Social Development Theory
The social development theory posits that people learn best in a social environment. This theory was first proposed by Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, in the early 20th century. Vygotsky believed that people learn through their interactions with others. He argued that children learn best when interacting with more experienced individuals, such as their parents or teachers. This interaction allows children to internalize the knowledge and skills that they acquire.
This theory has four components: The Zone of Proximal Development, scaffolding, private speech, and cultural tools (Smagorinsky, 2018). The Zone of Proximal Development is the gap between what a child can do independently and what they can do with the help of adults or more competent peers. Scaffolding is the support provided to children to help them complete tasks within their Zone of Proximal Development. Private speech is the inner dialogue that children use to talk to themselves and plan their actions. Cultural tools are the symbols and language that children use to think and communicate.
The Social Development Theory has been used to explain various phenomena, including cognitive development, moral development, and socialization. This theory has been particularly influential in education and child development. The Social Development Theory has been critiqued, with some researchers arguing that it does not adequately explain how children learn more complex concepts. Jean Lave, a cognitive anthropologist, has further developed the social development theory. Lave argued that people learn best through their interactions with others in a social setting. She proposed that people learn through a process of apprenticeship, where they learn by observing and imitating more experienced individuals.
The social development theory has been found to apply in several settings, such as education and workplace training. In education, it has been used to support cooperative learning, where students work together to complete a task. This type of learning is more effective than traditional, individual learning. In workplace training, the social development theory has been used to support the idea of job rotation, where employees are allowed to learn new skills by working in different positions. This type of training is more effective than traditional, classroom-based training.
Constructivist Theory
Constructivist theory is a learning theory that emphasizes the role of the learner in the learning process. The constructivist theory holds that learners construct their knowledge and understanding of the world through their interactions with it. Constructivism has its roots in philosophy, psychology, and sociology. This theory also has its roots in the work of educational theorists like Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development emphasizes the role of the learner in constructing knowledge. Piaget believed that children are active learners who construct their understanding of the world through their interactions with it. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory emphasizes the role of culture and social interaction in developing cognitive skills (Bodrova et al., 2013) Vygotsky believed that children learn through their interactions with more knowledgeable others (Metsämuuronen & Räsänen, 2018). One of the key ideas of constructivism is that learners learn best when actively involved in the learning process and when given opportunities to construct their knowledge. For example, constructivists believe learners learn best when given opportunities to solve problems, work on projects, and engage in other hands-on activities.
Today, constructivism is widely used in education and is particularly effective in teaching problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. The constructivist theory has been applied to education in several ways. Constructivist educators believe learners should actively participate in learning (Clark,2018). They emphasize the importance of providing learners with opportunities to explore and discover themselves. Constructivist educators also believe that learning is a social process and that learners should be encouraged to interact with each other to construct their knowledge.
Situated Learning Theory
Situated learning theory is a theory of learning that emphasizes the importance of the context and environment in which learning takes place. The theory was developed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has been influential in several fields, including education, cognitive science, and sociology (Hansen ,2020). Situated learning theory has its roots in the work of Lev Vygotsky, who argued that learning is a social process that takes place within a particular cultural context (Hansen, 2020). Vygotsky’s work was later extended by the sociologist Basil Bernstein, who argued that the different ways’ knowledge is structured in different cultures could profoundly influence learning.
Lave and Wenger’s contribution was to apply these ideas to the specific context of learning in everyday life. They argued that learning is best understood as a process of appropriation, in which individuals appropriate the practices and norms of a particular community (Taber, 2020). This process is never complete, and learners are always in a state of flux, moving between different communities and ways of knowing. One of the key insights of situated learning theory is that learning is a situated activity and cannot be divorced from the context in which it takes place. This has important implications for education, as it suggests that educational environments should be designed to support and scaffold learning rather than trying to isolate it from the real world. Several educational approaches have been developed in light of situated learning theory, including community-based, project-based, and inquiry-based learning.
In conclusion, the social development theory provides a useful framework for understanding people’s learning. This theory can design effective learning environments and develop instructional strategies that promote social interaction and active participation. In conclusion Social constructivism emphasizes the role of social interaction in the learning process. Learners construct their own understanding of the world through interaction with others. One of the most important things to remember about constructivism is that learners are active participants in the learning process.
References
Bodrova, E., Germeroth, C., & Leong, D. J. (2013). Play and self-regulation: lessons from Vygotsky. American Journal of play, 6(1), 111-123. Web.
Clark, K. R. (2018). Learning Theories: Constructivism. Radiologic Technology, 90(2), 180–182. Web.
Hansen, S. B. (2020). Rereading Jean Lave 30 years on: Analogy and transfer-in-pieces. Nordic Studies in Education, 40(1), 1-18. Web.
Metsämuuronen, J., & Räsänen, P. (2018). Cognitive-Linguistic and Constructivist Mnemonic Triggers in Teaching Based on Jerome Bruner’s Thinking. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 2543. Web.
Smagorinsky, P. (2018). Deconflating the ZPD and instructional scaffolding: Retranslating and reconceiving the zone of proximal development as the zone of next development. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 16, 70–75. Web.
Taber, K. S. (2020). Mediated learning leading development—the social development theory of Lev Vygotsky. In Science education in theory and practice, 277-291. Springer, Cham. Web.