance

in reading and writing (Burch p. 141).

 lead to students who became more independent learners who initiated their own reading

and writing problem solving. These students came to internalize their own self image as a

reader and writer. Each became more confident and independent. They began to self

monitor and self regulate their own reading and writing. (Burch p.141)

Scaffolding allowed the students to gradually acquire the skills they needed to become

independent readers and writers. Nine out of the 10 students made progress to on or above grade

level in reading and writing. The last student did make progress, but did not reach the desired

level of independence.
 Citations

Burch, J. R. (2007). A study examining the impact of scaffolding young children's acquisition of

literacy in primary grades (Doctoral dissertation, Louisiana State University) [Abstract].

Chen, M. (2015, June & july). Social Development Theory [Scholarly project]. In

Https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/learningdesign/wp-content/uploads/sites/1178/

2015/06/Mingli-Chen-ebook.pdf. Retrieved March 28, 2017.

McLeod, S. (1970, January 01). Saul McLeod. Retrieved April 02, 2017, from

https://simplypsychology.org/bandura.html

Riddle, E. M. (1999, March 08). Lev Vygotskys Social Development Theory [Scholarly

project]. In

Http://members.iinet.net.au/~aamcarthur/4_Mar_2008_files/Vygotskys_Social_Develop

ment_Theory.pdf. Retrieved March 28, 2017.

Saul McLeod published 2010, updated 2012. (1970, January 01). Zone of Proximal

Development. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html

Social Development Theory. (2016, September 08). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from

https://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
 Social Development Theory Notes and Links

Video of completed project:

https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/dhmKUucalVD/?mode=movie#/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaMFMdVlraw

Group projects

Learning Theorists and Instructional Design Models 20%

Each group will be assigned a learning theory and/or instructional design model to research and

present their findings to the rest of the class. Presentations can take any form as long as they

include all required elements, can be shared with the rest of the class and are ADA compliant.

Some examples might be web pages, wikis, slide presentations, multimedia presentations, etc.

All presentations must include the following elements:

1. Summary of the learning theory or instructional design model

2. Key elements of the learning theory or instructional design model

3. Comparison and contrast with at least one other learning theory or instructional design model

4. At least one example of an activity or lesson plan element using the learning theory or

instructional design model

5. Citations in APA format of all references used

Each team will appoint one person to post the link or upload the presentation on this forum

Group 4: Social Development Theory (Vygotsky)

1. Pamela Capulong mrspcapulong@gmail.com - Summary

2. Jaclyn Long jaclynrlong@gmail.com - Lesson Plan

3. Lea Anne Daughrity ldaughrity@gmail.com Key elements and

presentation/organization/submission

4. Tiffanie Thomas tiffaniew_thomas@yahoo.com - Compare Contrast

5. Laura Cranford lcranford@ptisd.org A Case Study