By admin 23 September 2020 ,
Vygotksys Theory of Social Development by Best CTET Online Coaching
When it comes to CTET examination, Child Development and Pedagogy (CDP) is a section that carries perhaps the greatest significance. The section comprises 30 questions that comprehensively test a candidate’s understanding of underlying principles and concepts. In fact, questions based on the concepts of pedagogy are there in other sections of the exam as well. In fact, it can be undoubtedly said that one can’t crack the exam without mastering CDP.
Being the Centre for Best CTET Online Classes in India for Paper 1 and Paper 2 preparation, Vidya Guru provides 100% exam oriented learning material to help all the aspiring candidates. Keeping this in mind, we have come up with a ready reckoner covering one of the most important theories of Child Development: Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory.
Vygotsky’s Theory
Lev Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of learning is one of the pioneering theories in the field of child development. His theory emphasizes the significance of social factors in learning and cognitive development. He, along with Piaget and Kohlberg, has had a profound impact on our understanding of child psychology. The influence of his work has been far-reaching. In fact, it is one of the cornerstones of modern day teaching methodology.
Vygotsky’s Theory: Key Points
1. Learning is a social process.
2. Social interaction plays a vital role in cognitive development.
3. Development is the result of social learning (learning precedes development).
4. Vygostksy has not divided development into any stages.
5. Every function in the cultural development of children appears 1st at the social level and after that the, individual level.
6. Language has a profound effect on thought.
Important Concepts for CTET Preparation Online
(I) Scaffolding: It is the temporary support that adults provide to promote learning in children. Scaffolding helps children discover new principles and guides their thinking in the right direction. Because of this support, children are able to accomplish a task that they weren’t capable of earlier. This support is withdrawn as soon as the learner is able to accomplish the same task independently, without requiring anyone’s guidance.
(II) Zone of Proximal Development: It refers to the gap between what children can do themselves and what they can with adult guidance or peer support. In other words, it is the distance between a child’s level of self dependence and the level that he/she can acquire with guidance and support. Vygotsky is of the view that development takes place in the zone of proximal development.
(III) More Knowledgeable Other (MKO): MKO refers to someone who is more skilled and capable than the learner. The MKO possesses a greater level of understanding than the learner. It may be a parent, a teacher, a helping elder or even the child’s peer. In fact, an MKO can also be a person younger than the learner. In today’s time, an intelligent machine or even the computer software can be considered to be an MKO.
(IV) Collaborative Learning & Group Activities: Vygotsky is a strong supporter of group learning. He is of the view that while working in a peer group; children can facilitate each other in their learning attempts. Thus, they become capable of accomplishing the tasks that they are individually not capable of.
(V) Private Speech: As per Vygotsky, children use private speech for self-direction. Children attempt to regulate their own actions through private speech (self-talk). This language later becomes the basis for complex mental activity. It demonstrates early mental processing and helps us understand how children think about their own behavior. Private speech reduces and finally disappears with growing age. It becomes underground and eventually results into inner speech or verbal thought
Past Questions for CTET Exam Preparation
Question 1. An educator wants to help his students understand various views of a situation. He offers his students several chances to discuss the situation in different group settings. As per Vygotsky’s point of view, his students will _________ the various views and develop different perspectives of the situation themselves.
(A) Internalize
(B) Operationalize
(C) Construct
(D) Diverge
Answer: (A)
Question 2. What does the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) represent in Vygotsky’s theory?
(A) Tasks that are too difficult for children, but which can be accomplished by them through adult support.
(B) A teacher’s interference that hinders the learning of her students.
(C) Cognitive development is the proximal zone of growth.
(D) The learning that takes place only in a formal setting.
Answer: (A)
Question 3. Which of the following is correct with respect to the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) discussed in Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory?
(A) It is that phase where the maximum development takes place.
(B) It is that phase of development where a student takes full responsibility for his/her own learning.
(C) It refers to a context in which students can almost perform a task on their own with the right level of support.
(D) It is the point in the learning cycle when the teacher can withdraw the support provided to a student.
Answer: (C)
Question 4. Which of the following thinkers while considering children active seekers of knowledge, stresses the role of cultural and social contents on their thinking?
(A) Jean Piaget
(B) Edward Thorndike
(C) JB Watson
(D) Lev Vygotsky
Answer: (D)
Question 5. While attempting to solve a jig-saw puzzle, 5-year-old Ketan says to himself, “I must find the yellow piece, the round one, not the square one, because it will come here and complete this cap”.
Vygotsky refers to such type of talk as
(A) Scaffolding
(B) Self-centered speech
(C) Private speech
(D) Thinking aloud
Answer: (C)
Question 6. As per Vygotsky, when adults alter the support in order to improve the child’s existing level of performance, it’s known as
(A) Reciprocal teaching
(B) Scaffolding
(C) Assimilation
(D) Accommodation
Answer: (B)
Question 7. Who among the following is of the view that it’s essential to understand the impact of the cultural framework and social processes on a child’s thinking?
(A) Lawrence Kohlberg
(B) BF Skinner
(C) Jean Piaget
(D) Lev Vygotsky
Answer: (D)
Question 8. The teacher observed that Vikrant couldn’t find the answer to a question on his own. However, he is able to do so under peer or adult guidance. What is this guidance known as?
