Vygotsky's writings have been very influential in education in the former soviet union, but I haven't come across them in higher education in Europe or elsewhere.
Does anyone know of any examples?
Hi Ronán,
I believe his principles are present in curricula that takes into account active participation on the part of the students, active methodologies and so on. Simulations, serious games, and projects may respond to V's assumptions.
Best,
Laura
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187704281202201X
http://www.igi-global.com/chapter/gaming-simulations-concepts-methodologies-tools/49435
Hi Ronan,
Vygotskian principles abound in higher ed, but they generally don't exist purely or in isolation. They have often been integrated with other similar theories (such as Piagetian and many other more modern theories) into a general 'constructivist', 'student-centred', 'active collaborative learning' approach, to name a few of the common rubrics. For example, in the medical education context, problem-based learning pedagogies are often steeped in Vygotskian theory. Vygotsky's principles are more obviously at work any time you see an internships, residencies or apprenticeships in a program.
Best,
Rob
PS. I would respectfully disagree that serious games (at least the ones with which I am familiar) represent a Vygotskian approach to teaching/learning, because genuine scaffolding is, to my knowledge not a part of the gaming concept (yet!). Instead, task structuring and 'mastery learning' are the norm--that is, complex tasks are broken down into elements and hierarchically developed, difficulty increases, and one must achieve a certain level of performance on a lower level task before moving on to higher level tasks. Gaming usually does an excellent job of task structuring that facilitates learning. Whereas scaffolding is all about the nature of the instructor's *support* that a learner receives -- when *support* is dynamic and adjusted to the learner's performance level, then there is scaffolding. I don't know of any serious games that include this type of learner support, but I could be wrong.
Good point, Rob. But I would disagree that problem based learning (which represents a minimally guided mode of learning) is Vygotskian! Indeed, it represents a sort of Robinson Crusoe vision of the learner, discovering for themselves, as if knowledge were a property of nature to be found by the curious.
On the country, the pedagogue, in the Vygoskian model, is the intermediary between culture and the student, "plugging in" the student to the accumulated learning of humanity, stored and carried forward in culture.
Hi Ronan.
I see your point. As you've described it, PBL wouldn't qualify much as a Vygotskian inspired pedagogy. But I would argue that it doesn't necessarily have to be implemented that way, that it can be a mixture of the personal discovery of knowledge and internalization of social knowledge. I mean that the students are personally discovering established social knowledge, potentially within a simplified version of an authentic professional context (clinical case study) and potentially with the help of an expert to provide support to navigating that process. In his later years, having read much of Piaget's early writing, Vygotsky had come to understand the importance of the personally constructed knowledge (i.e., Piagetian) as an inevitable complement to his internalization of socially constructed knowledge. So although, yes, PBL might be implemented as a minimally guided, Crusoe expedition, it needn't be. I guess it depends on how it is structured and guided.
If you think of Vygotskian learning as a pure internalization of external knowledge (which is more characteristic of his earlier work than his later work, which was much more infused with Piagetian influence), then certainly the internships and residencies are more purely in line with that. And also more in line with more recent Vygotsky-inspired theorists.
Cheers, Ronan.
Dear Ronan,
If you haven't done so already, perhaps try looking at various books and articles on Vygotsky by Professor Harry Daniels (University of Oxford, Dept of Education). That might be a good starting point.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Education