PMI on Vygotsky's theory on education.

PMI on Vygotsky's Theories of Learning

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Plus:

• Vygotsky theorises that society plays a large role in childhood development.
• He places a great importance on culture and its impact on the child.
• They learn and develop differently depending on what they were shown or taught.
• This theory then encourages collaborative learning, and/or group learning, where students are able to learn more by sharing knowledge with one another.
• In contrast to Piaget's theory of discovery learning, Vygotsky believes children need to be taught by teachers or peers who have more knowledge on a particular subject. Whereas Piaget theorises that children will learn in particular styles at particular ages, no matter how intelligent the child may appear and what cultural and social influences there are, they will not develop these skills until that age.
• Vygotsky's theory, The Zone of proximal development, has more potential to become the foundation for our education system than Piaget's theory.

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Minus:

• His theories are not modernised to suit all aspects of todays ever changing society.
• They do not support Piaget's discovery learning, which does have some foundation.
• Children also learn through making mistakes on their own and trying again, discovering cause and effect.
• Not all children learn by heeding advice, they learn through trying, making errors and adapting changes to find the outcome/knowledge that they seek.
• Vygotsky's theory doesn't provide for situations where there is an inability to access extended kinship connections or where there is cultural deprivation, for example, war, famine or dislocated families.

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Interesting:

• How we can change and develop his ideas for our 21st century schools.
• Adapting his idea's to accommodate every type of learner.
• Changing the roles of our teachers in schools to become more attentive towards the students.
• Bringing them closer as they pass information down to a new generation.
• A child who is immersed in different cultures and social settings learns to be more accepting of each other and our differences in beliefs, cultures, religions, race and gender. How could this then be utilised in to our teaching skills and practices?