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The Social Constructivist Theory of Bruner The Social Constructivist Theory of Vygotsk Cognitive Constructivist Theory Jean Piaget FMT3701 ASSIGNMENT 02R223,00
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The Social Constructivist Theory of Bruner The Social Constructivist Theory of Vygotsk Cognitive Constructivist Theory Jean Piaget FMT3701 ASSIGNMENT 02
The Social Constructivist Theory of Bruner The Social Constructivist Theory of Vygotsk Cognitive Constructivist Theory Jean Piaget FMT3701 ASSIGNMENT 02
The Piaget maintained that a child’s learning is a continuous process of constructing knowledge. He
believed that children acquire information by interacting with objects, ideas and other people.
According to Piaget, children construct knowledge through two processes of adaptation, namely,
assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation happens when children add new information to their
existing thought structures – in other words, the new information or experience fits in with what
they already know. Accommodation takes place when children make changes to their existing
thought structures so that new information from the environment can fit in better. Piaget suggested
that children proceed through stages of development and that these stages are the same for all
children according to their ages.
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development include sensorimotor stage (birth – 2 years), Preoperational
stage (2–7 years), Concrete operational stage (7–11 years) and Formal operational stage (11–15
years).
The Social Constructivist Theory of Vygotsk
Vygotsky focused on the importance of language in learning. According to him, children make sense
of their world through shared experiences and learning occurs in the zone of proximal development.
The ZPD encompasses the difference between what a child knows and what a child can learn with
the assistance of a more knowledgeable other (a peer or an adult). In this social interaction, the child
learns significantly more and learns deeper concepts than she/he would on her/his own. Scaffolding
is a process through which a teacher adds supports for learners in order for them to learn and
master tasks. The teacher builds on the learners’ experiences and knowledge as they are learning
new skills.
Understanding the learning environment
• Every child has a unique cultural/historical background that affects how he/she learns. Teachers
need to be aware of learners’ background and make provision for it in their teaching.
• The environment must allow for collaborative learning. Children should be seated in a manner that
allows them to engage with one another.
• The learning environment must be set up to provoke cognitive challenge, that is, to encourage
children to go beyond what they can currently do on their own.
The Social Constructivist Theory of Bruner
Jerome Bruner (1915–2016) believed that children learn by actively engaging with their
environments but they require guided assistance, called scaffolding, to enable them to learn
optimally. According to Bruner (1978), learning is an active process in which learners construct new
ideas or concepts based upon their current and/or past knowledge. A learner selects and transforms
information, constructs concepts and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure (schema) to
do so. The following principles that underpin Bruner’s theory have implications for the teaching and
learning of mathematics: Learning is an active process Learners select and transform information.
They use prior experiences to fit knew information into pre-existing structures. Good teaching relies
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