EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

Lesson title: Child Development Theories Materials:

Lesson Objectives: Activity Sheets
At the end of this module, I should be able to:
1. Familiarize the concepts of Sociocultural and Social Learning References:
Theory Aligada-Hala, et.al (2020)
2. Differentiate Sociocultural and Social Learning Theory Foundations of Special and
Inclusive Education (1st Edition)
Rex Bookstore, Manila, Philippines

Productivity Tip:
Use concept maps. For you to easily understand the theories use concept map and identify there
similarities and differences.

A. LESSON PREVIEW

1) Introduction (2 mins)

To continue with more of theories on child development, we will look on further experiences that help
the child conceive the notion about the world and how they interact.

2) Activity 1: What I Know Chart, part 1 (3 mins)

Let us determine if what do you know about our topic. Write your ideas in the first column.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

1 What is Sociocultural Theory?

2 What is Social Learning Theory?

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

B.MAIN LESSON

1) Activity 2: Content Notes (13 mins)

Read carefully the content notes and try to highlight or underline the key terms for greater level
of understanding.

Child Development Theories

Sociocultural theory

Sociocultural philosophy is concerned with how individual, social,

and contextual issues impact human activity, especially learning
and behavior. Investigates how social factors influence cognition
and development, and how social and cultural practice shape and
define thoughts.

Sociocultural Theory also takes into account how learners are

impacted by their peers, and how social scenarios impact their
ability to acquire information. As such, instructors who apply the
Sociocultural Theory in their instructional design can also become
aware of how learners may directly impact one another, as well as
how cultural “norms” can influence a learner's learning behavior.

There are four major themes identified within Sociocultural Theory used to understand how social
interaction impacts development and functioning. These themes have been used to help understand
social and cultural influences.

Vygotsky suggested that cultures are actually formed through the use of tools and symbols and
that this key distinction is what differentiates the human race from that of animals. Intelligence is
achieved when a learner can “internalize” the tools that are being provided in the culture itself. When
the tools of a culture evolve and emerge, the learners’ ability to grow as individuals and increase their
knowledge base is broadened. As such, according to the Sociocultural Learning Theory, it's important
for instructors to understand the human mind from a historical point of view as well as a cultural one.

According to the Sociocultural Learning Theory, language is a direct result of the symbols and tools
that emerge within a culture. An individual is able to learn language through a variety of social events,
scenarios, and processes, which all result in the acquisition of language. This aspect of the
Sociocultural Learning Theory relies on the idea that learners go through three stages of speech
development. First, they must engage in the social environment, which is known as “social speech” and
begins at the age of 2. Next, they will learn about “private speech”, which occurs when learners voice
their thoughts aloud and begin at the age of 3. The last is “inner speech”, which takes the form of ideas
that remain within our minds and directly impact our behavior or thoughts and begins at the age of 7.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

Below are the four themes identified within Sociocultural Theory:

1) Cognitive Development occurs in Social Interaction.

Vygotsky believed the outside environment shapes development
Interaction with others has a profound effect on how children develop.
Influenced by Caregivers, siblings, extended family members, teachers, and peers.

2) Psychological functioning is mediated by language and other cultural tools.

Technical tools are directed outward they change an external situation where psychological tools
are directed inward they change the mind and the process of thinking. Psychological Functioning -
is the ability to achieve his or her goals within themselves and the external environment. Includes
an individual’s behavior, emotion, social skills, and overall health.
Examples:
Technical Tools - tools for acting on the environment.
Examples: Silverware, tractors, hammers
Psychological Tools - tools that influence the way we organize and remember information.
Examples: Language, Maps, Diagrams

3) Cultural norms and other people influence opportunities for learning.

Cultural norms are what are considered normal or typical within a group/country/ etc.
Example:Tipping waitress in America
Availability of education.
Expectations about work, study or play.
Sharing of values.

4) Social and Cultural Learning requires particular cognitive abilities.

Cognitive abilities - are skills we need to carry out any task from simple to most complex. They have
more to do with the mechanisms of how we learn, remember, problem-solve, and pay attention
rather than with any actual knowledge.

Intersubjectivity
Shared understanding between people that emerges through the process of mutual attention and
communication.
Three forms of Cultural Learning
Imitative Learning - Reproducing another individual's behavior in order to achieve the same goal.
Instructional Learning - Involves direct, intentional transmission of information from one individual to
another with the learner attempting to understand the task or material.
Collaborative Learning - Learning that occurs when multiple individuals engage in cooperative, goal-
directed problem-solving.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

Social Learning Theory

Think back to your childhood. Do you remember learning to ride a bike, how to play checkers, and
do simple addition problems? I bet you learned these skills by watching someone else ride their bike,
play a game of checkers, and solve addition problems. That is what Albert Bandura, a social cognitive
psychologist, believed. Bandura is known for his social learning theory. He is quite different from other
learning theorists who look at learning as a direct result of conditioning, reinforcement, and punishment.
Bandura asserts that most human behavior is learned through observation, imitation, and modeling.

Let’s look more closely at Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and the implications of this theory on
teaching and student learning.

Bandura is famous for his studies of children

observing adults who acted aggressively toward a doll. After
the children viewed this behavior, they were given dolls to
play with. Can you guess how they interacted with the dolls?
You’re right. They imitated the aggressive actions that they
observed earlier.

But Bandura took the meaning of “observation” even

further. In addition to a “live” model, he explored a “verbal”
instructional model, whereby if certain explanations and
descriptions were presented, then learning was enhanced.
I am sure you can think of an example of when someone
patiently explained something to you in a way that helped
you to learn it. That’s the perfect example of a verbal
instructional model.

