ADHESIVOS DE APLICACIÓN UNILATERAL

The Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), challenged Piaget’s view of

the child constructing knowledge individually, proposing that “important others” within a

socio-cultural group can help children progress beyond their supposed developmental

stage (Ultanir, 2012). Vygotsky insisted that social interaction influences children’s

cognitive and intellectual development, and stressed the high importance of interactions

and conversations between children and adults (Pritchard & Woollard, 2010). Vygotsky

(1978) explained:

Function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people and then inside the

child. This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the

formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships

between individuals. (p. 57)

Accordingly, children are more likely to construct knowledge with other people

who are in the same culture. To Pritchard and Woollard (2010), “learning is a highly social activity” (p. 34) in which children gain knowledge and develop cultural values

through interactions with more able others and peers. Two main ideas of Vygotsky’s

theory are discussed in this section: the Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding.

3.4.1 Zone of Proximal Development

The zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978), is an important concept in

social constructivism. It refers to “the distance between the actual developmental level as

determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as

determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more

capable peers” (p. 86). To Vygotsky (1978), knowledge is constructed within a social context, and takes account of the values and beliefs of the children’s family and community around them (Mooney, 2000). These values and beliefs have an influence on children’s learning and ways of thinking (Mooney, 2000). The teacher’s role, which is active, has a significant effect on children’s learning. From a social constructivist point of view, the assistance of a teacher or a more able peer can help children to grasp concepts

and thoughts which they do not understand on their own. The teacher’s role in cognitive

constructivist classrooms is less active, functioning more as an on-looker who observes

children interacting and exploring their surroundings. However, teachers in social

constructivist classrooms are more active in guiding and stimulating children to think

when they come across problems. Teachers give encouragement and suggestions when necessary so as to help children reach their “level of potential development” (Bodrova &

Leong, 2007). In sum, learning is interactive, and involves joint activities that take place

in certain social situations (Rose & Rogers, 2012), which play an essential role in the development of children’s cognition (Gourgiotou, 2014).

3.4.2 Scaffolding

As noted, peers, teachers, and parents can support children within their zone of

proximal development by offering assistance in activities. This assistance is known as scaffolding, which is “like a temporary scaffold that comes down when construction is finished” (Crain, 2011, p. 246). The goal of scaffolding is to help the learner to achieve a higher level of development by using different methods. The teacher’s role in scaffolding is to provide different strategies for problem solving, such as asking questions to redirect the learner’s thinking. Scaffolding refers to “measured and appropriate intervention which has the purpose of enabling a learner to move forward” (Pritchard & Woollard, 2010, p. 38).

Observing how children work together might provide information for teachers to understand children’s learning processes and determine the kind of scaffolding they need to offer to support a higher level of learning (Bodrova & Leong, 2007). At the same time,

teachers can make use of these experiences to enhance their teaching skills in general

also concerns creating interactive opportunities in which children are actively involved in

different activities with other, more able students that allow them to take advantage of

those interactions (Gonzalez-Dehass & Willems, 2013). When children work together,

they can scaffold each other by modifying tasks or helping each other to solve problems.

Moreover, children copy their peers’ behaviour and understand why they behaved in

particular ways.

Teachers play a significant role in influencing children’s learning. The teacher’s role is active. Teachers can give structural and directive hints, as well as support children

through probing conversation and further social negotiation (Bodrova & Leong, 2007).

Social constructivism emphasizes learning as a social process, and meaning and

understanding are developed throughout this process. Learning does not occur only in an

individual; nor is it the passive development of behaviour. Learning is influenced

significantly by external forces (McMahon, 1997). Accordingly, teachers might need to

observe and work with children in different areas of learning and development so as to create the correct scaffold and support children at the “right place and right time” (Pritchard & Woollard, 2010, p. 38).

Social constructivism concentrates on the social aspect of children’s learning (Rose

& Rogers, 2012).From a social constructivist perspective, teachers need to recognize that

working with others. Therefore, core programs, classroom collaborations, and issues

should permit learners to construct knowledge with their peers, rather than accepting pre-

arranged information from teachers (Green & Gredler, 2002). Social constructivist

principles provide lenses for exploring teaching approaches, teaching practices in

classrooms, strategies that teachers utilize, and the environmental contexts that teachers create to improve children’s learning. The next section discusses how the theories that have been discussed here work together to enhance teaching and learning.