Vygostkys Theory of Cognitive Development

Vygotskys theory of cognitive development centered on the ideas that

social interaction and imaginative play are large contributors to the
process of cognitive development in children. He believed that the social
interactions that children engaged in helped them to both discover and
create meaning from the things that they discover. Specifically, he
believed that some of the most important learning a child could
experience was in the social interactions they had with a skilled tutor that
is often an adult, such as a parent or teacher. The child will observe the
behaviors of the tutor as well as follow the verbal instructions the tutor
provides. The child will then emulate what they observe in their tutor. The
child tries to understand what they observe and the instructions they
receive by copying and internalizing, while learning to apply them to their
own lives. Vygotsky called this collaborative or cooperative dialogue. He
called the teacher or tutor in this role the more knowledgeable other.
While this role typically involves adults, as pointed out above, such as
teachers, parents, or coaches, it can also involve social interactions with
other children. The important part of the role is that it is fulfilled by
someone from which the child can learn, a more knowledgeable other.
Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding
Vygotsky also proposed something called the zone of proximal
development and the idea of scaffolding in a childs development. The
way this works is by recognizing that there are some things a child cannot
do independently, but they would be able to do with the assistance of
someone else. For example, a child may be developing the ability to make
different sounds, but cannot yet talk. With assistance, or scaffolding, from
an adult who begins showing them pictures and repeating the names of
the pictures, the child will soon begin to develop words and start
communicating independently without help. The scaffolding helped them
to develop the skills necessary to communicate on their own.
Language Development
Vygotsky was particularly interested in the role of language in cognitive
development. Given that language is vital to human interactions, he
believed that language was the most important tool that human could
utilize. Language, especially in the realm of collaborative dialogue, is the
way the more knowledgeable other communications important information
to a child. Vygotsky believed that there are three forms of language, as
outlined below. .
Social Speech This is what Vygotsky referred to as the external
communication that people use to talk with other people, and he
believed that this form of language was typical in children from the
age of two.
Private Speech This is what Vykotsky referred to as the internal
communication that a person directs to themselves. It serves an
intellectual function, and it is typical in children from the age of
three.

Silent Inner Speech Vygotsky believed that this is what happens

when private speech diminishes in its audibility until it become a
self-regulating function. He believed this was typical in children from
the age of seven.
Vygotskys focus on language as a part of cognitive development was
based on the idea that at the beginning of a childs life, language and
thought begin as separate systems within a childs brain. He believed that
these two systems would merge in the child at around the age of three,
and the two systems would become interdependent. As the two systems
become interdependent, a childs communication can be internalized to
become private speech to the self, and this internalization of language is
an important component to a childs cognitive development.
For Vygotsky, private speech was an important mile marker in a childs
cognitive development because its the moment in a childs development
where thoughts become connected with words, and a child begins
exhibiting verbal thinking. Whereas social interaction is an important part
of cognitive development as a child learns from a more knowledgeable
other, private speech allows a child to begin the collaborative process of
learning with themselves.

Imaginative Play and Cognitive Development

This is the point where imaginative play comes into Vygotskys theory of
cognitive development. Adults may see children engaging in imaginative
play, pretending to be pirates or princesses, and think that its just a fun
way that children entertain themselves. What they may not realize,
however, is the vital role that imaginative play serves in a childs cognitive
development. In fact, imaginative play involves a very complex mental
process that impacts the childs overall life and development.
Imaginative play helps children to develop meaning and make sense of the
world they live in. It also helps them to develop their thinking skills as well
as their use of language. With imaginative play, children often engage in
pretend role-playing activities. This often involves children creating a story
as well the characters involved in the story. For example, a child might
role-play with another child by pretending theyre a superhero or
superheroes in pursuit of defeating a villain. This involves dialogues that
they develop with the other children. It also involves exercising problem
solving skills as they work out the plot of their story, what their characters
are going to do and how they will defeat the villain in their story. The
dialogues they create help them to develop their language as they imitate
things that they have observed in the real world. Even when children
engage in imaginative play by themselves, they engage in dialogues with
themselves that help them to develop language and problem solving skills.
Vygotsky believed that the external language that children hear and
imitate gets internalized during imaginative play.