Learning in a Social Context

While writing the answer for Learning in a Social Context for my  week 3 Forum: 3:3 Readings on Characteristics of the Online Learner and Training Professional Workforce Educators Online, I remembered the paper we did on same topic in graduation. I think that Russian teacher and psychologist Lev Vygotsky is the first person in the history of education who brought the world’s attention to the ways in which social environments influence this learning process. He talked about various ways in which a teacher influences shaping the social interactions. After Vygotsky proposed his theory, the world got attracts towards tis issue.

There are few ways in which teachers can guide and enriching interaction in classroom and online. Some of the ways  teachers develop communities of learning are:

Scaffolding: “Scaffolding” means providing just enough support, depending on the needs of the student, to move students’ skills and understanding. It is not guided learning.

Project Methods: Making groups, assigning a topic and final product should be a presentation. Work is carried out through a division of labor. Students first research a topic, in order to share their expertise with their classmates, and finally perform a consequential task requiring that all students have mastered the content generated by each group (Brown & Campione, 1996a)

The job of  a teacher is acting as an expert, model, guide, and facilitator of these social interactions. A teacher will with create and design a learning environment so that students interact with each other.

Collaborative Learning and Group Work: This should be an integral part of  any classroom or online learning environment.  Daily tasks that foster more student-to-student collaboration can build on the range of strengths and abilities.

References:

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Hammond,  Linda Darling. Learning From Others: Learning in a Social Context. Stanford University School of Education.

photo credit-VCCS.edu