The theory of social constructivism places value on the interactions within a community.

The idea is that Basically, every conversation or encounter between people provides an opportunity to gain new knowledge you also have the opportunity to expand on previous knowledge and experience different perspectives.

Lev Vygotsky was a soviet psychologist who was a pioneer in developmental psychology. While he was a cognivist, he believed that all cognitive functions originated with social interactions. His theory of sociocultural learning highlights the part that social and cultural interactions play in the learning process. It is this opinion that learning happens with the assistance of other people, that brings out the social aspect of the theory.

Vygotsky, Lev (1978). Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.

A key component of Vygotsky’s theory is the Zone of Proximal Development. This is basically a “range of tasks that may be difficult for an individual to tackle alone, but can be mastered with the help of other people. Anothercomponent of the theory is scaffolding. This gives the learner the right amount of help at the right time. So, If the learner is able to complete a task with help, then progress is being made.

This theory was a really obvious choice for me. I truly believe that educators grow together. We need personal learning networks. We were able to do rework our schedule to build in daily PLCs. While this by itself is fabulous, we were missing a component. Two years after PLC's were added, we made some more adjustments.

We were able to do rework our schedule to build in daily PLCs. While this by itself is fabulous, we were missing a component. Two years after PLC's were added, we made some more adjustments to allow time for CTT. This grouping allows a group of educators including elective teachers, SPED teachers and aides to be included to discuss student needs. This time has allowed me to work with teachers and staff for growth and we also have our 6th grade teachers come over to join us weekly.

One example of the growth and learning that comes from sharing idea came during one of my Tech Tuesdays. It was a sharing day and we were talking about SAMR. One teacher shared how she uses a whiteboard app to have students practice their math. I suggested also having the kids record themselves as they talk through the process they used to solve the problem. I was able to share with the group how this is done. Another teacher took that idea and broke up the unit for her kids and made each student responsible for creating a whiteboard video tutorial. They edited their videos and the final product ended up being their review before their unit test. This sharing of a single idea led to my idea and how-to instruction which then led to the next teacher taking the idea and expanding on it. She was so happy with the work of her students that she shared the resulting video library with her teammates.

Dialogue within a community is proven to stimulate new ideas. Discussion and exchanging ideas are invaluable tools that educators can benefit from just as their students benefit. Vygotsky's Social Constructivist Learning Theory is what works for me and I will continue to encourage the building of our communities.