Theories Of Learning And How They Can Be Used To Inform Practice In The Classroom.
This essay discusses two of the theories surrounding children's learning and development. It further goes on to discuss how they could be used to inform practice in the classroom. The two theories to be discussed are Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory.
Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist who lived from 1896 to 1934. He was widely involved in developing the education program of the emerging Soviet Union. At the time of his death, his theory was not known outside of the Soviet Union because it was repressed. During his life, he created a completely new and scientific approach to psychology, which did not become publicised in the West until 1962. (Hausfather, 1996)
Vygotsky’s work later became the basis for what has become known as the social development theory of learning (Mace, 2005,para.1). Vygotsky’s ideas influenced a social constructivist approach to education. The major theme of Vygotsky's theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level, first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher more complex functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. (Vygotsky 1978, p. 57)
Vygotsky's Social Development Theory rests on two main principles: the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The MKO refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept. The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, tutor, or older adult, but the MKO could also be fellow pupils, a younger person, or even a...
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