4.3. Lev Vygotsky

In his book Art and Cognition,Efland(2002)demonstrates how art contributes to the overall development of the mind. He outlines how the development of artistic interests and skills is an important aspect of cognition and learning, and shows how art helps individuals construct cultural meaning, a crucial part of social communication –a foundation for lifelong learning, including art. He argues that Art should be determined not only by affective or sensorimotor aspects, but that cognitive aspects are also very essential. He explains the cognitive nature of learning in the visual arts – unmasking the intractable perception of art as only emotional, and looks at recent understandings of the mind and intelligence to determine how they bear on questions of the intellectual status of the arts: ● how a cognitively oriented conception of teaching will change the ways that the arts are taught; ● in which ways new developments in cognitive science can be applied to art education; ● how the arts can be used to develop cognitive ability in youngsters.

4.3. Lev Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) was a Russian psychologist and social constructivist whose sociocultural theory emphasises the importance of culture and interaction in the development of cognitive abilities. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory views human development as a socially mediated process in which children acquire their cultural values, beliefs, and problem-solving strategies through collaborative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society (Daniels, 2017). He believed that a person has not only a set of abilities but also a set of potential abilities that can be realised if given the proper guidance from others. Vygotsky developed theories on teaching that have been adopted by educators today.

What we should remember:

➢ Teach youngsters about art through their own experiences (cognitive, affective and sensorimotor), by looking at art from the past and present, at the creative processes of others. ➢ Teach youngsters to think about the role of art, about what is important (analysis and reflection), or what they can or want to make themselves (problem finding). Viewing works of art requires some intellectual ability to extract valuable meaning from a work ofart. ➢ Help youngsters learn to develop their own artistic and creative abilities by doing visual research themselves, by learning through experience how to apply their knowledge flexibly. ➢ Encourage imagination: the act or ability to form mental images of that which is not present, or which has not been experienced before. It is also the act or ability to create new ideas or images by combining and reorganising previous experiences.

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