Interview for Lev Vygotsky

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Interview for Lev Vygotsky

Interview for Lev Vygotsky

Question 1: It is my understanding that you were born in Russia and graduated from Moscow University with a law degree. Is that correct? Yes

However, your first big research project was Psychology in Art? Please explain how you chose Psychology as your research topic??? I had no formal training in psychology but I am extremely fascinated by it. I went on to use Psychology in Art as my thesis for my Ph.D. in psychology at Moscow Institute of Psychology.

Question 2: What various disciplines have you work with? Well I have worked with various disciplines. I have worked for relocating refugees, with mentally and physically handicapped people, in institutions and universities.

Question 3: Mr. Vygotsky, where does your research interest lie? I am most interested in how children solve their problems in which surpasses their level of development which has led to my Zone of Proximal Development Theory.

Question 4: Please elaborate, Mr. Vygotsky, on your Zone of Proximal Development Theory, which is known as ZPD. 1. A child accomplishes a task that he/she cannot do alone, with the help from a more skilled person. 2. In ZPD there is a difference between the actual development level as determined by individual problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with more knowledgeable peers. ***The result of this process is that children become more socialized in the dominant culture and it induces cognitive development.

Question 5: In other words, what do you tell people that ZPD means in English??? It is the distance between who we are and who we are becoming. For example, babies transform from babblers to speakers of a language through performing. Performing is how we learn and develop. Question 6: Mr. Vygotsky, I read an article about one of your greatest examples is “pointing a finger”? Please explain that example? That is correct. This behavior begins as a meaningless grasping motion, however, as people react to the gesture, it becomes a movement that has meaning. In particular, the pointing gesture represents an interpersonal connection between individuals.

Question 7: How would you relate your theory to technology? Learning awakens a variety of internal processes that operate only when a child is interacting with others in his environment and in cooperation with his/her peers.

Question 8: Mr. Vygotsky, how do you see your theories effecting technology for the future? Well as I mentioned earlier…..when a baby transforms from babbling to speaking, then using technology we can go from hunting and pecking and looking to being a proficient user.

Question 9: What do you think of Mr. B.F. Skinner’s theory of______????

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