Week 3 T2P

Kruse's example of applying Vygotsky's theory demonstrates how social interaction extends the student's range of understanding. In the role of active facilitator, the teacher challenges students who grasp the concept to connect the concept to previous concepts or ideas. This engages the students who already grasp the concept (who are now acting as the more knowledgeable person) and helps the students who do not quite grasp the concept understand as they benefit from having their peers explain it to them in a language that is more familiar to them. 

However, this same exercise also brings the Constructivist Learning Theory into the mix by asking students to fit new information to previous knowledge. The students who already grasp the new concept are challenged to make these connections to their existing conceptual framework. The students who do not yet grasp the concept benefit from hearing the connections articulated by their peers in a way that is likely to make sense to them. Making these connections also moves the students into a higher level of reasoning based on Bloom's Taxonomy. Connecting former knowledge with new knowledge moves the learner well past basic knowledge acquisition. 

If your goal as an educator is to create a student-centered learning environment, then the educator must be in tune with the students' behaviors, background, and experiences that affect the students' learning. It is not necessary for the educator to change the learning process to meet the learning styles of each individual student, rather it is important for the educator to use complementing learning theories in the classroom to challenge students' to become well-rounded learners.