Assessment Task Two - Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky believed strongly in the importance of the social and cultural factors on children’s learning. His work strongly emphasised social learning and he encouraged the essentials of students working together to solve problems and teachers’ ‘scaffolding’ their students’ learning. Scaffolding is the process in which the adult supports children’s learning by, for instance, asking key questions or encouraging children to work through a similar example first. Vygotsky also states the significance of the zone of proximal development (ZPD).

(http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html) ZPD refers to the notion that the level of skill a learner can reach in collaboration with an adult or peer collaboration, will exceed what can be achieved alone.

I recall an incident that occurred in my first year of Education at another University. The incident was initiated by my tutor, who announced she would not tolerate students collaborating with other students on their assignment. She encouraged students to work independently. In contrast, my English teacher in high school encouraged group work and active learning. She structured all her classes to engage all students in learning by encouraging collaborative team work. From her classes I grasped the advantages of team work which includes increased communication skills and increased confidence. I believe information is most effectively gained through team work and I understand the importance of social interaction on students learning. As a future teacher, I aim to incorporate collaborative learning in my lessons.