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Exploring the Changing Social
Contexts of Learning
December 3, 2017
Contemporary learning environments might be best
understood when viewed as a complex mix of environments
and overlapping social networks. Learners fluidly move
between social networks and their learning is influenced by
their participation within and across these physical and
Virtual networks. Understanding how mobile, global anc
virtual social networks influence our interpretation of socio-
cultural theories of learning might allow us to better
understand the interplay of settings and contexts within
which learning occurs and in doing so better understand how
learning may be facilitated
The socio-cultural perspective on education has its origins in
the work of Lev Vygotsky (Géncii & Gauvain, 2012) and is
an approach which considers the individual and their
interactions with the social environment as central to
understanding the processes of learning. Learning is said to
be that which occurs through interaction between the
individual, and all that their biology brings to the table and
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Nigel Coutts
A great chance to join an inspiring
team of teachers as we build the
culture of a new campus together at.
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Jul §, 2022, 11:59 AM
Nigel Coutts
RT @John3999:
htips:lit.cofMAKpXFiQRs Jenny Gore
telling it as itis. What she said!the social context in which learning occurs. Such an
approach shifts our thinking about learning and development
as processes contained and constrained within the
individual's biology to a more diverse understanding that
incorporates the social context within which all learning is
seen to occur. For educators, this approach encourages us
to look at the learning environment and the social context in
which the learning we design for our students occurs and
‘presents a fuller and more accurate picture of children’s,
learning and development.’ (Géncti & Gauvain, 2012 p126)
Sociocultural, and the in some ways related social-cognitive
approaches build upon earlier research that focused on the
individual as the unit of development but seek to explain the
differences which were observed across groups anc
contexts which could not be explained without a wider frame
of reference.
By expanding the frame of reference to include the social
context within which learning and development occurs a
more complex image emerges of the interactions anc
processes which are at play. Vygotsky's (1978) research
shows how interactions between the child and their socia
environment enables leaning. He explores the gap between
what a child can do now independently and that they can do
with assistance. Termed the ‘Zone of Proximal
Development(ZPD), this is the gap into which teachers hope
to move their students (Vygotsky, 1978). Teaching strategies
such as formative assessment (Black & Wiliam, 1998) seek
to identify where the ZPD is for students and then provide
appropriate leaming situations which scaffold student's
growth through this zone. Effective teaching will provide @
context that allows students to achieve success on learning
initially pitched within this zone with guidance while moving
towards internalisation of new learning evidenced by
success when the scaffolds are removed. It is with this
process in mind that we develop teaching programmes and
curriculums.
Given the multitude frames which might be used to inform
our understanding of what culture is, (Jary & Jary, 1991) how
itis constructed and how it shapes and is shaped by
interactions with individuals and groups it unsurprising that
there are multiple perspectives upon the nature of socio-
cultural learning. This complexity is expanded when
comparisons are made between socio-cultural perspectives
and social-cognitive perspectives are considered. Emerging
from the work of Albert Bandura (1977) social-cog}
Jun 24, 2022, 7:09 AM
Nigel Coutts
RT @ryanagill: We're back! Join
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Creative thinking co...
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May 11,2022, 5:52 PM
Nigel Coutts
A challenge for Twitter folk - Does
anyone know a Golf Course designer
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on the d... httpsilit.co/HuFf3SFviO
Mar 25, 2022, 10:17 AM
Nigel Coutts
RT @mrbarlow: Learn more about
Cultures of Thinking here -
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@ProjectZeroHGSE @easieonline
@RonRitchhart #pzmet
Mar 19, 2022, 10:13 AM
Nigel Coutts
RT @RonRitchhart It's been awhile
since | have posted a blog but was
feeling inspired to address struggles
that some teachers have w.
https://t.co/Rk7mGmLxrW
Mar 1, 2022, 6:16 PM
Nigel Coutts
RT @stephygsalazar: So keen to be a
mentor & workshop facilitator for this
hackathon which gives pre-service
teachers the opp to play w...
https://t.co/Hss3XXtyWs.
Feb 18,2022, 6:13 PMtheories like socio-cultural approaches are concerned with
the learning that occurs within societies and the cross-
cultural differences which such perspectives reveal. ‘In
contrast, social cognitive researchers have devoted
considerable attention to the role of social variables in
learning, how motivational processes affect learning, anc
how social cognitive principles can be best applied to
enhance students’ learning from instruction.’ (Schunk, 2012
117) A further differentiator is evident in the significance
given to vicarious learning or learning purely through
observation of others that is present in social-cognitive
theory but is not evident in socio-cultural theories which
emphasise translation of observations of others into action
of learning by imitation of the observed behaviours. Social-
cognitivists would show that learning can be acquired
without the imitation phase.
For teachers, social-cognitivist approaches shine a light on
the factors which result in motivation towards learning.
