Q – How does one balance sharing one’s own experiences, working on scaffolding, and allowing a student’s natural curiosity drive learning.
U – Though most of the progressive theorists advocate for observation, Vygotsky’s ideas show me very clearly how observation can aid the teacher in moving students along in learning. Through observation a teacher can the strengths and weaknesses in content and skill areas for each student and tailor their interactions to address them.
O – I’ve observed how children are able to learn from each other, how they can watch each other for clues as to how to behave, and share their own ideas and life experiences with each other.
T – I treasure the idea that children must share their learning with other people in order to learning better. Though it was important that the education system move away from “banking education” to allowing students to DO things, we shouldn’t forget that we can learn and process new ideas by talking to eachother.
E – I feel like most of Vygotsky’s ideas are far from easy to apply, observation must be thoughtful and nuanced to be useful, determining a student’s ZPD, and finding the best way to scaffold are all complex tasks. His emphasis on the social aspects of learning and learning through conversation however can be easily applied.
I enjoyed reading your post. I'm glad I read your "treasure" because I realize that was a new understanding for me this week, about the true value of that collaboration to help us clarify and build on our understanding. I would like to explore that process more. Although the Science Talk concept was kind of challenging, I think that teacher really exemplified taking the idea to a new level.
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