Encouraging dialogue between teachers and students in the environment of elementary school education: the sociocultural conceptions of Vygotsky and Bruner
Abstract
Current technological, economic and social developments are having a significant impact on the process of teaching and learning. The landscape of childhood and early-childhood education is also changing. This paper suggests that this transformation can influence adult-child interactions and the way children learn. Nowadays, children have far- reaching access to both the internet and other media. However, the fact that they can acquire a great deal of information so easily does not guarantee that they will be able to make effective use of it. Some of them may also have personal and social difficulties. Therefore, the social back- ground of the teaching-learning system is very important. This article advocates rethinking the role of pupils and teachers in the didactic process, and seeking out the most efficient psychological, pedagogical and social conceptions that will support both the dialogue between teacher and pupil and young learners’ development more generally. It cannot be doubted that the selection of a particular conception of teaching and learning will have implications for how the didactic process is organized, and so will help to define the role of young learners and teachers. The sociocultural theory of Vygotsky and Bruner furnishes us with a suitable basis for understanding both the teaching-learning process it- self, and the dialogue that this involves. The principal features of the model provide a coherent theoretical foundation and point of view, regarding how and what pupils should learn, and how teachers ought to go about creating the didactic structure needed in the classroom if a particular style of learning is to be successfully implemented. The aim of this paper has been to present the central premises of the theories of Vygotsky and Bruner as these pertain to dialogue, learning and the generating of information, to specific strategies for teaching and learning, to how the role of young learners in that process is to be viewed, and to the significance of motivation for building up and fulfilling the desire to learn. The socio- cultural model, as this article has sought to demonstrate, offers a valuable formative structure for preparing teachers to think about what is involved in creating a suitable learning environment, and why this is necessary.
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