Vygotskys Socio-Cultural Theory - Case Study Example

Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory Introduction Childhood development is a crucial consideration when it comes to tackling theories in learning as many studies have firmly established the importance of strengthening the aspects of childhood development in order to facilitate a child’s learning experience. In particular, the early stages of childhood development have been known to create great impact on his future development well into adulthood [Coo09]. Thus, it is vital that these theories of learning be paid careful attention in order to be able to devise early intervention systems for children facing such learning difficulties. In order to address this need, this paper uses Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and Erikson’s psychosocial development theories in analyzing a child’s observed behaviors and coming up with proposed activities and lessons that would assist the child in his process of development. Child and background information The child observed for this case study is a boy named Samuel. He is five years old and is currently at Kindergarten level. He is from Mexico and he moved to the US about a year ago, when his parents separated and his mom decided to get a job working as a waitress in the US. He lives in Queens with his mom and an older brother, and they are enjoying a middle class level of lifestyle. At home, the language spoken is Spanish. In school, he is undertaking the Dual Language program. Observations Based on the observations I have made about Samuel, his main problem is in terms of his Linguistic limitations. In a number of situations, Samuel attempted to participate in group discussion and every time he answers incorrectly, he demonstrates signs of sadness and insecurities. It can be seen from his actions that Samuel is strongly intimidated by his classmates. He is easily discouraged when he makes mistakes and he results to just keeping to himself. Another notable observation about Samuel’s situation in class is that the teacher doesn’t pay much attention to him. Although the teacher is encouraging in the sense that when Samuel makes a mistake, she is quick to tell him that committing such mistakes is ok, it is noticeable that the teacher does not exert much effort beyond that. Samuel’s eagerness to learn is apparent but the teacher does not seem to be paying him much attention. Because of this, Samuel is not as outgoing as other children his age. During the writing sessions, he simply draws pictures of toys and people. He simply scribbles letters on his notes and is not able to write full words, more so complete sentences. During reading exercises, Samuel is very lost and confused identifying how the words should be read. Instead, he looks at the pictures and makes up his own stories based on the pictures that he sees. These observations indicate the great impact that linguistic limitations have on Samuel’s cognitive and emotional development. He is not able to pay attention in class and has difficulty understanding the texts and even the instructions given to him. Samuel has poor written and verbal capacities in the English language and as such, he is not able to interact with his peers and develop friendships with them. Theoretical support In order to fully understand Samuel’s case and possibly develop intervention strategies that would alleviate his difficulties, it is wise to look into two important theories of development and learning, which are Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and Erikson’s psychosocial theory. Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Theory Lev Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory proposes that children develop better and learn more effectively when they use actual experiences and objects around them as tools of the learning process [Fis10]. While using past experiences and performing hands on activities rather than simply learning by rote process, Vygotsky said that children are able to learn more effectively and retain more of the knowledge that they acquire. His views on learning also point out that learning has to be made in the context of a child’s social and cultural environment in order to make the ideas and knowledge more meaningful to him [Kau02]. Moreover, Vygotsky’s theories of Scaffolding and Zone of Proximal Development greatly emphasize the importance that peers and adult learners play in the learning development of a child [Hme07]. He stresses that in the early stages of learning a concept, idea, or process, an adult or more knowledgeable learner should be able to guide a child and “scaffold” or support a child’s existing knowledge. As the child progresses, the adult learner may remove the scaffolding that were initially put up and allow the child to proceed with the learning process. Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory proposes that learning does not end in childhood and adolescence as earlier theorists claim. Rather, Erikson noted that an individual goes on to develop cognitively well into adulthood. He laid down development stages known as ego crises, include trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ego-integrity vs. despair [Pre07]. In particular, the stage of industry vs inferiority is considered for this case study. At this stage, which happens when a child is between five to twelve years old, children are less disorderly when emotional aspects are considered (Ibid.). At this stage, children learn to self-regulate and are in the process of mastering interpersonal behavior. Children learn to participate with a much wider and more diverse environment. Erikson notes that if children are successful at this stage, they are able to develop a certain level of confidence in their ability to perform or their “industry.” However, failure at this stage of their development develops a sense of inferiority and feelings of incapability in them [Coo09]. Suggested Activities or Lessons In using Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and Erikson’s stage of industry vs inferiority, certain activities and learning strategies may be developed in order to facilitate Samuel’s learning development. One important thing that must be accomplished is to provide Samuel with considerable adult assistance in order to facilitate his learning processes. Lessons that incorporate words, places and objects that were familiar to him when he was still in his native land should be extensively used when teaching him the intricacies of language. Since Samuel finds great difficulty in dealing with the English language, he should be made more exposed to the language through assistance from his teacher or mother. As such, the English language should be spoken more frequently at home where Samuel spends most of his time [Pre08]. The teacher should also encourage small group activities that will allow Samuel to perform tasks with one or two of his peers. Given a smaller group to deal with, Samuel will not be as intimidated when he makes mistakes, and he may even be able to find a particular strength that is not present in his peers, thereby improving his level of confidence. With regards to this, tasks given Samuel should be fairly easier and more manageable in order to give him a sense of accomplishment. Otherwise, extremely challenging tasks may put him off and discourage him from learning altogether [Hme07]. In these activities, the teacher plays a crucial role in developing Samuel’s cognitive skills. It is advised that the teacher’s attention be called in such that she is made aware of Samuel’s difficulties. Moreover, her assistance for Samuel should be explicitly sought. References Coo09: , (Coon, 2009), Fis10: , (Fiske, Gilbert, & Lindzey, 2010), Kau02: , (Kaufhold, 2002), Hme07: , (Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn, 2007), Pre07: , (Pressley & Mac Cormick, Child and adolescent development for educators, 2007), Pre08: , (Pressley, Motivating primary-grade students, 2008), Read More