tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post5291403645155506862..comments2024-02-12T09:07:37.691-06:00Comments on I am doing the best I can: VygotskY!Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12920042208198309201noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post-56700892551778721022009-04-14T11:52:00.000-05:002009-04-14T11:52:00.000-05:00Jennifer - I hope you come back to read this comme...Jennifer - I hope you come back to read this comment, as I think this is a really interesting question. Hmmm. Maybe I'll do a whole blog post on what I think this means to teens...Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12920042208198309201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post-77587071714074261852009-04-14T07:16:00.000-05:002009-04-14T07:16:00.000-05:00Fascinating stuff - thanks!
Of course now I'm ins...Fascinating stuff - thanks!<br /><br />Of course now I'm insanely curious on what the social learning theory looks like in the middle school / high school arena -- what changes and what remains the same.<br /><br />(Obviously your field seems to be ECE, but I know so many high school teachers that are having trouble reaching their students. It just makes me wonder how much can be applied there...)Jennifernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post-64798434575175509472009-04-09T23:20:00.000-05:002009-04-09T23:20:00.000-05:00Yay! Thanks. I've been told that Vygotsky kicks th...Yay! Thanks. I've been told that Vygotsky kicks the ass of Piaget, but I was ignorant as to why, 'til now. (I'm typing w/ one hand as my own fledgling self-talker nurses.)<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Dawn. You rock.E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10023959769203103393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post-3662790896647873302009-04-02T13:16:00.000-05:002009-04-02T13:16:00.000-05:00I wish you did (yet another) blog about education/...I wish you did (yet another) blog about education/learning theory. I find your writing so accessible and intelligent.<BR/><BR/>So... a couple questions:<BR/>-My first thought about the self-talk was that it was taking the place of the parent-child interaction. When a child is old enough to articulate, her first conversations are with her parent, and self-talk would be mimicking that. But I understand how both Piaget and Vygotsky as well. I'm curious if self-talk occurs more often and louder if a child is surrounded by other people. Is it a two-way dialogue? Does it differ between boys and girls?<BR/><BR/>- Just realized my other question is too long and anecdotal, so I'll save you that. But I want to say how much I also appreciated your earlier post about Emily. I remember being so terribly disappointed and ashamed when I first discovered hair in my armpit - I tried to pull it out. My mom was not helpful or supportive and I had 3 brothers. It makes me glad to know that Emily's discovery wasn't as traumatic (for her).Mignonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07716330276288396317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post-55658336436076228372009-03-31T15:45:00.000-05:002009-03-31T15:45:00.000-05:00Lev is awesome. You are awesome. And together you ...Lev is awesome. You are awesome. And together you are unstoppable. I learned a bit about ZPD in ed school, but I missed all this great social learning stuff, so thank you!Madeleinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05389653184198589623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post-7924114060095122862009-03-30T10:36:00.000-05:002009-03-30T10:36:00.000-05:00Oshee - I am a BIG proponent of looping - Emily ha...Oshee - I am a BIG proponent of looping - Emily has been looped in K-1 with Ms Deb, and then again the past two years at her school in Montreal.<BR/><BR/>My worries are a couple, however.<BR/>1. Teachers who don't know why they are doing this. <BR/><BR/>This seems to be true for some - the new reforms says Do it, so they do, without any concept as to why it is better for the class to be structured this way. These are also teachers who may tell you that the older kids are going to be held back by the younger students. They don't understand the theoretical background of multiage grouping AND their internalized socialization as teachers say "One Year - One Class- One Teacher"<BR/><BR/>My overall worry as a Mom has always been first for Emily's social stability. Once she feels set socially, she relaxes and learns better - She doesn't have to re-negotiate everything. <BR/><BR/>Now as to your daughter, the best thing about kids is that they are flexible and amazingly able to be fluid in ways adults simply can not. They see things that adults simply refuse to see ( unless looking for it). The problems arise when the new child either has a style which is SO out of sync with the group that the whole group either rejects the style - or the new style rejects other members of the formerly stable group. OR the child has a personality by which it makes it very very difficult for that child to observe, think about what he/she sees and then maneuver into the group. <BR/><BR/>My role as teacher was to Observe the incoming child and figure out ways to mitigate their discomfort. Did they have a style that would fit with another child? Did they simply need cues as to what questions to ask to gain entry to the play/work? Did we all need to restructure the way we did things to absorb this new member?<BR/><BR/>The nice thing about having a stable group was that the time it takes to go through all of this with One person is drastically shortened - the patterns of communication are already understood and can be revisited. <BR/><BR/>You also - as you noted - need to have a GOOD teacher. One whose style is not custodial, but rather humanistic. One who is not afraid to KNOW the children and have the children KNOW her/him. <BR/><BR/>One of the problems (IMO) with many elementary classrooms is that we are WAY over managing the time that we have decided it takes someone to learn something. We (adults) insist on quiet - on order - on lining up. <BR/><BR/>When we do this we are robbing children of the time and space to TALK - to authentically NEGOTIATE with one another. To Scaffold each others knowledge. In short, we reinforce a particular power structure. <BR/><BR/>I think what I love about Lev is his realization that it is Messy - this human learning. It doesn't go one way. It bounces up and down and back and forth. It relies on other people to help us define and give meaning to what we see. It relies on our history - both personal and as a species. Each child should be viewed as an increment forward - a person who will carry all the old knowledge and work that has been done and move it ahead. That Teachers weren't the END of knowledge - we are facilitators to the next level of knowledge - and that we ourselves may never GET to that level, but our students will.<BR/><BR/>See? I can get mighty passionate about Old Lev.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12920042208198309201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15513876.post-8613761508814791932009-03-30T05:04:00.000-05:002009-03-30T05:04:00.000-05:00Your ultimate questions at the end of this make me...Your ultimate questions at the end of this make me think about my daughter and how she 'looped' with her class and teacher from first to second grade. I am sure you are familiar with this. I have some strong opinions on how wonderful this was. Only two children left the class over the summer and so only two new children had to rework into the class at the start of the second school year. Plus, she was blessed with a sweet wonderful teacher who had specifically asked to do this with the class after having learned of the potential benefits.<BR/>Then to contrast that with my daughter having been homeschooled for half of this, her third grade, year and then worked back into a new elementary school. She being the disruption into the already working coordination of the classroom. <BR/>Thank you for writing about this. I will be looking to learn more about Lev. I think his work very much worth additional looks.osheehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03455826519363554410noreply@blogger.com