Psychosocial and Cognitive Development

I personally think it is a mistake to stake too much on any one theory, (and a child's education qualifies as too much) because they are all just that: Theories. Any one outlined in the text could serve given the right situation, but none will help every child. This is where the judgment and close observation of the teacher becomes paramount. If a teacher given the knowledge they have attained over many years of schooling can make a qualified judgment on what will serve an individual child best, then regardless of source it is a success.

I think Vygotsky more so than the other theorists highlights the need for social interaction as a part of learning, if not the source of learning. I know from my experience that Middle school was my toughest challenge. So many things changed and without the safety net of social interactions to keep some sort of stability in my own life I think its quite possible i could have just given up. With my plans to teach this level, and to also teach a subject many find to be boring and without life, that being History, Vygotsky seems the logical choice. He correctly describes the teaching style that so many have a problem with when it comes to History. That being that it is just a bunch of facts and each year more facts are just added like pennies in a piggy bank. Vygotsky prescribes a solution to this in that a classroom should be set up to provide cognitive development using psychological tools that provide direction and Que the student to ask the next question rather than the teacher just giving more answers. Vygotsky just makes sense to me, in reading the text I realized I've been using some of the techniques described with my own children. In the case of math problems I use the (ZPD) with my six year old all the time and just give the hints as needed to boost her along.

I have two younger brothers who i spent many years trying to impart knowledge on, most of which consisted of what stuff of mine they could not touch. Although there were many disagreements and fights on this and anything else you can think of that brothers fight about. I almost think my brothers had a head start on life once i started school. They became familiar with concepts I was learning by osmosis. So much so that once they started school they had an easier time grasping it. I see much the same in my own kids, My three year old, Ava, idolizes her older sister, Ellie, and wants to do everything she does. Ava at two, knew the alphabet and could identify nearly all of the letters. She can also recognize some words when written out, such as the names of her siblings and parents. Perhaps I have an advantage here as my wife works in the social services field and is familiar with the Denver screening and tests the kids on a semi regular basis so we know exactly where they are most of the time and what we need to work on. In talking with her about it she uses Piaget and Erikson more in her work but she works with pre-k children and rarely has to go beyond the "Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt" stage of development.
In finding ways to use Vygotsky's theories in technology two distinct ways jump out. The first would be in using the computer itself as an expert peer. That is with the wealth of information available on the Internet nearly any subject is limitless in its depth and breadth of knowledge. Secondly it can be used to link students with more knowledgeable students and experts in their field of study. This would be more accurately described as scaffolding.
With my unwillingness to settle on any one view for every student I was particularly struck by Norah's post on the Montessori school, i haven't done a lot of research on the subject but feel if we as educators are willing to look outside the realm of accepted theories to ones that have been proven to work in practice it can only make us all better.