Introduction
In this paper I will analyze and explore socio-cultural learning theory, the seven features of pedagogical scaffolding, and the four zones of proximal development, by observing a Biology teacher, Ms. Guerrero (pseudonym), at Washington (pseudonym) High School. The school serves a variety of communities and according to their last School Accountability Report Card (SARC), has 2370 students. Of those students, 84 percent are socioeconomically disadvantaged, 33 percent are English Language Learners (ELL), 71 percent Hispanic/Latino, 24 percent Asian, 3 percent White, 1 percent Filipino, 0.3 percent Black, 0.3 percent Native American, and 0.2 percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders (“School Accountability”, 2013, p. 3).
Utilizing
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The backbone of sociocultural learning theory is that “social interaction is the basis of learning and development” (Walqui, 2006, p. 160). Students are best able to learn in an environment where they are working with "more capable peers". Teachers who are trying to work within the context of sociocultural theory are best to pair English Language Learners (ELL) with students who may also speak the language of the ELL "capable peer", but also understand the content being discussed, and not having the students work alone. One who understands this theory knows that “solitary work…is incompatible with Vygotsky’s conception of appropriate pedagogy... as all knowledge and ability arises in social activity” (Walqui, 2006, p. 162). The more interactions the students engage in the better, especially in the academic context to assist those students who need more assistance in order to fully understanding the …show more content…
Walqui describes scaffolding as a “ratcheting up of information” (Walqui, 2006, p. 165) and Jerome Bruner (1983) defines scaffolding as “ a process of ‘setting up’ the situation to make a child’s entry easy and successful and then gradually pulling back and handing the role to the child as he becomes skilled enough to manage it” (as cited in Walqui, 2006, p. 163). Initiation Response Feedback is just giving atta-boys. In Initiation Response Feedback, students are allowed to get their "points" or kudos, but are not really able to move from that level of cognition. According to Walqui, initiation is begun with the teacher, the response comes from the student and the feedback given. This approach has been criticized as being about what a teacher wants to hear versus really checking for comprehension and understanding and limiting the dialog to a less rigorous exchange. With scaffolding, the teacher makes steps to the goal, and helps prepare the student for further building of the students skills, so that over time the student can take over more of the process of learning themselves (Walqui, 2006, p. 163). Scaffolding is more in alignment with the demands of a diverse society, the teacher can provide outlines or front load vocabulary in the beginning and then as the student
These discussions need to be meaningful and have purpose to create a higher chance of student engagement and participation. The article states, “cooperative learning is a natural way to provide opportunities across the curriculum” (Wright, 2016, p. 28-29). The smaller the group, the more likely the ELL student is to add to the conversation, as native English speakers typically dominant whole group discussions. It is important that every student in the small group contributes so the ELL student can hear and practice their own oral language. There are many activities that could be used to ensure this engagement, such as think-pair-share, that requires students to work together and actually get information from each other. Activities that cannot be completed alone and require the thinking of another student would be best for this
This mixing of inner-city and suburban cultures creates new challenges for students and teachers alike. Children from the inner city characteristically have lower GPAs, attend very few AP classes and have a dropout rate that is much higher than their suburban counterparts. This has been an area for much exploration and study throughout the years, but yet the trend of a knowledge gap among children seems to continue. Perhaps one area that needs to be further explored is the differences in cultural identity in these two groups of students and its impact on the education these students wish to achieve.
Children come to the classroom rich in the culture of their community and family; from which their learning style is primed (Aguirre et al, 2012; Morgan, 2009). For example (Saracho & Spodek, 1984) stated that Native Americans are “field dependent learners”. This in an indication that Native American students prefer to work together, are...
Geneva Gay (2002) combines these two concepts of sociocultural consciousness and culturally responsive teaching in Restructuring Attitudes and Beliefs. Gay refers to culturally responsive teaching as a way of addressing “universal marginality, powerlessness, and disadvantages” within the classroom by taking a critical view of the curriculum (p.1). Culturally responsive teaching starts with the teacher’s identity and an awareness of their own ideologies and theories that influence how they act as a median between the student and curriculum. Similar to understanding their own identity, the sociocultural consciousness is how the teacher views the students’ identities in their community. Gay explains these relationship by saying, ”teachers’ instructional behaviors are strongly influenced by their attitudes and beliefs about various dimensions of student diversity” (p.3). The historical context of the community allows the teacher to use their individual students’ background as resources for scaffolding entire class’s curriculum and help meet the needs of the individual students. Assuming the role of public education is to act as an equalizer, culturally responsive teaching is a means of creating
Many theories have been thought of over the years to attempt to explain why people behave the way they do. Many questions were brought up when thinking about that and the social learning theory is a popular theory in explaining this. Nobody really thought of the social learning theory too much until Albert Bandura wrote his idea of it. He actually wrote a book called “Social Learning Theory.” In this book, he states that behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning(Saul McLeod).
