Theme 4: Social
“If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” (Isaac Newton)
Newton’s statement indicates that learning and knowledge are dependent upon and are the result of knowledge and learning that has gone before. I believe this to be true of most but not all forms of learning. It is possible to learn independently and personally, but this is likely to take much longer and may not reach the same heights.
There is also humility in Newton’s words, which I believe is also an important part of learning – a learner needs to recognise that he/she does not know something before it can be learnt.
This idea is also reflected in the notion of ‘readiness’ for learning. One part of this is cognitive or developmental readiness, as described by Piaget and others, and another part is that learning happens best when the learner is ready to learn, described by Knowles (1980) in his six assumptions of adult learning or andragogy (in Keesee, n.d.).
Click here for my take on Knowles' six assumptions.
One can also see similarities with the biblical parable of the sower and the field in which the seeds need to fall in fertile ground in order to grow as they should, i.e. the learner needs to be open and ready, and to have the right conditions for learning.
Learning is Social
“Knowledge and understanding are highly social. We do not construct them individually;
we co-construct them in dialogue with others.” (Perkins, 1999, p.7)
I subscribe to this view with the proviso that some people do learn some things entirely
individually, I know this from my own experience where I have sometimes learned a skill
by trial and error (e.g. learning how to fix the toilet cistern or to operate a new computer
program) – common sense or just working it out (a form of discovery based learning).
However, there may be other people in the background who have made this individual learning possible (my mother looking out the window in my waka of learning photo), and the process is often very much quicker and effectual if support from others is available. An example:
Recently I had a problem with a lock on our front door. Although I felt capable of pulling the lock apart and finding a solution, I decided to call my brother (who happens to be a locksmith) and found out that there was a likely solution that involved a simple twist with a suitable tool. The solution worked and the lock was fixed in a matter of seconds. Pulling the lock apart would have taken much longer.
However, this was only a learning for that one problem. Perhaps if I had taken the lock apart I could have learned more about how the lock operates and why the problem arose.
The example also relates to the readiness notion mentioned above – the immediate need was to fix the lock, given time constraints I was not ready to spend a lot of time exploring the lock.
There is a connection here too with Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory – that our society and culture have an enormous impact on how we learn. Piaget’s view on the other hand was more of the natural innate abilities unfolding and developing. So we have the perennial nature vs. nurture debate. It has always seemed to me that it is neither one nor the other exclusively but a combination of the two.
“What we call the Zone of Proximal Development…is a distance between the actual developmental level determined by individual problem solving and the level of development as determined through problem solving under guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.” (Vygotsky, 1978).
The person who helps the learner in the ZPD is a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). This can be a teacher, tutor, parent, peer or unrelated person. In my lock-fixing example, the MKO happened to be my brother, a locksmith. In the Information Age, the MKO can also be a computer-based resource or virtual MKO – for example I taught myself touch typing alone using a computer typing tutor program.
Putting it into practice
In my current role, teaching on the Bachelor of Social Services, utilising social learning approaches is especially appropriate, given that the students are training to work with and support other people. Social and people skills are key and practice is essential. Consequently, in classroom learning settings, we make much use of discussion (small and large group), role play, peer mentoring, and group activities and projects. In addition, students take part in placements within the institution and in the community where they can apply and further develop their skill sets.
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