Instructional Design Contemporary Theories of Learning II

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Instructional DesignContemporary Theories of
Learning II

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Contemporary Learning Theory

• An alternative to Piaget
• Lev Semenovich Vygotsky
• Where was he from?
• Russia
• He died over 50 years ago at the age of 38
  (reportedly of tuberculosis)
• His theory is only now receiving the attention it
  deserves.
• Unpopular view for the time period
• Published in Russian

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Vygotsky

• Piaget described the child as a little scientist
  the view which evolved into constructivism
  the child constructs knowledge about the world
  largely alone.
• Vygotsky in contrast suggested that cognitive
  development depends much more on the people in
  the childs world.

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Vygotsky

• The two most important points regarding Vygotsky
• 1. Childrens knowledge, ideas, values, and
  attitudes develop through interactions with
  others.
• 2. Language plays an important role in cognitive
  development.

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Private Speech

• If youve spent much time around young children,
  you know that they often talk to themselves as
  they play.
• This is termed private speech
• For Piaget, private speech was immature and
  egocentric. The kids talk to themselves about
  what they think is important. Only as they get
  older do they take into account the needs and
  interests of
  those around them. Prior to this, they engage
  in parallel play (playingindependently, but
  not interacting with those around them).

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Private Speech

• For Vygotsky, private speech was not a sign of
  cognitive immaturity but rather an important part
  of normal cognitive development.
• The children are communicating with themselves to
  guide their behavior and thinking.
• For example, when working on a puzzle a child
  might say, No. It wont fit. Try it here.
  Turn. Turn the other way. Maybe this one
  instead. Got it.

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Private Speech

• As children mature, their speech moves from
  talking out loud to just moving their lips to
  just thinking the guiding words.
• Private speech peaks around the ages of 5 - 7 and
  disappears around the age of 9.
• Private speech then turns into silent inner
  speech and is critical in helping us to solve
  problems as we get older.
• However, in a tough situation, we may even revert
  to talking out loud.

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Private Speech Implications

• Because private speech helps students to regulate
  their thinking, it makes sense to allow or even
  encourage them to use private speech in school.
• Insisting on total silence may make the work even
  harder for students.
• Language is critical for cognitive development.

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Zone of Proximal Development(The ZPD)

• In all learning situations, there are certain
  problems that a child can solve, and others that
  are just out of reach because they are slightly
  more complex or reflect an exception to the rule.
• Of course, other problems are too far out
  of the childs
  reach at a given point in time.

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Zone of Proximal Development(???? ??????????
????????)

• The Zone of Proximal Development is the area
  where the child cannot solve the problem alone
  but can be successful under adult guidance or
  with the support of an advanced peer.
• Do you see why language is so important?

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Another look at the Zone of Proximal Development

• On one hand, if we dont regularly challenge our
  students to achieve at higher levels, they become
  bored.
• On the other hand, if we expect them to complete
  tasks that are too difficult, they become
  anxious.

• According to Vygotsky, the solution is to present
  students with tasks that are just slightly out of
  reach and offer scaffolding so that they can rise
  to the challenge and experience success.

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Zone of Proximal Development

• For example, a six year old has lost a toy and
  asks his father for help. The father asks where
  the child last saw the toy and the child says, I
  cant remember. The father then asks a series
  of questions Did you see it in your room? Did
  you take it outside? Did your sister borrow it?
  To each question the child responds, No. Then
  the father asks, Did you leave it in the car?
  The child says, I think so, and goes out and
  finds it.
• Who solved the problem?

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They solved the problem together

When the child came to the dad for help, the dad
did not know the toy was in the car. However,
through language and actions, the dad helped his
child trace back his steps. The dad also helped
him with logic and taught him how to tackle a
problem. So rather than telling the child the
answer, the dad helped the child get the answer
on his own.
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Zone of Proximal Development

http//www.youtube.com/watch?vhx84h-i3w8U
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Zone of Proximal Development

• So this is where the term scaffolding comes in.
• It is our job as educators to put the students in
  situations where they have to reach to understand
  but where support from the teacher or other
  students is available.
• In the educational setting, scaffolds may include
  models, cues, prompts, hints, partial solutions,
  think-aloud modeling, cooperative learning
  groups, and direct instruction

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Levels of Scaffolding

• Soft
• Type and amount of support needed is dependent on
  the needs of the students during the time of
  instruction.
• Example Teacher circulates the room and
  converses with his or her students. The teacher
  may question their approach to a difficult
  problem and provide constructive feedback.
• Hard
• Developed in order to assist students with a
  difficult task.
• The key is that the assistance is planned in
  advance.
• Example Teacher may identify hints or cues to
  help the student reach higher levels of thinking.
  The teacher is considered the expert and is
  responsible for the scaffolding of his or her
  students.

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The Theory of Scaffolding

• The theory of scaffolding can be used by
  educators for all age groups.
• Its ability to build on prior knowledge and
  internalize new information applies to the
  youngest of learners through the oldest learner.
• Vygotsky believed that if the development of
  higher level thinking and problem solving were
  existent and if the situations were designed to
  have students utilize critical thinking skills
  their thought process will be challenged and new
  knowledge gained.
• He also believed that knowledge achieved through
  life experience also serves as a foundation for
  the behaviors of individuals.

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For Next Week

• Tweak the PowerPoint.
• Find 2 examples of Vygotskian Education.
• 1 Elementary and 1 Secondary
• Search YouTube, websites, articles
• Upload links into the Blog
• Joke