Blog Post 2

There are many tools used in the classroom today. One of these tools that we use everyday in class is a powerpoint presentation. In our culture, technology is growing everyday and we have to keep our students engaged via this new technology. By using power points we are able to engage students through technology and they are able to see the information for themselves while also listening to the teacher. Another tool commonly used in the classroom is an iPad. the classroom I am currently doing my field experience in has it so that every child has an iPad. In our culture, hands on activities that we are able to see via technology engages students more than anything else. It makes it much easier for them to see what they are doing wrong and they get immediate feedback to help them. In our culture, things are changing everyday and schools are starting to introduce technology at younger ages. There are many different apps on iPads so different students can work on different lessons at once which helps both the teacher and the students. 

Vygotsky Blog Post 2

Today, children use technologies such as ipads and computers as their learning tools. These tools have an immense cultural and societal impact, and are to widely and commonly used by students, that they have no trouble internalizing them. Our culture focuses around the internet, and computers offer a variety of programs to help students learn in a multitude of ways. I believe that these could be internalized through typing or getting used to seeing things on the screen, further scaffolding a child's learning.

Blog Post 1

The idea from this chapter that most stuck out to me was grouping in the classroom. This concepts relates to Vygotsky's theory because he also believed in the social aspect of learning and discussed grouping students in a classroom. There are many different ways to group students in a classroom such as grouping them in heterogeneous groups or homogeneous groups. Heterogenous groups are groups with different attributes and homogenous groups don't have variation or have little variation in their attributes. The book discussed how under different conditions students may be placed in a different group when doing different things. They may be heterogenous doing one thing and be homogeneous while preforming a different task. They split into these groups based on ability which is the most common and most effective way of grouping. Vygotsky puts a big emphasis on learning as a group rather than individual learning, which is what in-class grouping is. 

One question I have is what if students dislike learning in groups? What if they prefer individual work and don't think that group work is beneficial? Also, if one person ends up doing all of the work wouldn't that negatively impact the learning of others?

Grouping has to do with Vygotsky because he believes that learning happens socially. He believes that there is no such thing as individual learning and that we learn with and by watching others. Vygotsky might recommend heterogeneous grouping because then higher ability students are grouped with lower ability students which helps them learn. 

Vygotsky believes that learning happens through social interactions whiles Piaget believes that learning happens in stages. Vygotsky says that we are constantly learning through our development and that we all learn and develop differently because we are all different people. He thinks that we learn by modeling others and imitating them because we see what they are doing and then we learn it. Piaget believes that there are 4 stages of development and that we develop first and then learn what is developmentally appropriate for that stage.

My thoughts and actions are being influenced right now because of my previous knowledge as well as what I have read in the book and learned in class. My previous knowledge was learned because of the thoughts and ideas of other people. In class, I learn others ideas as well when we have discussions as well as what Jackie puts on the power points. The book we read was written by someone else so those are their ideas. The things that I learn all come from other people.

Post 2

In the video Vygotsky gives the example of a computer application as a more knowledgeable other. This could scaffold someone in giving guidance and training someone to do a task or operate software on their own. Another form is just the simple computers in the classrooms. With this students can play unlimited amount of math or spelling games without any paper or pencils. They get to learn math and spelling in a clean clear cut way without the distraction of papers falling off desk,pencils breaking every time you try to write something. They also learn how to operate a computer by themselves by using repetition.  

Post 1

 This chapter talks about grouping. There are two specific types of groups.The Heterogeneous groups refer to the groups of students with mixed ability.  In this group you will find a mixture of high-achieving students and low-achieving students.  This type of group is beneficial because it allows low-achieving students to be influenced by high-achieving students.  Also, it is beneficial to high-achieving students because they are able to communicate and explain their ideas. Another type of grouping is  homogeneous.  Homogeneous groups are students grouped by similarities.  In most cases, homogeneous groups are separated by ability.  This is better for high-ability groups because they are able to form ideas, and kind of bounce off of each other, and allows for more educational competition. 

Vygotsky says, no learning happens individually. He claims that learning is always influenced socially and by the cultural aspects of the environment. We always learn based on our surroundings such as people like our teachers, parents, and especially other students. All of these people help us learn. He would enjoy the  likes of the heterogeneous groups because the lower level students can learn from the higher level students.

Vygotsky believes that development occurs through a persons whole life. Learning is a social process throughout the development of student whereas Piaget believes that development are certain points in a student's life that only occur through biological development. According to Piaget, development cannot occur throughout one's life but only occurs at certain points of a person's biological development. Piaget’s stages throughout life shows us the steps a person takes in their lives. 

