Hopefully I am understanding this correctly but I think that I've had many examples of the prompt this week. I am a Business Administration major and I've encountered many subjects and classes whose material was outside my ZPD such as Accounting, Finance, Information Systems and the list goes on. I came into each class having no prior knowledge and sometimes it was assumed that each student already possessed said knowledge. With the help of my professor and some peers in each class, I was able to learn about each subject and when it came to doing problems on my own, I was able to do it on my own. That ability may be lost now and I may need more help to gain that back but at the moment, I was able to use the knowledge I obtained from the professor to solve problems on my own.
After reading Kendra's post and her question about how not having a community would affect the development of an individual made me think of another. Do you think having an overbearing community or "teacher" would hinder development? It can be parents who hover, allowing no time or space for the child to be free or a teacher who only teaches and lectures, never allowing time for the student to apply what they've learned? How important is the application aspect in development and how much is needed to reach that point of understanding the material in your ZPD?
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Sociocultural Theory- ZPD
An experience I had recently with something being outside my ZPD is in my math class- EDUC 170 (Jasmine, you might be able to relate :) The class is focused on understanding the content, instead of being primarily results-oriented. It has been a challenge at times to think about math problems I grew up with differently. Recently it was very difficult to draw how to multiply and divide fractions. It was only through the help of my group members and continue instruction that I have begun to understand how to represent it. This was originally outside of my ZPD zone on my own, and it took the classroom community to help bring it into my ZPD. (If I am understanding this correctly.)
In light of sociocultural theory, interesting to think about would it be like to be interacting in a constant community or culture. How would our ZPDs be affected then? What would they look like? How would we develop (or not develop)?
I've attached an example below of a girl who was isolated and never learned language fully. After she was rescued, she was able to communicate with objects but never developed a full language. I find that really interesting. (Perhaps I've mentioned this before).
(It's such a sad story though, don't go to that the link if you don't want to be sad)
"Though initially nearly silent, Genie later learned to vocalize and express herself through signs. While in captivity she was provided with few toys or objects to stimulate her; the majority of her time was spent in a dark room staring at a yellow plastic raincoat. After her rescue, attempts were made to help her speak and socialize. Her demeanor changed considerably, and she became sociable with adults with whom she was familiar. Colorful plastic objects became her favorite objects to collect and play with, and she demonstrated a deep fascination with classical music played on the piano (one of the neighboring children practiced piano regularly, and this was speculated to be the source of her fascination as it was one of very few sensations available to her). Genie developed remarkable nonverbal communication skills; repeatedly she and her caregivers were approached by strangers who would, without being asked, spontaneously give Genie gifts or possessions in which she exhibited an interest.[4]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_%28feral_child%29#Characteristics_and_personality
In light of sociocultural theory, interesting to think about would it be like to be interacting in a constant community or culture. How would our ZPDs be affected then? What would they look like? How would we develop (or not develop)?
I've attached an example below of a girl who was isolated and never learned language fully. After she was rescued, she was able to communicate with objects but never developed a full language. I find that really interesting. (Perhaps I've mentioned this before).
(It's such a sad story though, don't go to that the link if you don't want to be sad)
"Though initially nearly silent, Genie later learned to vocalize and express herself through signs. While in captivity she was provided with few toys or objects to stimulate her; the majority of her time was spent in a dark room staring at a yellow plastic raincoat. After her rescue, attempts were made to help her speak and socialize. Her demeanor changed considerably, and she became sociable with adults with whom she was familiar. Colorful plastic objects became her favorite objects to collect and play with, and she demonstrated a deep fascination with classical music played on the piano (one of the neighboring children practiced piano regularly, and this was speculated to be the source of her fascination as it was one of very few sensations available to her). Genie developed remarkable nonverbal communication skills; repeatedly she and her caregivers were approached by strangers who would, without being asked, spontaneously give Genie gifts or possessions in which she exhibited an interest.[4]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_%28feral_child%29#Characteristics_and_personality
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Sociocultural prompt
How do people in your life adapt to each other in order to communicate or teach within each others' zones of proximal development? Have you experienced something that was outside of your ZPD and then had someone bring it into your ZPD by explaining it in a way that made sense to you?
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Sociocultural Theory and Cultural Competence
Throughout my time in the ECFS major I've been taught about different hot topics in the field. From my first year, it was all about "Developmentally Appropriate Practice" and teaching to the "whole child." The buzz word of this year, however, is "cultural competence." This more or less is what it sounds like: being able to interact with and teach children from different cultures successfully. It also entails a high level of acceptance and encouragement of diversity. After reading through this week's articles, I can see how using the Vygotskian approach to teaching lends itself to being culturally competent.
When one recognizes that children learn through interaction with the people in their environment, one can quickly come to realize that children will have different methods for learning, problem solving, communicating, etc. based on the culture they come from. While there is some responsibility on the student to adapt to the classroom culture, it is also the responsibility of the teacher to make that transition easer and adapt their methods of teaching and interaction the the child's culture. A question for you: how might a teacher begin to adapt their classroom and practice for multiple cultures?
