Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Cognitive Development

A) Description

Vygotsky's theory of social cognitive development is complementary to Bandura's social learning theory. Its major thematic thrust is that "social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition" (Kearsley 1994e). Most of the original work of this theory was done in the context of language learning in children.
An important concept in Vygotsky's theory is that "the potential for cognitive development is limited to a certain time span which he calls the 'zone of proximal development' (Kearsley 1994e). He defines the 'zone of proximal development' as having four learning stages. These stages "range between the lower limit of what the student knows and the upper limits of what the student has the potential of accomplishing" (Gillani and Relan 1997, 231). The stages can be further broken down as follows (Tharp & Gallimore 1988, 35):

• Stage 1 - assistance provided by more capable others (coaches, experts, teachers);
• Stage 2 - assistance by self;
• Stage 3 - internalization automatization (fossilization); and
• Stage 4 - de-automatization: recursiveness through prior stages.

Another notable aspect of Vygotsky's theory is that it claims "that instruction is most efficient when students engage in activities within a supportive learning environment and when they receive appropriate guidance that is mediated by tools" (Vygotsky 1978, as cited in Gillani & Relan 1997, 231). These instructional tools can be defined as "cognitive strategies, a mentor, peers, computers, printed materials, or any instrument that organizes and provides information for the learner." Their role is "to organize dynamic support to help [learners] complete a task near the upper end of their zone of proximal development [ZPD] and then to systematically withdraw this support as the [learner] move to higher levels of confidence."
B) Practical Application
In applying Vygotsky's theory of social cognitive development, Kearsley (1994e) suggests keeping the following principles in mind:

1. Full cognitive development requires social interaction.
2. Cognitive development is limited to a certain range at any given age.

APPLICATION
Gillani and Relan (1997, 232) contend that "the interactive nature of frames in interdisciplinary instructional design has the potential of implementing cognitive theories as its theoretical foundation."
Based on David Ausubel's idea of advance organizers "as a cognitive strategy that links prior knowledge structure with new information" (1968 as cited in Gillani and Relan 1997, 232), as well as, Vygotsky's idea of instructional tools and the four learning stages as defined by his 'zone of proximal development', Gillani and Relan proposed an instructional design model having four phases:

• advance organizer phase,
• modeling phase,
• exploring phase, and
• generating phase.

Gillani and Relan argue that it was not until the introduction of frame technology introduced with Netscape Navigator 2.0 that these four phases could realistically be applied to instructional design. They say:

Basically, frames enable the Web designer to create multiple, distinct, and independent viewing areas within the browser’s window . . . each frame then becomes a window that can have its own URL (Uniform Resource Locator), scrollbar, and links to frames in the same document or other documents. Such internal connections among the frames of a browser enable the designer to create interactive links that can update and control the content of other frames (p. 232).

Gilanni and Relan proposed the following model made up of four distinct frames, with the Instructional Model Frame having four distinct phases:

Vibrant Frame	Instructional Model Frame [Advance Organizer] [Model] [Explore] [Generate]
Navigation Frame [button] [button] [button] [button]	Presentation Frame

• Vibrant Frame – The small top left area frame above the navigation frame determines the underlying theme for content. Each time the user clicks on it, a new theme will appear which changes the thematic nature of instruction. For example, this frame could be used to provide multiple versions of content (e.g., frames, no frames, modules, no modules). This frame could also be used to show QuickTime movies. It should be noted that proper use of this frame adds a considerable investment in instructional design.
• Instructional Model Frame - The top right frame, includes four buttons representing the four stages of learning as proposed by Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development: Advance Organizer, Modeling, Exploring, and Generating. Each button in this frame updates and controls the content of the navigation frame.
• Navigation Frame – The left frame just below the Vibrant Frame is the Navigation Frame. Depending upon which button is clicked in the Navigation Frame, determines the content of the Presentation Frame.
• The Presentation Frame – The main central frame displays dynamic instructional content as selected from the navigation frame.

Two examples which illustrate design features of Gillani and Relan's instructional model are shown in the following links to screen shots, one of Sookmyung Women's University Continuing Cyber Education Program, and the other of the home page of this tutorial:
C) Related Theories, Pedagogical Practices and Practical Web-Design Strategies

1. Simplify navigation. Szabo (1998) defines navigation as "the process of acquiring information from a rich multimedia data base that has no obvious organizational pattern" (p. 6). Guay (as cited in Fahy 1999, 191-192) advises that navigation should be intuitive, clear, flowing. "Poorly thought out hypertext is a navigational nightmare of tangled mazes, infinite loops, cul-de-sacs, and dead links. So don’t start linking without thinking." Similarly Dede (1996, 13) argues that "without skilled facilitation, many learners who access current knowledge webs will flounder in a morass of unstructured data."
2. Create effective menus. Well-designed menus help learners develop an accurate mental model of the structure being searched. To design more effective menus, Szabo (1996, 55) advises: (a) avoid using conflicting or confusing orienting devices, as disorientation interferes with the learning task; (b) develop organizational systems that are highly visual, interactive, and intuitive; (c) use embedded menus as a search aid, but make sure these menus actually meet learning needs and do not create disorientation; and (d) keep menus shallow but meaningful; use icons supplemented by text.
3. Include indexes, table of contents, and search capabilities. Fahy (1999, 188) advises that navigation, for instructional purposes, can be aided substantially if the following functions and capabilities are designed into WebPages:
   
   index - of contents of the site;
   glossary - of terms, vocabulary, etc., with pronunciation;
   related links page - to enable further study, but to avoid unnecessary browsing;
   searching - using an efficient engine;
   online help - to ensure no user is left without assistance;
   bookmarking - to simplify return to specific parts of the site; and
   notebook - to allow recording of notes, including cut-and-paste from on-line materials.
4. Clearly identify content with appropriate headings and titles. The title of the site should reflect its purpose and audience.

Place most important information on the top-left. Important information should go to the top-left. The lower-left is the least noticed area of the page/screen (Rockley 1997 as cited in Fahy 1999, 145).