What is sociocultural theory of learning

Sociocultural theory has several widely recognized strengths. First, it emphasizes the broader social, cultural, and historical context of any human activity.

It does not view individuals as isolated entities, rather it provides a richer perspective focusing on the fluid boundary between self and others. It portrays the dynamic of a child acquiring knowledge and skills from the society and then in turn the child shaping their environment Miller, Second, sociocultural theory is sensitive to individual and cross-cultural diversity.

In contrast to many developmental theories that focus on universal aspects of development, sociocultural theory acknowledges both differences in individuals within a culture and differences in individuals across cultures. Finally, sociocultural theory integrates the notion of learning and development greatly contributing to our theoretical understanding of cognitive development.

The idea of learning driving development rather than being determined by a developmental level of the learner fundamentally changes our understanding of the learning process and has significant instructional and educational implications Miller, There are also limitations to the sociocultural perspective. Furthermore, his work was largely unknown until fairly recently due to political reasons and issues with translation. The second major limitation is associated with the vagueness of the ZPD.

Individuals may have wide or narrow zones, which may be both desirable and undesirable, depending on the circumstances. There is also not a common metric scale to measure ZPD Miller, She provides an example of scaffolding being heavily dependent on verbal instruction and thus not equally effective in all cultures for all types of learning McLeod, ; Rogoff, So far this chapter has highlighted some important implications of sociocultural theory, which are generally applicable to instruction, assessment, and education.

This section will review additional implications taking into considerations issues specifically related to the field of instructional design. Sociocultural theory is not commonly associated with instructional design methods. These methods traditionally rely on individualistic learning driven by set learning objectives and strands of often context-deprived topics being presented in a logical and structured sequence. Generally there is little or no consideration for already existing knowledge, relationships, or cultural richness.

But Grabinger, Aplin, and Ponnappa-Brenner further propose that in order to. Three major implications of sociocultural theory to instructional design will be discussed as a reaction to the above description of traditional instructional design. These include: focus on the individual learner, use of effective pedagogies centered around collaborative practice and communities of learners, and attention to funds of knowledge.

Most instructional design models, such as ADDIE, take into consideration only the common learner, tying learning with concrete and measurable objectives. New methodologies, such as Universal Design for Learning based in the learning sciences recognize that every learner is unique and strive to provide challenging and engaging curricula for diverse learners. Watson and Reigeluth mention that there are two important features of learning-centered instruction: a focus on the individual learner and a focus on effective learning practices.

Sociocultural theory allows instructional designers to apply principles of collaborative practice that go beyond social constructivism and create effective communities of learners through effective pedagogies.

The sociocultural perspective views learning taking place through interaction, negotiation, and collaboration in solving authentic problems while emphasizing learning from experience and discourse, which is more than cooperative learning. This is visible, for example, in situated learning theory and cognitive apprenticeship. This allows students to share in less formal environments, which lowers the affective filter, encourages exchanges, and gives students control over when, how, and what to share.

When learners feel valued as participants in the community, when their prior experiences and knowledge are recognized and integrated into learning experiences, and when instruction reflects culturally sensitive practices, their motivation and satisfaction increases, and learning becomes deeper, lasting, and more meaningful. However, it is the practical applications of sociocultural theory that create learner-centered instructional environments where learning by discovery, inquiry, active problem solving, and critical thinking are fostered through collaboration with experts and peers in communities of learners and encourage self-directed lifelong learning habits.

Sociocultural principles can be applied in effective and meaningful ways to design instruction across the curriculum, for learners of different ages and variety of skills, and it can be effectively integrated using a wide range of technologies and learning environments.

The challenge remains for educators and instructional designers to elevate our practices from efficient systemic approaches for teaching and instructional design to focusing on individual learners and effective pedagogical practices to develop empowered learners ready to successfully negotiate the rapidly changing era of information. Technology is at our fingertips, it is up to us to competently implement its unique affordances to promote new ways to educate and support deep, meaningful, and self-directed learning.

Grounding our practices in sociocultural theory can significantly aid our efforts. Driscoll, M. Psychology of learning for instruction 2nd ed. Garrison, D. The community of inquiry theoretical framework. Handbook of Distance Education, 3, Something Has Gone Terribly Wrong.

Please Try Later. Sign In. How we use LinkedIn. We also use this access to retrieve the following information: Your full name. Your primary email address. You can revoke this access at any time through your LinkedIn account. Sign In with LinkedIn. Already have an account? Login here. The Quintessential of the Sociocultural Learning Theory Vygotsky wrote his work "Thinking and Speaking" in , and he died a while later at the age of 37 from tuberculosis.

Vygotsky was a contemporary of other great thinkers such as Freud , Skinner , and Piaget , but his early death at age 37 and the suppression of his work in Stalinist Russia left him in relative obscurity until fairly recently. As his work became more widely published, his ideas have grown increasingly influential in areas including child development, cognitive psychology , and education.

Sociocultural theory focuses not only how adults and peers influence individual learning, but also on how cultural beliefs and attitudes affect how learning takes place. According to Vygotsky, children are born with basic biological constraints on their minds. Each culture, however, provides "tools of intellectual adaptation. For example, while one culture might emphasize memory strategies such as note-taking, another might use tools like reminders or rote memorization.

How does Vygotsky's sociocultural theory differ from Piaget's theory of cognitive development? First, Vygotsky placed a greater emphasis on how social factors influence development.

While Piaget's theory stressed how a child's interactions and explorations influenced development, Vygotsky stressed the essential role that social interactions play in cognitive development. Another important difference between the two theories is that while Piaget's theory suggests that development is largely universal, Vygotsky asserts that cognitive development can differ between different cultures. The course of development in Western culture, for example, might be different than it is in Eastern culture.

Shaffer explains that while Piaget believed that cognitive development was fairly universal, Vygotsky believed that each culture presents unique differences.

Because cultures can vary so dramatically, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory suggests that both the course and content of intellectual development are not as universal as Piaget believed. An important concept in sociocultural theory is known as the zone of proximal development. Essentially, it includes all of the knowledge and skills that a person cannot yet understand or perform on their own, but is capable of learning with guidance.

As children are allowed to stretch their skills and knowledge, often by observing someone who is slightly more advanced than they are, they are able to progressively extend this zone of proximal development. Sociocultural theory has gained popularity in recent years, particularly in educational settings.

Here's how this theory can be put into practice in the real world. Understanding the zone of proximal development can be helpful for teachers. Educators can then offer instruction that stretches the limits of each child's capabilities. While the array of technology available to support social learning is beneficial, the volume of resources available for online and in-person technology-based collaboration may be overwhelming to some groups of students.

Considering the amount of scaffolding needed based on individual class needs may be appropriate to ensure technology is being used most productively. By providing students with useful resources in an online environment or being explicit about technology use within a physical classroom, students may be able to better focus on the actual problem-solving task rather than filtering through different platforms. Additionally, keeping in mind the purpose of sociocultural learning within technological contexts is important to the task of promoting online collaborative learning.

Through use of online environments and organized activities, students could also have greater access to problem-based learning that reflects situated cognition, opportunities for cognitive apprenticeships, participation in flipped classrooms, and a range of experiences that promote the robust and diverse communication critical to Vygotskian theory.

Careful consideration of appropriate guidance within the use of technology-based collaborative learning can enable the thoughtful design of learning that maximizes benefits promised by sociocultural learning theories. Antil, L. Cooperative learning: Prevalence, conceptualizations, and the relation between research and practice. American Educational Research Journal, 35 3 , Bonk, C. Searching for learner-centered, constructivist, and sociocultural components of collaborative educational learning tools.

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