VYGOTSKY ON LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

The theoretical framework of Vygotsky entails specific understandings of learning, development, and the goal(s) of development. In Vygotsky' s usage, the term obuchenie, frequently translated as 'learning'. more accurately indicates the interaction of teacher and student. Although the various domains (phylogenesis, sociocultural history ontogenesis, and microgenesis) to which Vygotsky extended the concept of developme nt have differing dynamics, the course of development within each doma in is characterized by the transformative effects of cultural tools (m ediational means) upon their users. Vygotsky posited a form of abstrac t rationality associated with decontextualization, a semiotic potentia l inherent in all human languages, as an ideal endpoint (telos) of dev elopment. Evidence that Vygotsky at times assumed the existence of ano ther telos, corresponding to the semiotic potential of contextualizati on, has implications for a potential developmental account of heteroge neity in human mental functioning.