Learning is said to be enhanced when individuals have
positive self-efficacy for leaming (Bandura 1977),
Motivational theories such as self-determination theory
(Ryan & Deci, 2000) and attribution theory (Weiner, 2004)
point to factors such as autonomy, purpose and mastery
(Ryan & Deci) and locus of control (Weiner -
intemal/external stable/unstable controllable/uncontrollable)
as key factors which influence engagement and perceptions
of success, In social-cognitive theory these factors are
described as acting upon the individual through changes in
levels of self-efficacy. When social aspects of learning are
accounted for the provision of a safe, supportive and
nurturing learning environment is broadly considered to be
significant (Tir, 2011)(Marzano & Pickering, 1997). The
complexity of social environments within which learning
occurs presents challenges to educators looking to manage
the environment in which learning occurs. Students are less
likely to engage with challenging learning in settings where
they feel unsafe or believe that their attempts to engage are
likely to be judged negatively or where the rewards available
are low. (Atkinson, 1957) (Dweck & Legget, 1988) (Wigfield
& Eccles, 2000).
A shifting emphasis on what is valued as the outcome of
formal education places greater emphasis on the capacity of
individuals to be creative collaborators. In ‘Participatory
Creativity’, Edward Clapp (2017) details the importance of
collaborations between individuals in a form of collective
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VUCA writingagency derived from the work of Bandura. Collective agency
acknowledge the role of the individual within efforts of a
greater collective. Informed by this perspective and
Cskiszentmihalyi’s view of creativity as a product of social
systems, Clapp builds a model of creativity that results from
the collective efforts of society and focuses on the processes
through which ideas evolve rather than a more traditional
view which attribution of a product to an individual. Creativity
in such a models like learning in socio-cultural perspectives
a social phenomenon.
Significant differences in the socio-cultural setting within
which the individual experiences learning can be shown te
account for varied outcomes. An example of this can be
seen in the exposure to language which occurs in different
settings. Hart & Risely (2003) show that a five-year-old chile
growing up in a home with parents categorised as
professionals would have been exposed to 45 million words.
By contrast a child growing up in a working-class family
would have been exposed to 26 million words and only 13
million if growing up in a lower-class family. This gap in
exposure must be seen as more significant than a deficit in
vocabulary within a socio-cultural perspective that
emphasises the development of language as a critical
component for development in general. According to
Vygotsky, children learn to use language regulate their
psychological functions (Géncii & Gauvain, 2012) ane
language is an essential tool in the scaffolding and modelling
of learning that occurs both within schools and other
environments in which learners learn. This gap in exposure
presents significant equity challenges for educationa
systems.
Traditionally the socio-cultural setting in which learning anc
development occurs has been defined by the physical
settings in which the learner is situated and the culture that
is attached to that. Relationships between the individual and
their immediate family play an important role in the early
years of learning, as the child grows the social context in
which they learn widens and peers, teachers and the wider
community begin to play a part. As the child interacts with a
growing number of social contexts they are able to draw
upon an expanding set of models and observations as they
lear to regulate their behaviour and adopt (and modify) the
cultural norms required for adult life (Génci & Gauvain
2012). In more recent times this social context has become
increasingly difficult to define,Through a variety of factors, such as globalisation, increasec
mobility and technology enabled networks, the individual is
increasingly found to exist simultaneously across multiple
cultures and societies (Leander, Phillips & Taylor, 2010).
These multiple contexts and cultures bring to the learner
new challenges and require learning of multiple norms along
with the pressure to activate the appropriate norms for each
context.
The once clear boundaries of the social context of learning
and development is increasingly blurred and stretched by
technologies and networks. In seeking to understand how
this space influences learning and development itis
necessary to consider the individual, the interacting social
networks (physical and virtual) and the technology as agents
which influence development. At best the experienced reality
is ‘complicated’ (Boyd, 2014) as the individual within the
Virtual world is able to fluidly shape and reshape both
identity and context. ‘When teens engage with networkec
media, they're trying to take control of their lives and their
relationship to society. In doing so, they begin to understand
how people relate to one another and how information flows
between people.’ (Boyd, 2014 p92) The blurring of socia
contexts further complicates the learning environment
experienced by young people when it is recognised that they
spend much of their time living within a culture that the
adults in their world know little about. The norms, language,
symbols, signs and meanings of the virtual worlds may be
borrowed or appropriated from the physical world but are
often wildly misinterpreted when decontextualised. Further
still access to resources, knowledge and tools derived from
technologies and their networked lives are viewed with
suspicion in many traditional learning environments thus
bringing artificial barriers to learning and de-contextualising
the skills learned in school from those valued in the ‘real
world’
From the research of Vygotsky, Bandura and others across
socio-cultural and socio-cognitive perspectives we have
been provided with a theoretical tool kit with which to better
understand the interplay of the individual, society anc
culture. As we move further into an age dominated by
technology and networks itis incumbent on all those with an
interest in learning and development to look at the interplay
of forces which act upon the individual. By seeking to
understand the influences that physical and virtual contexts
have on learning we can begin to imagine a model ofeducation which makes best use of the diverse
environments in which our young people are immersed.
By Nigel Coutts
Atkinson, J. W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-
taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64, 359-372.
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Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998), Inside the black box: Raising
standards through classroom assessment, King’s College.
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88-81
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5 yeas ago * 1 Like
Well brought together and reasoned. A good read and lots to
ponder especially for those of us working in low socio
economic schoolsena
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