A. Developmental and Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Learning

• Learning


  Influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and communication with others
• Lev Vygotsky


  • Developmental psychologist
  • Espoused that society and culture provide many concepts and strategies that children can use in thinking about and solving everyday problems
• Social Constructivism


  A situation from which children can learn from each other; and subsequently create new knowledge
• Interaction with adults


  It helps the child make sense of the world through discussion of a phenomenon or event which both of them are experiencing
• Scaffolding


  A supportive technique, carried out by experts or competent people which helps students of any age to perform challenging tasks even if at that time, they cannot yet perform these tasks independently
• Participation and gradual entry


  Increase the probability that children will engage in behaviors and thinking skills within their zone of proximal development (ZPD)
• Apprenticeship


  Guided participation where a novice works with an expert mentor for a certain period to learn how to perform complex tasks in a particular domain
• Modeling


  The mentor performs the task at the same time thinking aloud or talking about the process while the learner listens
• Coaching


  The mentor frequently gives suggestions, hints and feedback as learner performs the task
• Scaffolding


  The mentor provides different forms of support for the learner, like simplifying task, breaking a task into small and more manageable units, or providing less complicated equipment
• Articulation


  The learner explains what he is doing and why, allowing the mentor to examine or analyze the learner's knowledge, reasoning and problem-solving strategies
• Reflection


  The mentor asks the learner to compare his performance with that of experts, or with a model of how the task should be done
• Increasing Complexity and Diversity of Tasks


  With increasing learner's proficiency, the mentor presents more complex, challenging and varied tasks to accomplish
• Exploration


  The mentor encourages the learner to frame questions and problems on his own and in doing so refine and expand his acquired skills
• Acquisition of teaching skills


  As children acquire and gain new and first-hand information and skills from experiences members of the community; they can teach their new knowledge to others
• Dynamic assessment


  Reveals more objective evaluation of children's cognitive capabilities, than general assessments do
• Dynamic assessment


  Capabilities such as peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and group discussion
• Children can accomplish more difficult tasks if they are assisted by people more advanced and competent than they are.
• Challenging tasks promote maximum cognitive growth
• Situated Cognition or Situated Learning

  A theory that suggests learning is "naturally tied to authentic activity, context and culture" (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989), it suggests that it is more difficult to learn from unnatural activities
• Jean Lave


  A sociologist-anthropologist and learning theorist and one of the notable proponents of situated learning theory