Teaching Philosophy:

Vygotsky & Bruner

Hannah Stephenson
EDUC5953 D- Dr. Shaunda Wood
March 5th, 2015

Philosophy of Teaching
Before a teacher can effectively enter the classroom, it is important that they consider a
vision of how they plan to teach students. A philosophy of teaching gives me an insight into the
prominent core values that I plan to include in my classroom as a future educator. The basis of
my teaching philosophy revolves around how the classroom is more of a student-centered
environment. I plan to model theories presented by Vygotsky and Bruner in my teaching. As an
educator, I believe that providing students with support and motivation, they will have the ability
to reach their fullest potential.
As a teacher, it is our duty to provide students with an education that prepares them for
the future and does so in a way is a real-life connection. I believe that it is important as a teacher
to remember that the classroom is full of diverse student needs. Students learn differently and
have different personal interests. It is essential as an educator to vary instructional strategies in
the classroom to meet the needs of all students and to provide the students with the opportunity
to have choice assignments. By giving students choice in assignments, we are also giving them
the ability to take responsibility over their learning through discovery learning. This will also
make the students more responsible for their work. Through the use of Vygotskys zone of
proximal development and Bruners scaffolding, I will be able to provide the students with the
opportunities to be challenged and to become more self-reliant.
In a student-centered classroom, the students are not dependent on their teacher at all
times like they are in a teacher-centered classroom. The student-centered classroom is a place
where we consider the needs of the students, as a group and as individuals, and to encourage
them to participate in the learning process at all times (Jones, 2). Students have the opportunity

to work independently, in pairs, or in groups in a student-centered classroom. The students may

also be led by the teacher by providing students with advice and encouragement, explanations,
and feedback.
Being a social constructivist, I believe that each student in the classroom has their own
unique social and cultural background. As a teacher, I will acknowledge the differences and
experiences of the students by attempting to incorporate them into the lessons. By doing this, I
feel as though it will deepen their level of understanding about themselves and the world around
them. Students need to be provided the opportunity to play an active role in the classroom where
the teacher acts as a facilitator. Todays classrooms are increasingly being focused on a student
centered environment meaning the teachers role as a director or dictator is slowly diminishing.
The students are now solely responsible for what they are learning through discovery learning.
The most important role of a teacher is to provide the students with motivation. As a
future elementary teacher, I think one of my duties as a teacher is to teach students how to selfmotivate themselves to become independent and develop self-efficacy. Students who learn to
self-motivate themselves early on in their career as a student are bound to be more successful
throughout the learning process. Part of being a teacher is preparing students to successful.
Vygotskys social-constructivist theory and Bruners inquiry based constructivist can be
easily combined to make an effective classroom. Both theorists state that students learn best
when they are provided with support and motivation by giving them an extra push to overcome a
challenging task by using Vygotskys zone of proximal development and Bruners discovery
based learning. They both promote independence in the classroom and encourage self-efficacy
among the students to prepare them for the future. I feel as though both Vygotsky and Bruner

reflect upon my teaching practices in the classroom because I like to implement both
collaboration and social interactions into my classroom.
Vygotskys sociocultural theory indicates that our explicit mental structures and
developments can be traced into our interactions with others. Vygotsky is also responsible for
the development of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). According to Woolfolk, Winnie,
& Perry, it is defined as the distance between a childs current level of development and their
potential level of development possible by guidance from others (45). Learning takes place
during the ZPD. As an educator, it is important to be aware of the zone of proximal development
because it allows me to help students reach their full potential by assisting them with their
learning.
Bruners scaffolding theory plays a significant role in my teaching philosophy.
Scaffolding is used in the classroom by the teacher to provide students support for learning and
problem solving (Woolfolk, Winnie, & Perry, 50). As a teacher, I will provide support to my
students by prompting, using words of encouragement, providing examples, and modeling. In
my own teaching practices, it is important to use scaffolding in the classroom because it will
allow the students to develop a sense of independence in their learning. The use of scaffolding in
the classroom can reduce students anxiety and stress by knowing that they are not alone in the
learning process. The teacher is there to help guide their learning by encouraging students to
become independent, it will likely increase their intrinsic motivation to learn for themselves and
provide them with the ability to think more self-reliantly.
A key element in a social-based classroom is to provide the students with a safe,
welcoming, and positive learning environment. It is important that the students feel comfortable

in the classroom learning environment. If the students feel comfortable in the learning
environment, they will be more likely to ask questions and voice their opinion to the teacher. It
is also important to provide students with a collaborative environment.
As my teaching experience increases, I hope to continue to grow and develop my
personal teaching abilities. A responsibility of a teacher that I think is critical is to reflect upon
your teaching and improve it every year. As the dynamics continue to change within the school
and technology becomes more advanced in the classroom, I will adapt my teaching to better meet
the students learning needs and my performance as a teacher.

References
Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Leo, J. (2007). The student-centered classroom. New York: NY: Cambridge University
Press.
Woolfolk, A.E., Winnie, P.H., Perry, N.E. (2012). Educational Psychology. (5th Can. Ed.)
New York: Prentice Hall.