3.2 MY VIEW ON MEANINGFUL TEACHING AND LEARNING
No single principle can account for development of cognition without reference to the social and cultural influences”. Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) researched and developed a theory in cognitive development focusing on socio-cultural contribution towards cognitive development while Piaget also developed a cognitive development theory but without any focus at all. Social and cultural influences have proven to have an influence on the development of cognition. South Africa is a country with diverse cultures therefore the learners we teach come from different social and cultural backgrounds, they come to class with different social and cultural influences instilled in them before we as educators can begin to create meaningful learning for them.
The Collins Cobuild advanced dictionary is defines social as a large organized group, while culture is defined as ‘culture: consists of activities such as the arts and philosophy, which are considered to be important for the development of civilization and of people’s minds’ by the same dictionary. ‘Vygotsky’s theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition’. Social interaction plays a major role towards the development of cognition because it is human nature for people to interact with one another. Human beings are exposed to each other and we learn from one another as a result. The child-centered Philosophies of Dewey, Montessori, Piaget and others follow in part from similar views. Kant (1724 – 1804) refined and modernized Plato’s rationalist theory with his Suggestion that “a priori” knowledge was knowledge that was present before experience. Therefore social and cultural knowledge exist even before the cognitive development .Vygotsky’s theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition Vygotsky, 1978), as he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of “making meaning.” The learners in a school environment also come from different backgrounds and societies and share their experiences with one another resulting in meaningful experiences because their experiences are unique. Socio cultural factors influence our cognitive development because socio-cultural influences are available even before cognitive development takes place.
Different cultures have a strong believes about their cultures and make sure that they pass on the indigenous knowledge and cultural language (even if it is not universal) to generations to come. Vygotsky placed more emphasis on the role of language in cognitive development while Piaget is criticized for lack of emphasis on placing emphasis on the role language plays in cognitive development The subjects which I teach are business studies and design art. These two subjects require me as a teacher to integrate socio-cultural influences when facilitating cognitive development. For example in business studies I make use of authentic examples to help the learners better understand the subject by drawing from prior knowledge usually influenced by the societies they live in. this helps them to relate to the subject because they have a good understanding of what is being taught creating meaningful teaching as a result. Indigenous knowledge (a section in the business studies curriculum) is knowledge passed on to generations originating from our cultural backgrounds; this knowledge can be used to create business opportunities. This is so meaningful because it is a gift and no one can take it away from you and now you are allowed to use it to benefit you. Design is a subject with a lot of history content in it and they way in which I teach the subject is by drawing comparisons to our own history which has a diversity of cultures which the learners know about already. Unlike before now learning is influenced more by the by social interaction influences, people share news via the tweeter; learners interact with their fellows learners as well as educators using wikis and student portal. Social media has increased social interaction making it possible for the world at large to interact. Social media has also made information accessible for the learners meaning information is at your fingertip that is the phones we carry around allow us to inter-act socially without being present and we learn a lot as a result because we are able to share information with in a short period of time. This still proves that social interaction creates a meaningful cognition because learning is easily accessible through social interaction.
Vygotsky’s theory differs from that of Piaget in a number of important ways: 1: Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development – this contradicts Piaget’s view of universal stages and content of development. (Vygotsky does not refer to stages in the way that Piaget does). 2: Vygotsky places considerably more emphasis on social factors
contributing to cognitive development (Piaget is criticized for underestimating this).
In conclusion social and cultural influences have proven to have an influence on cognitive development because people learn best if they can draw reference from their experiences.it is our responsibility as teachers to educate a community of responsible citizens who can use their experience to solve challenges facing them in the future. Socio-cultural influences enhance the development of cognitive development because the learners can draw reference from it in order to enhance cognitive development. It is a fact that we learn from each other as human as we interact with one another. Now these influences have been taken to a more advanced level my social media making knowledge accessible to us worldwide at a very fast pace. Socio-cultural influences play a major role in cognitive development because experience is the best teacher of all time.