When one recognizes that children learn through interaction with the people in their environment, one can quickly come to realize that children will have different methods for learning, problem solving, communicating, etc. based on the culture they come from. While there is some responsibility on the student to adapt to the classroom culture, it is also the responsibility of the teacher to make that transition easer and adapt their methods of teaching and interaction the the child's culture. A question for you: how might a teacher begin to adapt their classroom and practice for multiple cultures?
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Transfer in the Dream Project
Sorry all for the late blog post.
I don't mean to repeat any posts but my thoughts are very similar to what has been written. What we learn in class is meant to be transferred, whether it is near or far. What we learn in math class is meant to be integrated in our minds so that we can build upon it in a later class; we take the information learned and transfer it to the next level up to learn more. In our education classes, the purpose is to use what we learn about teaching and hopefully apply that when we become educators. Whether we actually plan out how we will take the material we learn and use it in real life or not, we are transferring material (sometimes without knowing it).
I am a Dream Project lover and think it's a great example to use for transfer going both ways. We have a weekly class, one is a mentorship class and the other is a educational issues class. There are times I go to both, but I'll use the Mentorship class as my example. In class, we talk about ways to improve the time we have with our scholars, the high school students and how to truly establish and maintain the connection with them. Specifically, we learn how to go over their transcripts and see if they are on track to graduate and apply to colleges, if that is their post-grad plan. We have also participated in role-playing with each other to have meaningful conversations with high school students who may not be as open to a college student yet. We take that information we learn and apply it to the students we work with during our visits. That is one direction of transfer, from the class to a real-life situation. For the opposite direction, we use a lot of what happens in the visit to help us discuss issues in class. We take experiences such as the majority of us having difficulty working with our students to find what they want to write in their personal statement. We brainstorm ideas as a class and learn more strategies on being an effective mentor. Then the cycle starts again and we use what we learn in class during our visits. I enjoy the 2 way transfer that is constantly happening and how we are constantly applying what we learn in class as well as using our experiences to learn more.
I don't mean to repeat any posts but my thoughts are very similar to what has been written. What we learn in class is meant to be transferred, whether it is near or far. What we learn in math class is meant to be integrated in our minds so that we can build upon it in a later class; we take the information learned and transfer it to the next level up to learn more. In our education classes, the purpose is to use what we learn about teaching and hopefully apply that when we become educators. Whether we actually plan out how we will take the material we learn and use it in real life or not, we are transferring material (sometimes without knowing it).
I am a Dream Project lover and think it's a great example to use for transfer going both ways. We have a weekly class, one is a mentorship class and the other is a educational issues class. There are times I go to both, but I'll use the Mentorship class as my example. In class, we talk about ways to improve the time we have with our scholars, the high school students and how to truly establish and maintain the connection with them. Specifically, we learn how to go over their transcripts and see if they are on track to graduate and apply to colleges, if that is their post-grad plan. We have also participated in role-playing with each other to have meaningful conversations with high school students who may not be as open to a college student yet. We take that information we learn and apply it to the students we work with during our visits. That is one direction of transfer, from the class to a real-life situation. For the opposite direction, we use a lot of what happens in the visit to help us discuss issues in class. We take experiences such as the majority of us having difficulty working with our students to find what they want to write in their personal statement. We brainstorm ideas as a class and learn more strategies on being an effective mentor. Then the cycle starts again and we use what we learn in class during our visits. I enjoy the 2 way transfer that is constantly happening and how we are constantly applying what we learn in class as well as using our experiences to learn more.
Friday, April 20, 2012
What do you take with you?
It was hard for me to come up with something to write about this week. However, the other day in one of my classes (Contemporary Indian Experience) I found myself dragging. Once again, we were going through a timeline of policy affecting Native Americans from the dawn of time until present day. Imagine: "And in 1500 Spain enacted "Requieremento"(all the way down to) and in 2001 Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act". I was dying.
Anyway, the moment we began speaking about something that one (ICWA), related to my major and therefore was part of my schema, and two, I could begin to actively transfer information learned, I was more interested in the material. Analytical skills learned from my social policy class were brought over to investigate the pros and cons of the act. Knowledge about the developing child made me question some of the provisions of the law. Thinking about it later, I noticed that the majority of information I transfer over in discussion comes from an early educator's perspective.
My question to you is, what knowledge do you usually draw on to partake in different college contexts?
Anyway, the moment we began speaking about something that one (ICWA), related to my major and therefore was part of my schema, and two, I could begin to actively transfer information learned, I was more interested in the material. Analytical skills learned from my social policy class were brought over to investigate the pros and cons of the act. Knowledge about the developing child made me question some of the provisions of the law. Thinking about it later, I noticed that the majority of information I transfer over in discussion comes from an early educator's perspective.
My question to you is, what knowledge do you usually draw on to partake in different college contexts?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Useless to never transfer?
A thought came to mind. There are certainly things that we learn and forget. Not every class reading, discussion or assignment will resonate temporarily or permanently with us. The knowledge we do learn but never transfer to real life, is that useless then? Was there a point? Should all learning connect to our every day lives (the people we interact with, places we go, careers, etc), or is there worth to learning that isn't transferred across spheres?
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