At 11:30 18/10/03 +1000, Andy wrote:
>The article is about pedagogy and is probably addressed to teachers, so it
>is natural that it should focus on the role and intentions of the teacher.
>However, it seems to me that Vygotsky is not just a teacher of teachers.
>There seems to be a school of interpretation of Vygotsky which emphasises
>the two-sided negotiation involved in learning and development. But surely
>this is just the product of "teachers eye view" when reading Vygotsky.
Andy, as I sit here tapping out endless papers for my course work, I relish
the opportunity to add a tuppence worth to your interesting dilemma. I
guess if we're interpreting Vygotsky's work, we need to situate the work
and him in the appropriate historical context, as I think you have.
However, I think it's important to remember that Vygotsky was first and
foremost a teacher before becoming a psychologist. I have always been
inspired by his work for highlighting students/learners as active agents in
the educational process. In my own context, I recognise (on a simplistic
level) that teaching does not equate to learning for a fundamental reason -
learners individualise in a creative process the teaching activities they
are engaged in. I'm not sure that we teachers need to have cognitive
psychologists hanging around waiting to advise us or our learners, but I am
sure that if teachers are aware that learning pulls along development
behind it, and that opportunities to experiment and play with the
curriculum content are aplenty, that our learners will become much more
than socialised subjects.
Not really related to your problem, but it might inspire some others into
the discussion!
And thanks to you and Victor for some articles for Sunday reading.
Phil
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