While writing this blog there was a lot of influencing me about what I write in this blog. I was writing this blog while the presidential debate was going on. So while I was watching that I wasn’t fully concentrating on what I was writing. It kinda made me what to rush through this blog so I can have full attention on the debate. The textbook was influencing me as well. It gave me information that I may have forgotten of just skipped over be accident while reading. 

If students get influenced by the environment around them. How can a teacher and school overpower the things a student learns from home. Say a student lives in a corrupt family and learns things at home that isn’t right. How can a school change his actions when they will always be under a corrupt family till they move out of the house. 

Vygotsky Blog Post 1 - Module 21

Module 21 discusses groups, and the different types and ways to divide children into them. There are two types, heterogeneous and homogeneous, where the first one is a mix of children by the term they are being divided on (such as ability) and the second is where kids share similar levels or traits. Children can be grouped by ability or by cooperative learning. When grouped by ability, within-class groups are very effective but heterogeneous ability grouping does not promote achievement for high achieving individuals, and therefore is good for those who are low achieving. There is also between-class ability grouping, and in both of these methods, high achieving children tend to do better. In cooperative learning, there must be five things: positive interdependence, individual and group accountability, interpersonal skills, face to face interaction, and group processing. This method also helps with self-esteem and motivation.  What is most beneficial in grouping of children who are intellectually or learning disabled?


Vygotsky believes that no learning is individual, and therefore thinks that learning is a social process. This makes Vygotsky a supporting of grouping, as children get to interact with others to expand their learning. Vygotsky would recommend heterogeneous learning, because he believes that you learn more when you learn from a wide variety of people.


Vygotsky believes that learning drives development, and development can occur throughout life until death. Piaget, however, believed that learning was always occurring, but development only happens in a certain stage of life.

I am being influenced by advertisements, brands, and other objects that may connect to something greater than itself. Additionally, all I have learned before (from others) has influenced by prior knowledge, perceptions and opinions I have today (and constantly think about).

Module 21 Post 2

The Internet and all of its resources is the biggest cultural and societal resource that has been implemented in the classroom. When the Internet first came out, users had to learn from other people (be scaffolded through it) how it functioned. I remember first learning about the Internet and how its used and now I've internalized the ways it functions. The Internet was constructed by someone else and now everything on it is created by someone. If we're to use it in the classroom, we have to realize that this is a huge part of learning because these kids have internalized it. Our culture helped scaffold us through it and now it's a permanent part of our lives. Another practice that is culturally and socially based is the practice of reading aloud. Someone taught us to read- this is arguably the biggest social aspect of our learning. Other children may learn how to read by simply listening to their peers. This is something that's been embedded in our culture for as long as we've been literate. Literacy and being able to read is essential for success in our culture. We rely on being able to read. The practice of reading aloud in our culture has been around for as long as we have and it's not going to change unless we throw out our socialization in learning.

Module 21 Post 1

After reading Module 21, there was one concept that really stuck: grouping in the classroom. Grouping relates to Vygotsky because he believes that learning is a social aspect and there are many different ways to group students in a classroom. Grouping is typically done in either a heterogeneous (variation of attributes) or homogeneous (little variation in attributes) in the classroom. More popular practices have shown within-class ability grouping where students may be heterogeneous in the classroom, but when it comes time to learn a lesson, they split into homogeneous groups based on ability. This is held to be the most effective way of grouping, even more effective than the traditional teacher-led class, heterogeneous groups and individual work. Vygotsky says no learning is individual and grouping in the class reiterates this. The social aspect of learning is evident in the grouping methods. Does ability grouping within the classroom negatively affect students if they know they're in a lower level group?

 Module 21 has to do with Vygotsky based on the social aspect of learning. Vygotsky believes that learning is a social endeavor and is never individual. This comes into play in Module 21 based on the grouping of classrooms.

Vygotsky believes that development occurs throughout the whole life. Learning is a social process throughout the development of student whereas Piaget believes that development are certain points in a student's life that only occur through biological development. According to Piaget, development cannot occur throughout one's life but occurs at certain key points of a person's biological development.

Everything that I am doing right now is being influenced by someone else. You, Jackie, have scaffolded my learning to focus more on how children development and learn. Before Piaget and Vygotsky, I would not know to think of different beliefs about development and learning. I learned my language to type this post from other people and my culture makes resources, like this blog, available. MY learning has been influenced by all other people. I couldn't have learned anything without the influence of other people.

Vygotsky Blog Post 2

In today's society, there are many common tools that are used to help students remember certain pieces of information. One of these tools that I remember being particularly helpful in school was the use of videos. Movies and videos that pertained to the subject that we were learning in class often helped me to understand the information and helped my brain process the information better. It allows students to visualize the information and connect the information to other schema that have already been formed.

