According to the article Social
Learning Theory; An Overview of Bandura’s Social Learning Theory people can
learn new information and behaviors by watching other people. Think back to your childhood, did you watch a
parent and act like they did or if you are a parent, did your child ever say a
phrase that you said when you were mad without fully understanding it? If so, then you have experienced social
learning. This week this course took a closer look at
the concepts of cooperative learning and the Social Learning Theory. These two ideologies focus on the role of
interaction between students and others in the classroom and how cooperative
tasks can provide for a positive and lasting learning experience.
I really agree with the idea that
students learn from each other and by working together to build an
artifact. There are a number of ways in
which our students can use technology and collaboration to build understanding
of content. Some examples are given in
the course text Using Technology with
Classroom Instruction that Works such as creating a video project,
webquests and the creation of a website.
Projects such as those listed above are a great way for students to work
with each other to form understanding.
Dr. Orey states that through collaboration students are able t to bounce
ideas off of each other, get validation
from each other for good ideas and encouragement as the attempt to complete the
assignment (Laureate, 2010). As digital
natives our youth must be able to use the technology they have grown up with
and be prepared to apply that to the larger global world that we now live in. Teachers can help prepare students for such a
difficult task by creating learning opportunities that embrace the social
learning theory. When this is done and
done well, our students will not only be prepared for the demands of ever
changing technology but they will also be comfortable in a work environment in
which collaboration will be paramount.
In social learning theory Albert
Bandura (1977) states behavior is learned from the environment through the
process of observational learning.
The concept of observational learning is very much a part of today’s
classroom. Teachers who embrace the
opportunity for their students to learn from one another as they create an
artifact are not only creating meaningful learning in the classroom, but
preparing their students for success beyond the walls of the school in the real
world.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a).
[Webcast]. Social learning theories.
Baltimore:
Laureate Media.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b).
[Webcast]. Connectivism as a learning
theory. Baltimore: Laureate
Media.
McLeod, S. A. (2011). Simply Psychology; Bandura | Social
Learning Theory. Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K.
(2007). Using technology with classroom
instruction
that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Cole,
ReplyDeleteWhat forms of social learning do you use in your classroom? I have been using webquests more and more.
I have used social learning for years, I have not used it with computers or the internet. I have had many classtime group projects that my students have done.
I like how you pointed out about how childern copy their parents. I relate to this as I have a one year old. I am also pregnant. If you ask my son "where is the baby" he will point to his tummy or lift his shirt, pat his tummy and say "baby." He is learning by watching, using the social ques from others.
Our students are much the same way. They take what we teach/show them and make it a little bit of their own. My so has the idea that his sister is in a tummy, he is just not quite right on which tummy!
Cole-
ReplyDeleteYou and I took this week's learning from a similar perspective. We see social learning everyday and we see it from our experiences growing up. Like Pru, I also have children and relate with the "monkey see monkey do" idea. My eldest son is in kindergarten now and comes how with some new unruly attitudes and vocabulary sometimes. Of coarse, I tell him "No sir, we do not talk like that". He replies, "but Ria-kun says it". I have to explain to him the reason we do not say it, etc. and he understands. I also have to be careful how I discipline sometimes because my eldest attempts to discipline my youngest like I do. This is not good (lol). However, the concept of social learning is prevalent and relevant in informal and formal education. We need to use it in positive ways to help students learn in better learning environments.
Jeremy-
DeleteFunny how our childern act like us! Oh the good times.
We do need to use postive ways to help our students and our childern.
I agree with you that the students learn from each other. Just the other day I sat with a group of students that were working on a math problem. They had to use pixie to demonstrate how they would solve the problem. I loved listening to their discussion and hearing what their different ideas were. One student was having trouble understanding the problem, but after another student described the problem in their own words they understood the problem. The students then were able to share their pixies to the class to answer the problem. I could see a lot of students having a better understanding of the problem after each group shared their pixie products.
ReplyDeleteCole,
ReplyDeleteI commented on your post earlier this week but when I checked back I noticed that it did not show up to me for some reason so I thought I would try to reiterate what I had said.
I like how your post talked about Bandura's imitation theory where children learn from the world around them and sometimes say or do things that they pick up outside of the home. I remember when I was little picking up things from the world around me and getting in trouble for saying or doing things when I did not know they were wrong.
I had found the following website that I felt might help you to create more cooperative projects to support the type of learning opportunities you talked about in your post: http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/co-op.php
Now that I re-posted I am sure that I will find my first comment. I just thought I had better be safe than sorry!
Jenny