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REFLECTION 6

This week we talked about social interactionism.When we look at social interac tionism
basically,we can say that learning occurs through the interaction with other
people.Social interactionists believe that children are born into a social world
and learn somethings while they interact with th eir environment.Vygotsky and
Freustein are 2 important name for social interactionism.Firstly, Vygotsky disagreed
with the idea that small pieces could be learned easier.He believed th at information
should not be broken down into smaller pieces and should be thought as a whole.He
is also known concept of zone proximal development that refers to students
should be challenged.The level of inputs that the students have sh ould be just
beyond their capacity.The inputs can be a peer, an adult but the best one is that can
move the learner into the next layer.The common view of Vygotsky and Freustein is
the concept of mediation .It refers to the idea that social interac tion occurs between 2
people who are from diffirent level .The person who have more knoledge is a
mediator and his basic role is to help to learn.Freustein strongly supperted that
anyone can be effective learner if the suitable strategies are used a nd people never
achieve the full extend of learning potential , they can learn during their life .

I had difficulty in understanding the view of Vygotsky.He thought that breaking

down the information into smaller pieces has no positive effect on lea rning , but I
strongly believe that it is useful for learning so I have not understood why he
thought like that.

I think I ought to focus more on the concept of the zone of proximal development
since it is one of the most important things th at a teacher must know. I also focus on
life-span learning.

The last isue that how I can use these information in my teaching .Firstly, I use the
concept of mediation , when I¶m a teacher I will be the person who have more
information, so I should be a facilitator for my students.My role is not only giving
them the information they need , but also teaching how their learning can be
easier.Secondly, the idea of the zone of proximal development can be useful for me.
I have known that I should be aware of what my students know , I can only put
something into them by using correct inputs or interactions. If I know level of my
student , I can support neither too easy nor too difficult metarial for them.Lastly, all
learners are unique and hav e the capability of learning.If I use suitable strategies all
my student can be effective learners so I can be an effective teacher.
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