He also studied “symbolic” models, where characters (fiction/non-fiction) in movies, television programs,
online media, and books could lead to learning. This means that students could learn from watching a
movie or television program, listening to any number of online media sources (e.g., podcasts), or from
reading a book. They envisioned how the characters reacted and how they felt, etc. This, in turn, taught
them how to react and feel in similar life situations.

Learning Doesn’t Always Lead to a Behavioral Change

Behaviorists argue that learning leads to a permanent change in behavior. However, Bandura
showed that observational learning can occur without the learner demonstrating any new behavior. In
other words, you can observe, imitate, or model something but you might not learn it. He explored the
question of what needs to happen for an observable behavior to be learned (in addition to observation)
and cited four necessary steps: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

Observation + 4 Necessary Steps = Learning

Attention: First off, the learner needs to pay attention. If they are distracted, this will influence the amount
or quality of learning that occurs. I don’t think anyone disagrees with this statement. We have all gotten

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

distracted and know that it affects our learning and quality of work. Additionally, the more interesting or
unique the model or situation is, the more fully the learner will attend to the learning. This explains why
you might not be able to put down a good book or give up on any one of your passions no matter the
obstacles you encounter.

Retention: How you can to store the information learned (i.e., retention) is important. Let’s face it. We
have all learned so much content throughout our years of schooling, but how much do we retain? Maybe
you can remember the more significant learning in a certain way through any number of memory
techniques (e.g., mnemonic devices, writing it down, repetition, etc.). Or maybe you applied the learning
to a real-life situation which aids in retention.

Reproduction: Reproduction relies on the first two steps: attention and retention. After completing these
steps, you move toward performing the observable behavior. Then with further practice, you will
undoubtedly improve and sharpen your skills. The adage “Practice Makes Perfect” applies here.

Motivation: The last step is motivation. To have the most success for any observational learning, you
need to be motivated enough to imitate the behavior that was modeled. In this step, both reinforcement
and punishment impact motivation. If a student sees someone being rewarded, they are more likely to
continue the behavior. Likewise, if they see someone punished or ignored, they may extinguish the
behavior.

Certainly, this theory can be used to teach positive behaviors to students. Teachers can use
positive role models to increase desired behaviors and thus change the culture of a school. Not only will
individual students benefit from positive role models in and out of the classroom, but the entire class and
student body will do so.

Other classroom strategies such as encouraging children and building self-efficacy are rooted in
social learning theory. For example, if a teacher is positive with their students and they encourage them,
this positive energy and verbal encouragement, in turn, helps build self-efficacy, the belief in one’s
abilities to succeed in various situations. Bandura found that a person’s self-efficacy impacts how their
tasks, goals, and challenges are approached. Those individuals with strong self-efficacy view challenges
as tasks to master, develop deep interests in the activities they participate in, form a strong sense of
commitment to activities and interests, and bounce back from disappointments and setbacks easily.
However, those with a weaker sense of self-efficacy tend to avoid challenges, think difficult tasks and
situations are beyond their abilities, think negatively about their failures and outcomes, and lose
confidence easily in their abilities.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

2) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities

Let’s check what you have learned. On your own, answer the following questions by using the concepts
you have learned. In the illustration below write the unique factor of each theory. In between, write the
similarities of both theories.

Sociocultural Social Learning

3) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)

Now let us assess if you have learned something new, let’s go back to the What I Know Chart from
Activity 1 and write your answers to the questions based on what you know now in the third column of
the chart.

4) Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Read the statements below. Write the letter of the best answer on the space provided before the number.

_____1. According to Vygotsky, what is the process of constructing an internal representation of external
physical objects or actions?
a. Accommodation
b. Scaffolding
c. Internalization
d. Naive psychology

_____2. A cornerstone of Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development is that society and culture play a
key role in promoting development. What type of perspective is this considered to be?
a. A naive psychology perspective
b. An autonomous learning perspective

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

c. A linguistic perspective
d. A sociocultural perspective

_____3. Many children in kindergarten enjoy playing 'house.' How does the value of play benefit young
children, according to Vygotsky?
a. Play should be encouraged because it allows the teacher a chance to assess the students.
b. Play should be encouraged because it allows children time to have fun.
c. Play should be encouraged because it promotes new cognitive skills.
d. Play should be discouraged because allowing children to pretend slows cognitive
development.

_____4. Social Learning Theory was developed by:

a. Albert Bandura
b. Albert Schokl
c. Albert Einstein
d. Alfred Bandura

_____5. How many processes are involved in Social Learning Theory?

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

1) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)

Congratulations for finishing this module! Shade the number of the module that you finished.

Great Job! Did you finish all parts of the module? Do you have any questions you may want to ask to
clarify the topic? You may write any question to further help you learn and your teacher will get to you
on the answers.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #12

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

FAQs

Food for Thought!

If you have questions that you cannot ask to your teacher, this may help you clarify things out.

1. What is Psychosocial Theory?

→ The theory is focused on the idea that the child learns with the influence of the environment and the
more knowledgeable others.
2. What is Sociocultural Learning Theory?
→ The theory emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and
emotional reactions of others.

KEY TO CORRECTIONS

Answers on Skill-building Activity (Act.3)

(Answers may vary)

Answer on Check for Understanding Activity (Act. 5)

1. B
2. D
3. C
4. A
5. D

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