IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION TO LEARNING

Importance of Social Interaction to Learning



Importance of Social Interaction to Learning

Q3: Drawing on current research in either social science or neuro-science, discuss the importance of social interaction to learning?

Introduction

For this paper, I have selected the the third question that focuses on the importance of social interaction and learning with regards to the current research in social science.

Social learning refers to the belief that thought has its genesis in social interaction. It emphasizes the importance of human activity in social interaction as the primary process for gaining knowledge. Social learning is based on the theories of Lev Vygotsky, a Russian cognitive psychologist of the early 20th century. Vygotsky's theories emphasized the central role of the social interaction, transactions, and context in all learning and development and the dynamic interdependence of social and individual process (Vygotsky, 2006).

This is in contrast with other learning paradigms that emphasize gaining knowledge as an individual process, occurring solely in the mind. Another approach to social learning theory is that found in the work of Albert Bandura, whose approach is related to the social learning of Vygotsky, but emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Bandura's theory has been applied to the understanding of aggression and other psychological disorders (Wood, 2006). This entry addresses the nature of social learning as viewed by Vygotsky, and its applications to understanding language and literacy development.

Discussion on Human Development and the Social Context

Vygotsky referred to this interdependence as the “genetic law of development” through which socially shared activities are later transformed into internalized processes (Wertsch, 2005). For example, (Rogoff, 1990) describes how children involved with parents in agricultural and household work assumed increasing responsibility for their own learning and participation in joint activity. She characterized this process as guided participation. Developmental activities are the products of social and cultural practices belonging to the community to which the individual child has access (Moll, 2008).

In Vygotsky's theory of development, every mental function or task being learned goes through the process first in the social realm, while interacting with others, and later at the individual internal level. In the interpsychological plane, the individual learns in social interaction with others through the use of tools such as language and other symbolic systems. In the intrapsychological plane, the individual uses mental tools such as thoughts, which were created and shaped in the social and cultural contexts. So an individual may first learn a new task in the interpsychological plane working with others and then use that knowledge in the intrapsychological plane (Heath, 2008).

Social learning and development are culturally contextual, mediational, and best understood through genetic analysis within their historical development. This entry examines three important contributing factors that summarize Vygotsky's notions: (a) learning is a process best understood by genetic or developmental analysis, (b) learning has its origins in social interactions, and (c) learning is mediated by tools.

First, in social learning, the process or the origins of what is to be learned ...