Vygotsky s Social Constructivists Theory of Learning

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1 Vygotsky s Social Constructivists Theory of Learning Lev Vygotsky ( ) was a Russian psychologist. He was taught by a private tutor whose pedagogical technique was teaching by engaging in extended critical inquiry and philosophical conversations with students. This is considered as the reason for Vygotsky s views on the role of social dialogue in learning 1. He is considered as the father of social constructivist theory. He followed the work of John Piaget who is attributed as the roots of constructivism 2. While Piaget focused on stages of child development and individual construction of knowledge Vygotsky identified the greater socio-cultural context. Hence Piaget s theory is referred as Individual constructive theory. Human/Vygotsky/Vygotsky4.jpg What a child can today with assistance, she will be able to do by herself tomorrow -Lev Vygotsky- Vygotsky s approach According to Vygotsky, child is completely dependent on other people during the early stages as the sociocultural environment keeps on presenting the child with a variety of tasks and demands, engaging the child in his world 3. This stage is referred as interpsychological plane where chid knowledge through contacts and interactions with people. Then later the child assimilates and internalises this knowledge adding own personal value to it referred as intrapsychological plane Vygotsky emphasised that children and adults are both active agents in the process of child s development. When applying to teaching it means that both the teacher and a student are seen as active agents in children s learning. The teacher's intervention in children's learning is necessary, but it is the quality of the teacher-learner interaction, which is seen as crucial in that learning Vygotsky s theory assumes that learning arises not through interaction, but in interaction. Learners first succeed in performing a new task with the help of another person and then internalise this task so that they can perform it on their own. In this way, social interaction is advocated to mediate learning. 1 Verenikina, I. (2010). Vygotsky in Twenty-First-Century Research. Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Jones, M., & Araje, L. (2002). The Impact of Constructivism on Education: Language, Discourse, and Meaning. American Communication Journal, 5(3). 3 Turuk, M. (2008). The Relevnavce and Implications of Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory in the Second Language Classroom. ARECLS, 5,

2 According to Vygotsky, good learning occurs in the Zone of Proximal Development where he distinguish between the children s actual and potential levels of development. Key points in Vygotsky s theory Social interactions are critical; knowledge is co-constructed between two or more people. Self-regulation is developed through internalization (developing an internal representation) of actions and mental operations that occur in social interactions. Human development occurs through the cultural transmission of tools (language, symbols). Language is the most critical tool. Language develops from social speech, to private speech, to covert (inner) speech. The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the difference between what children can do on their own and what they can do with assistance from others. Interactions with adults and peers in the ZPD promote cognitive development. Key points in Vygotsky s theory Social interactions are critical; knowledge is co-constructed between two or more people. Self-regulation is developed through internalization (developing an internal representation) of actions and mental operations that occur in social interactions. Human development occurs through the cultural transmission of tools (language, symbols). Language is the most critical tool. Language develops from social speech, to private speech, to covert (inner) speech. The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the difference between what children can do on their own and what they can do with assistance from others. Interactions with adults and peers in the ZPD promote cognitive development. Source: (Meece, 2002 cited by Schunk, 2012) Zone of Proximal Development Vygotsky defines the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of

3 potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers 4 In the ZPD, a teacher and a learner work together on a task that the learner could not perform independently because of the difficulty level. Also it reflects the idea of collective activity, where those who know more or are more skilled share that knowledge and skill to accomplish a task with those who know less. A good deal of guided participation is required when working in the ZPD and learners bring their own understandings to social interactions and construct meanings by integrating those understandings with their experiences in the context. For example assume that a teacher (Trudy) and a child (Laura) will work on a task (making a picture of mom, dad, and Laura doing something together at home). Laura brings to the task her understandings of what the people and the home look like and of the types of things they might work on, combined with knowledge of how to draw and make pictures. Trudy brings the same understandings plus knowledge of conditions necessary to work on various tasks. Suppose they decide to make a picture of the three working in the yard. Laura might draw a picture of dad cutting grass, mom trimming shrubs, and Laura raking the lawn. If Laura were to draw herself in front of dad, Trudy would explain that Laura must be behind dad to rake up the grass left behind by dad s cutting. During the interaction, Laura modifies her beliefs about working in the yard based on her current understanding and on the new knowledge she constructs. 4 Schunk, D. (2012). Learning Theories An Educational Perspective (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

