Social Constructivist Theory

Our Weebly lesson pages on News, Media and Society are underpinned by Lev Vygotskys
theory of Social Constructivism. The theory of social constructivism is concerned with how
individuals build up certain elements of their cognitive or emotional apparatus (Phillips as
stated in Woolfolk & Margetts 2013), in a learning curve where learners are active in
constructing their own knowledge, and social interactions are emphasised to support the
knowledge construction process (Woolfolk & Margetts 2013). Vygotsky believed that social
interaction, cultural tools and activity could all shape an individuals development and learning
(Woolfolk & Margetts 2013), and in essence he believed that learning takes place in the
context of a community (Deulen 2013).
Within his model of Social Constructivism, Vygotsky defines the concept of the Zone of
Proximal Development. This outlines the students functions that have not yet matured but
are in the process of maturation (Vygotsky, 1978). This zone is where learning takes place,
and can be determined by working out the distance between the students actual
development (what the student can work out a task on their own, determined through
independent problem solving), and the zone of potential development (the level at which the
student can perform with assistance from the teacher or mentor, determined through problem
solving with adult guidance or in collaboration with the students peers) (Deulen 2013).
Therefore, it is the job of the teacher to create a social context for learning that pulls students
from the zone of actual development to their potential.
Our Weebly webquest helps do just this; it has the ability to pull students from the zone of
actual development to their potential. Students not only have the chance to work individually
through tasks set over the four lessons, but also in collaboration with their peers; allowing
guidance in learning. Information Computer Technology (ICT) resources help increase the
possibilities for fostering constructivist learning.
Lesson one of our Weebly website, What is News?, uses the online applications Prezi and
Marqueed. These applications facilitate guided learning, as students are to first watch a Prezi
presentation, which helps them to individually gather their prior knowledge whilst being guided
by the teacher to learn new concepts. Then, students are to collaborate, using the ICT
resource Marqueed to find a news article using online resources, and then annotate this news
article. This enables students to engage with the content being learned, and allows students
to reach their potential through social constructivism tools such as social interaction and
activity, which shape individual development and learning.
Lesson two, Social Media, also implements both individual work and group work in a lesson.
First, students work individually in a task where they watch a YouTube video, A Day in the Life

of Social media, and then use the ICT resource, Padlet, to brainstorm ideas, demonstrate
their previous knowledge and use critical thinking to form ideas about social media, using
examples from the video. Through using video content in our Weebly page to aid in individual
learning, differentiated teaching is also implemented, helping students of a variety of different
learning abilities to learn at their own pace through different methods. The video can also be
re-watched on the Weebly page, and appeals to visual learners. After watching the video and
brainstorming ideas on Padlet, students are to work in groups of three, fostering collaborative
learning, and again, enabling students to be pulled from the zone of actual development to
their potential. Students use the social media website Twitter to source news stories from The
Sydney Morning Herald, taking note of how news is shared over social media. Students are
then to actively learn, through sharing their own news story on Twitter, helping them to
actively learn in the Zone of Proximal Development.
In social constructivism, culture creates cognition as the adult and child generate new
practices and solutions together, to add to the cultural groups repertoire (Woolfolk &
Margetts, 2013). Furthermore, the students are both the products and producers of their
society, and knowledge is both individually and socially mediated in this method (Woolfolk &
Margetts, 2013). Lesson three, Media Bias, demonstrates this method of teaching extremely
well. It at first facilitates learning through adult guidance and collaboration with peers, using
teaching methods from the zone of potential development. Students listen to the teacher as
he/she asks quiz questions on media bias, and the students answers are posted on a
collaborative Padlet board. Answers are not assessed, meaning students can look at the
answers being given by other students, and learn from these, so even though the quiz is
individual, collaborative work is still at play. A Prezi is then viewed as a class, in a sage to
stage method of teaching where students listen and the teacher lectures the class. A video is
then viewed by students individually, using cultural tools to create cognition, and to steer the
students towards goals that are valued by their culture. In this lesson, the cultural values
demonstrated are that of truth and honesty, as a clip from an Australian news program is
showed, and the teacher guides students to recognise that media bias is intrinsically bad, and
that news should always be presented in an honest way. A Google doc is then completed by
students, asking them to answer problem-solving questions relating to the video. Students are
to complete this task individually. This task is done using the actual development method of
teaching where students complete their own work through independent problem solving.
Finally, lesson four, Power and Persuasion, is active in constructing students knowledge with
the support of group work, cultural tools, and activity. This lesson, (along with the previous
three lessons) furthermore helps to shape learning in a community context. In this lesson,
students are to individually complete a quiz, applying active development teaching practices
where students work alone to solve problems. Following this, students are to watch a clip
from the World War Two propaganda film, Triumph of the Will, using cultural tools to engage

students in their learning. In groups, students are then to use their knowledge of the S.W.A.T.
codes (which were revised earlier in the lesson) to analyse the video, discussing how
meaning is created by the director. A mind map will be created by each group on Popplet to
share these ideas. An extension task is also included for more advanced students, where they
can further analyse posters demonstrating propaganda, and this aids differentiated learning,
allowing students to work at their own pace and engaging students of different learning
abilities. Furthermore, collaborative work is used to engage students and help in their
learning.
The four lessons created on News, Media and Society are therefore clearly underpinned by
the established learning theory, Social Constructivism. The Zone of Proximal Development is
used in the teaching of these lessons, and is utilised through teaching methods using
individual work, social interaction/collaboration, cultural tools and activities operating on
different ICT resources. The lessons therefore demonstrate Vygotskys theory in an engaging,
dynamic way.
Reference List:
Deulen, A. (2013). Social Constructivism and Online Learning Environments: Toward
a Theological Model for Christian Educators. Christian Education Journal, 10(1), 90-98.
Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
sid=4169eeb8-1cff-4c43-9bc0-68cdf79ec56b%40sessionmgr4001&vid=7&hid=4104

Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational Psychology. Frenchs Forest, NSW:
Pearson.