Social Process theories are the process of interaction between individuals and society for their explanatory power. In other words a theory in which individuals feel as if society is not helping them leave helpful lives. Some of the theories within Social Process are Social Learning theory, Social Control theory, and Labeling theory. Social Learning theory focuses on what an individual learns from observing others in society. Social Control theory focuses on the bond between people that will shape how that individual will act. Labeling theory is when society gives labels to criminals that may causes them to act like criminals even when they may not be criminals.
Henderson, Joyce Many, H.P. Wellborn, and Joy Ward (2006), there are six main deviations of scaffolding; these deviations include of “modeling, contingency management, giving feedback, instructing, questioning, and applying cognitive thinking.” Though there are different variations, the teacher is allowed to choose which one (s)he would like to instill on their student. If the instructor knows what specific area the student is struggling in, they can decide which will be the best fitting scaffolding method and apply it to the student. It was discovered that early childhood development depended heavily on social interaction. It is crucial for the advancement of knowledge in a child to be “centered in a social support system that encourages communication and interaction” (Henderson et. al
Van Der Stuyf. R.R. (2010). Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. Adolescent Learning and Development. Section 0500A, November, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.sandi.net/20451072011455933/lib/20451072011455933/RTI/Scaffolding%20as%20a%20Teaching%20Strategy.pdf
English Language Learners range from Newcomers learning survival English and developing foundational literacy skills to Long-Term English Learners who have had 6 years or more of their education in English yet continue have significant language gaps. These students may speak English with little or no accent and still lack the vocabulary, grammar and grade level literacy to be successful in school. English language learners may remain silent in the classroom as they adjust to a new school, environment, and culture unless he is a native language comrade to interact with. The English language learners are concerned about decoding verbal and non- verbal communication as well as understanding the social culture framework of the school. Most of the time English language learners are observing during instruction, trying to repeat words used by others, memorizing simple phrases and sentences, tired by midday or be frustrated attending long lectures unaccompanied by visual and gestures, relying on first language translation used peer translation or bilingual dictionary, as the students begin to learner they become more involved in the classroom, they can respond non-verbally to commands, statements, and questions in simple form. As their oral comprehension increases, they begin to use simple word and phrases and may use English spontaneously. They can understand short conversation on a simple topic when reading students can understand a narrative text and authentic materials, although they will be below
Scaffolding is metaphorical term which refers to the process through which teachers facilitate children’s learning by enabling them achieve a level of ability beyond the child’s current capacity. Through scaffolding, teachers play an active role by interacting with children to support their development by providing structures that support them to stretch their understanding or me...
As is mentioned in [10] and [24], Social Learning is usually introduced as a learning technique in environments where more than two agents act autonomously, where each one has its own information about and knowledge about the world and the other agents.
Two psychological theories used for explaining behavior are behaviorism and social learning theory. Although the two both deal with behavior, they focus on slightly unalike components in their efforts to explain why people act the way they do. Behaviorism and social learning theory have convincing sources of support so there is no well-defined response to which one does a superior job at explaining behavior.
Bibliography: Rubinstein-Avila, F. (2014). Scaffolding Content and Language Demands for "Reclassified" Students. Voices from the Middle, 20(4), pp.32-33.
Behavior and social learning are two theories that are inherently intertwined. Behavior to some extent is taught for social reasons, and social learning can very much shape and create behaviors. While behavior is something intentionally taught, social learning can teach and reinforce many unintentional behaviors, such as dishonesty or aggression. In order to adequately discuss these two interrelated topics, theory exploration is in order.
There are many factors that play a role in the learning process for every human being. Race, religion, language, socioeconomics, gender, family structure, and disabilities can all affect the ways in which we learn. Educators must take special measures in the delivery of classroom instruction to celebrate the learning and cultural differences of each of their students. As communities and schools continue to grow in diversity, teachers are searching for effective educational programs to accommodate the various learning styles of each student while promoting acceptance of cultural differences throughout the classroom. It no longer suffices to plan educational experiences only for middle-or upper class white learners and then expect students of other social classes and cultures to change perspectives on motivation and competition, learning styles, and attitudes and values that their homes and families have instilled in them (Manning & Baruth, 2009).