Mason Is Another Seventh Grader Who Is Having Difficulty in Math

Essay

Mason is another seventh grader who is having difficulty in math class.He stares blankly at the test paper asking him to compute fractions such as 5/7 and 9/12 as percentages.He can't remember at all how to determine whether 4/5 is larger or smaller than 5/8,so he makes a guess.He hopes that,with some luck,he might manage in the class.On the weekend,Mason is watching his favorite sport,basketball.He remarks to his sister,"Oh,this guy made eight out of 11 shots last week;he's close to an 80 percent shooter so he should be for these free throws." After the player makes both shots,Mason looks down at the statistics sheet he's been keeping on the local teams' shooting percentages,and updates the statistics.
-How might Vygotsky explain the role of other people in shaping Mason's math skills in the two contexts? Explain.