(A) Decentration
(B) Zone of Proximal Development
(C) Positive Transfer of Learning
(D) Scaffolding
Answer: (D)
Question 9. A significant point of distinction between Piagetian and Vygotsky’s perspectives relates to
(A) their criticism of behaviouristic learning.
(B) the role played by a nurturing environment in child development.
(C) how they view language and thought.
(D) the way they view children as active creators of knowledge.
Answer: (C)
Question 10. As per Vygotsky, what is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?
(A) The zone outlining the guidance provided to a child by an adult.
(B) The gap between what children can do on their own and with support.
(C) The type and quantum of assistance provided to children to help them achieve their potential.
(D) The tasks that children can accomplish independently, without any external support.
Answer: (B)
Question 11. Vygotsky is of the view that a child learns
(A) When a positive or negative reinforcement is provided
(B) By maturation
(C) By reinforcement and imitation
(D) By interacting with peers and adults
Answer: (D)
Question 12. Vygotsky’s concept of ‘private speech’ in children
(A) demonstrates that children are self-centered
(B) illustrates that a child has inadequate learning ability and needs the support of adults around him
(C) demonstrates that children may get restless in absence of adequate mental stimulation
(D) shows that children make use of speech to direct their own actions
Answer: (D)
Question 13. According to Vygotsky, learning cannot be separated from
(A) Its social context
(B) thought and perception
(C) imitation and reinforcement
(D) a quantitative change in development
Answer: (A)
Question 14. In a constructivist class imagined by Vygotsky and Piaget, learning
(A) is the response to a stimulus provided by the teacher
(B) gets constructed by children themselves who participate actively
(C) is a passive transfer of knowledge from the teacher to the student
(D) takes place through an ongoing process of trial and error.
Answer: (B)
Question 15. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory forms the basis of
(A) Respondent learning
(B) Reciprocal teaching
(C) Operant conditioning
(D) Classical conditioning
Answer: (B)
Question 16. Which of the following does Vygotsky’s theory imply?
(A) collaborative problem solving.
(B) personal tests and individual assignments.
(C) not assisting students in their attempts at solving difficult problems after having provided the initial explanation.
(D) a child learns best in a group of peers who have an Intelligence Quotient less than his own.
Answer: (A)
Question 17. What does Scaffolding represent in the context of Vygotsky’s socio-cultural learning theory?
(A) remedial teaching that follows an assessment
(B) using previous knowledge as the base for construction of new knowledge
(C) temporary assistance provided by adults to help students in learning
(D) diagnostic teaching to find out and remedy a student’s learning gaps
Answer: (C)
Question 18. Which statement best sums up the relationship that Vygotsky visualizes between learning and development?
(A) Learning and development are independent of each other.
(B) Learning process precedes the development process.
(C) Learning and development are one and the same.
(D) There is little correlation between development and learning as these are parallel processes.
Answer: (B)
Question 19. Which of the following developmental aspects has been neglected in Vygotsky’s theory?
(A) Cultural
(B) Social
(C) Linguistic
(D) Physical
Answer: (D)
Question 20. Based on Vygotsky’s theory which of the following can be considered a type of scaffolding?
(A) Giving motivational speeches to learners
(B) Providing cues and prompts along with asking questions at important stages
(C) Providing ample practice tasks to support trial and error learning
(D) Offering rewards and incentives for training desirable behavior
Answer: (B)
Question 21. What, as per Lev Vygotsky, is the primary cause of cognitive development?
(A) Assimilation
(B) Accommodation of cognitive structures (mental schemas)
(C) Stimulus response connectionism
(D) Social learning
Answer: (D)
Question 22. As an educator, who is a firm believer in Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of learning, which of the following assessing methods will you choose?
(A) Graded tests
(B) Collaborative projects
(C) Open-ended essay type questions
(D) Memory based factual questions
Answer: (B)
Question 23. Which of the following statements will be supported by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory?
(A) A child learns language primarily through an inborn LAD (language acquisition device).
(B) Peer interaction and dialogue with adults do not affect linguistic development
(C) The role of culture in linguistic development is minimal.
(D) The nature of thought gets modified by linguistic development
Answer: (D)
Question 24. Which statement correctly summarizes Vygotsky and Piaget’s conception of language and thought?
(A) Both thinkers view language originating from children’s thoughts.
(B) As per Vygotsky, thought originates 1st, whereas Piaget is of the view that language has a profound impact on thought.
(C) As per Piaget, thought originates 1st, while Vygotsky is of the view language has a profound impact on thought.
(D) Both thinkers view thoughts to be originating from language.
Answer: (C)
Question 25. Tamish, a 5-year-old boy, talks to himself while trying to color figures in a picture book. How would Piaget and Vygotsky explain this behaviour?
(A) Vygotsky would explain it as the child’s effort to regulate his own actions through private speech, whereas Piaget would explain it as egocentric speech.
(B) Vygotsky would explain it as self discovery, while Piaget would explain it as social imitation.
(C) Piaget would explain it as the child’s efforts to actively construct language, whereas Vygotsky would explain it as the child’s attempt to copy his elders.
(D) Both Vygotsky and Piaget would explain it as self-centered nature of children’s thinking.
Answer: (A)
Question 26. Who among the following isn’t a stage theorist?
(A) Jean Piaget
(B) Lev Vygostksy
(C) Sigmund Freud
(D) Lawrence Kohlberg
Answer: (B)
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Summary
This blog update focuses on some very important concepts of Child Development. It also covers select past year questions from CTET Examinations for your benefit.