Review by Choice Review
This collection of reports about applications of instructional approaches goes beyond the socio-cultural developmental theory of Vygotsky on which it is based. For a more detailed explication of the Vygotskian teaching/learning theory, consult Roland G. Tharp and Ronald Gallimore's Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learning, and Schooling in Social Context (CH, Jul'89). Vygotskian ideas have been slow to penetrate the Piaget-dominated developmental psychology and the cognitive-behavioral educational psychology of the American educational establishment. These reports and commentaries, however, demonstrate the legitimate challenge of Vygotskian theory to those established traditions, a challenge that American instructional theorists and trainers would be foolish to ignore. Colleges of education that certify teachers certainly should become cognizant of Vygotskian theory and of the applications presented here. The book is organized into three sections; after an excellent introduction, reports about classroom applications are presented, followed by articles on interpersonal processes in learning and on socio-cultural educational institutions. Each section includes a commentary by an expert from outside the Vygotskian tradition. Suitable for advanced teacher education majors and graduate students. Extensive index. Upper-level undergraduates and above. C. M. Porter; Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
