Categories: Site glossary
when used by Vygotsky meant any 'academic' concept that is acquired fork formal instructions rather than developed spontaneously by direct experience of phenomena
"Scientific concepts (such as xylem, symbiosis, oxidation, transition metal, photon, magnetic flux density – but Vygotsky's category was broader and would also include gestalt switch, price elasticity of demand, the industrial revolution, distributive justice, the baroque, and so forth) cannot be acquired by familiarity with instances met in everyday life – which may be sufficient for acquiring so-called natural kind concepts such as cat or tree.They therefore need to be taught by being explained through language." (Taber, 2020)
