For a man who lived to be only 38, Vygotsky studied cognitive development extensively and has left a body of work that heavily informs the educational theories of today.
The Social Construction of Learning
Through his observations, Vygotsky concluded that social processes and interactions in the environment are transformed to become internal processes within the child. It asserts that people first interact with others around them by engaging in shared activities. Through these interactions, a child learns how to appropriately use material tools (the physical things in their environment) to assist them and also the appropriate use of psychological tools (such as socially acceptable behaviours, and language use). In essence, the older, more knowledgeable persons with whom the child interacts, guides them in learning this things. In the classroom, teachers are to provide a similar function in helping students to develop - a person with more knowledge/experience assisting a child with less knowledge/experience. Vygotsky considered this 'assisted performance' and viewed teaching as mediation (assisting a learner through step-by-step explanation, demonstration, guided questioning, and feedback). This mediation process that involves the interaction of more experienced persons with less experienced persons means that a learner's capabilities are socially facilitated.
From Speaking to Thinking - Internalization
Vygotsky observed that children regularly spoke to themselves aloud (egocentric speech) and found this to resemble speaking to another person or repeating a lot of what they have heard. As children grew, egocentric speech grew more infrequent. This, he believed, signaled a change from talking aloud to talking silently to themselves, and referred to this process as the internalization of words to become thoughts.
When conceptualize things through their internalized speech or thoughts, they see a big picture. Verbalizing this picture can often prove difficult especially for children when they have limited time in which to do so. Teachers should therefore allow children time to reflect before they are expected to answer questions, further, since children become very vulnerable when they share their thoughts in a full classroom, teachers should help them grow more confident in doing so by allowing them to share ideas in small groups of peers before having to do so to their whole class.
The Complex Links Between Thinking and Speaking
Speech is analytical. By talking about an event, we help to organize out thoughts about it and perhaps even lead to new realizations since it helps us to look at things in new ways. Vygotsky said "Every sentence we say in real life has some kind of subtext, a thought hidden behind it." Students must always be encouraged to talk about their learning, it helps to make the connection between the new information going into their brains and things they already know. Moreover, it helps them to sort through the growing data in their heads, shape it, label it, store and use it.
The Zone of Proximal Development
This is the gap between what a learner can learn on their own and what they can learn with assistance from someone else. Vygotsky believed that all good learning takes place in this zone. Through mediation (guidance), learners are helped to stretch a little beyond what they can manage to achieve on their own. Responsibility still rests on the learner's shoulders to apply themselves to learning, but when things get a little beyond their own reach, educators swoop in to give them a springboard of guidance to get to the next level. The inability of a student to learn at a desired pace does not mean they are incapable of learning, therefore educators need to provide them with the necessary support, feedback, guidance, and encouragement to enable them to stay motivated to progress. They should be strongly encouraged to talk about their learning.
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