Lev Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) lived and worked in Russia but made important contributions to psychology and education that cross boundaries of space and time. While his theoretical work has been influencing scholars in the West since the 1960’s, the practical applications of his theory have not been thoroughly explored outside of Russia. At the same time, successful application of Vygotsky’s ideas in the early childhood and elementary classrooms carried out by his students and colleagues, such as Daniel Elkonin, Pyotr Gal’perin, and Alexander Zaporozhets, prove that these ideas are not only inspiring but also practical.
More about Lev Vygotsky
On the web:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
DVDs:
http://www.davidsonfilmsstore.com
• Vygotsky: An Introduction Davidson Films, 1994
• Play: The Vygotskian Approach Davidson Films, 1996
Books on Vygotsky:
Bodrova, E. & Leong, D. J. (2007). Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education (2nd ed.) Columbus, OH, Merrill/Prentice Hall
Kozulin, A. (1990). Vygotsky's Psychology: A Biography of Ideas. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kozulin, A., Gindis, B., Ageyev, V. & and Miller, S. (eds.). (2003) Vygotsky’s Educational Theory in Cultural Context. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Moll, L.C. (Ed.) (1990). Vygotsky and Education: Instructional implications and applications of sociohistorical psychology. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Van der Veer, R., & Valsiner, J. (1991). Understanding Vygotsky. A quest for synthesis. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.