4 Educational Applications of Social Constructivists Theory Reciprocal teaching: It involves interactive dialogues between teacher and small group of students. At first, the teacher models the activities. After that teacher and students take turns being the teacher. During reading comprehension, if students learn to ask questions, then to determine their level of understanding, teacher can include a question-asking strategy in the instructional sequence. Since students gradually develop skills, reciprocal teaching comprises the principle of social interaction and ZPD of the Vygotskian perspective. Peer collaboration: The shared social interactions when peers work on tasks cooperatively serve an instructional function. This method is mainly used in learning mathematics, science, and language arts which attests to the recognized impact of the social environment during learning. Apprenticeship Programs: as they occur in cultural institutions like schools and agencies which helps in transforming learners cognitive development. On the job, apprentices operate within a ZPD as mainly their works depend on tasks beyond their capabilities. Apprentices develop a shared understanding of important processes by working with experts and integrate this with their current understandings Bloom s Taxonomy Benjamin S Bloom ( ) was an American Educational Psychologist. He believed that education should focus on 'mastery' of subjects and the promotion of higher forms of thinking, rather than a utilitarian approach to simply transferring facts. Bloom's Taxonomy, was initially created for academic purpose. However it is relevant to all types of learning. Hence, it provided a basis for ideas which have been used (and developed) around the world by academics, educators, teachers and trainers, for the preparation of learning evaluation materials, and also provided the platform for the complete 'Bloom's Taxonomy' as we see it today. Collectively these concepts which make up the whole Bloom Taxonomy continue to be useful and very relevant to the planning and design of: school, college and university education, adult and corporate training courses, teaching and lesson plans, and learning materials; they also serve as a template for the evaluation of: training, teaching, learning and development, within every aspect of education and industry 5. Creativity follows mastery, so mastery of skills is the first priority for young talent -Benjamin Bloom- 5

5 Three Domains of Bloom s Taxonomy Bloom s Taxonomy identifies three parts or domains of educational activities or learning 6. These include: Cognitive ((intellectual capability, i.e. knowledge, or 'think'): this domain deals with knowledge and development of intellectual skills. It includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual (thinking) abilities and skills. Affective (feelings, emotions and behavior, i.e., attitude, or 'feel'): this domain is about growth in feelings or emotional areas. Affective domain includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values (beliefs), appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. Psychomotor (manual and physical skills, i.e. skills, or 'do'): this domain focuses on developing manual and physical skills. It includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas. Psychomotor skills rage from manual tasks, such as digging a ditch or washing a car, to more complex tasks, such as operating a complex piece of machinery or dancing. Cognitive Affective Psychomotor knowledge attitude skills 1. Recall data 1. Receive (awareness) 1. Imitation (copy) 2. Understand 2. Respond (react) 2. Manipulation (follow instructions) 3. Apply (use 3. Value (understand and act) 3. Develop Precision 4. Analyse (structure/elements) 4. Organise personal value 4. Articulation (combine, system 5. Synthesize (create/build) 5. Internalize value system (adopt behaviour) 6. Evaluate (assess, judge in relational terms) integrate related skills) 5. Naturalization (automate, become expert) Based on the three domains, the elements of Bloom's Taxonomy: 1. Knowledge (Recall) - remembering learned information 2. Comprehension - grasp meaning of information by translating and interpreting meanings 3. Application - use of information to apply learning to real life circumstances 4. Analysis - break down, identify and appreciate information 5. Synthesis - assemble, construct new information from given components 6

6 6. Evaluation - ability to make judgement and evaluation based on criteria An important premise of Bloom's Taxonomy is that each category (or 'level') must be amin%20bloom%27s%20taxonomy.png mastered before progressing to the next. As such the categories within each domain are levels of learning development, and these levels increase in difficulty. Application of the domains in Classrooms Cognitive: In classroom we see this domain applied when students are given exams like multiple choice tests, explain or interpret meaning from a given scenario, develop plans or procedures. Affective: In classrooms we see the application of this domain students are allowed to actively participate in group discussion, giving presentations or reflection reports. Psychomotor: This domain can be observed in classrooms as practical sessions like performing science experiments, computer training sessions, planting trees.