Implementation of Vygotsky-Based Strategies to Strengthen Social Interaction in Contemporary Virtual Educational Processes

Abstract

This review article analyzes the implementation of pedagogical strategies grounded in Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory to strengthen social interaction in contemporary virtual educational environments. The objective was to determine how Vygotskian principles—Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), scaffolding, and collaborative learning—can be operationalized within digital teaching-learning platforms. The methodology corresponds to a systematic review of scientific literature published between 2018 and 2024 in databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC, with a total of 45 selected sources using PRISMA criteria. The results show that Vygotskian strategies applied in virtual environments significantly increase students' active participation, improve collective knowledge construction, and reduce the sense of isolation in online learning modalities. Digital scaffolding—in its three levels: hard, soft, and peer scaffolding—emerges as a key predictor of positive academic outcomes when the teacher assumes an active mediating role. Identified modalities of virtual collaborative learning include Project-Based Virtual Learning, Peer Instruction, and Virtual Communities of Practice. It is concluded that the systematic integration of the ZPD through digital collaborative tools—structured forums, peer tutoring videoconferences, and document co-editing platforms—generates robust learning communities that favor the development of higher-order competencies, provided the teacher continuously adjusts the scaffolding level to the group's individual needs.