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“Lev Vygotsky”

With the turbulent times of early USSR, Stalin's rise to power, and Lev Semenovich Vygotsky's untimely death in 1934, Vygotsky's Cultural-Historical Theory was hidden from Russia and the world for decades. Today Vygotsky's writings are considered by professors worldwide as a contemporary scientific application for present day issues.

"Lev Vygotsky: one man’s legacy through his life and practice" explores the compelling story of this father of Russian Psychology. This documentary uses a mixture of interviews and commentary from family members Gita L. Vygodskaya and Elena Kravtzova, renowned professors/educators including Michael Cole,
Lois Holzman, Vera John-Steiner, Alex Kozulin, Tamara Lifanova, Luciano Mecacci, James Wertsch, and others, archive photos, film footage, narration, and Vygotskian practice examples.

“Lev Vygotsky” educational documentary is 1 hour and 53 minutes divided into three sections: life, theory and practice. The DVD chapters can be selected and viewed singularly or in combination by professors as class time and curriculum content dictate, and with students in self-directed learning.

Some Vygotskian concepts highlighted in the video are: the role of learning through internalization of culture and social relationships, language development and thought, mediated learning, zone of proximal development, the more knowledgeable other, psychological tools, inclusion of special needs children in a school setting, play, and the role of collaborative dialogue and communication.