ABSTRACT
The concept of mediation is fundamental to Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky’s thought. Vygotsky is considered one of the most important psychologists of the twentieth century, founding a school of thought which rivals that of Jean Piaget. During the spring of 1934, Vygotsky organized a new psychology department at the All-Union Institute of Experimental Medicine (VIEM) in Leningrad. Vygotsky's thought has had a considerable impact on education, both theoretically and in practice. However, it is possible to establish two distinct, albeit connected, interpretations of Vygotsky's educational views. Vygotsky, because of his brief academic career, left behind a considerable body of inchoate work, and this gives rise to differing interpretations. Bruner's notion of scaffolding is based on Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development; in fact, it could be said that it is 'a way of operationalising Vygotsky's concept of working in the zone of proximal development'.
