In my own experience in learning, I believe that one must have some type of social aspect in order to learn. Whether this be from classmates, teachers, or friends. Yes learning is important but in order for a student to comprehend you must have the social aspect of an assignment. Make it something that the kid will be able to understand and interact with. John Dewy the father of our education system hits the nail with the hammer on some of his ideas on education.
In “My Pedagogic Creed” Dewy goes off his idea for a younger person’s way of learning. He considers the idea that the psychological and the social and how important it is for helping a child to learn. He believes that the education consists of these two sides and that neither is bigger than the other but that they go hand in hand with one another. Of the two Dewy states that “the psychological is the basis.” (Dewy 93) What he means by this is the child’s own instincts and powers give way to all education. Dewy believes that the school serves as a social institution.
Dewey’s idea of the psychological and the social aspect goes hand in hand and follows the core practices of education. EL’s education design principle of self-discovery follows Dewey’s method. “People discover their abilities, values, passions, and responsibilities in situations that offer adventure and the unexpected.” (EL 6) That through adventure or discovery a student is able to find his abilities. This could be through the process of talking with peers and collaborating to find something new. The social aspect goes well with the psychological If the student is engaged in his social aspects than it will translate to the classroom. Through innate skills that he will develop overtime and learn. This is interesting because I believe as well that you need these traits in order to learn and be able to understand things. In my own experience I learned at a very early age that you must rely on these social skills or you will not succeed in the classroom. I struggled as a student until I put both aspects together.
I agree. I think that social interaction is an important part of learning. I believe that social interaction increases the chances of a child learning more about their environment and the material presented to them.
The social aspect of learning seems to be a very popular topic, demonstrating the obvious importance that it has upon our students and society as a whole. It is important to remember that schools are a main source of socialization for children (other than the family unit) and this is where they learn to interact with the greater world.
Chris, I would love to hear you delve more specifically into your social skill preparation and how you think it supports Dewey’s principle of ‘interaction’ as a way to individually develop and define our psychological powers as human beings, learning from our experiences.
MAJ Hodde
You make a great deal of solid points supporting the importance of the social aspect of learning. You utilized the two texts well in order to support why social learning is important and advantageous. But you don’t mention much of your own personal experiences and how it changed your path in life. I think if you expand on the beginning of your post where you begin to mention your experience with social learning then you will have hit the nail on the head!!!