Another tool that is used to help younger students learn material is games. In many classrooms, students are allowed to play educational games that focus on specific topics such as math, reading, and spelling. These games are useful because the students that are playing them usually don't feel as if they are learning. Because they focus on how much fun they are having while playing the games, they tend to learn and remember the material much faster.

Vygotsky Blog Post 2

There are a lot of different tools that we use in every class in order to make learning easier.  One of these tools is flash cards.  These are an easy way for students to look at words, numbers, etc. at a fast pace and easy way to learn these facts by themselves in a couple minutes a day.  The second tool is videos.  These tools are used every class because it gives a good visual to the students in an easy and fast way because schools have internet connection to Youtube which has these videos already made.  These tools are easy studying tools and visual aid.  And we could not have watched videos every class before projectors and electronic online videos became readily available.

Vygotsky Blog Post 1

This module focused mainly on different ways of grouping students. The two main ways that grouping can occur is heterogeneity or homogeneity. Groups based on heterogeneity would include students that range in all levels of ability. Groups that are based on homogeneity would be made up of only students that are the same level of achievement and ability. Another way of grouping students is within-class and between-class. Within-class grouping the a way of dividing students up within a confined classroom setting. These groups are usually homogeneous. Between-class grouping is a common practice in middle schools and high schools and refers to when a class is full of students that are all the same level of achievement. All of these types of grouping tend to be effective in their own ways.

According to Vygotsky, no learning happens individually. He claims that learning is always influenced socially and by the cultural aspects of the environment. Module 21 fits well with the ideas proposed by Vygotsky because of the fact that grouping is a way for students to learn socially and interact with others. I believe that Vygotsky would recommend using the heterogeneous grouping because when higher ability students are mixed with lower ability students, both levels of students are able to scaffold from one another. Higher level students can help lower level students accelerate and understand the material. This is also beneficial to the higher level students because when a student is forced to explain a certain concept, it forces them to thoroughly analyze it and understand it to a fuller extent.

One question that I had while reading this chapter was why a teacher would choose to have a homogeneous group of lower level students. In my opinion, it seems that this would deter lower level students from reaching a higher potential. They would not be able to scaffold and model the higher level students.

While I am writing this post, I have many social influences that are affecting my learning. The text book that I am referring to was written by another person. The computer was also made by other people which is allowing me to write this blog.

Vygotsky Post 2

     One common tool in today’s classroom is the PowerPoint Presentation. Our culture provides many of us with computers and basic software that make these presentations an accessible, clear format in which to present information. Calculators are also commonly used tools developed by someone else. These are important for more complex math when it is more about knowing how to set up a problem than how to perform the mathematic functions. The culture of math education has changed to accommodate more and more of these problems.

     Vygotsky in the video gives the example of a computer application as a more knowledgeable other. This could scaffold someone in giving guidance and training someone to do a task or operate software on their own. In a classroom, instructions on a worksheet could accomplish similar things.

Vygotsky Blog Post 1

This chapter dealt with the different types of grouping that a classroom can use.  There was within-class ability grouping which splits the students up into different ability groups for reading or math.  This allows the students to learn and do work at their own pace and level without pushing some too hard and not challenging others.  Also there is between-class ability grouping which has different classes for different ability levels such as regular or honors courses in high school.  There are flexible grouping methods which makes it so the students are not stuck in the same group all year.  They can change which group they are in depending on how they are learning and if they continue to develop at a fast rate.   Also the chapter discussed cooperate learning and the advantages it has in the classroom.  The question that I have is, are there classes that we shouldn’t use group work such as writing classes?

He would suggest that we use groups because we no one learns alone.  We always learn based on our surroundings such as people like our teachers, parents, and especially other students.  All of these people help us learn.  He would really like heterogeneous groups because the lower level students can learn from the higher level students.

Vygotsky believes there is a zone of proximal development which is the difference between the child’s actual development and the capacity of development.  Piaget believes that students develop over time through learning.  So as long as students are learning the same things they will develop the same way.  Unlike Vygotsky who believes that children will not develop the same if they are learning the same things because some students will not develop as much as others and not as fast because they are different.

What I have learned about these subjects are from class which I learned from my fellow classmates through the group work, also from what I learned from the teacher through the notes and the activities that were chosen, and finally from the authors that wrote the textbook for the class.  These people allow me to learn the information in a way that I would never be able to learn on my own because the authors have put all the most important information into the textbook so I can read just a few pages rather than seven websites.  Also the activities help me learn what others think of the topics of group learning.

Vygotsky blog post 2

The class I currently am working in has a class set of laptops. I think this is a really neat practice of technology and resources because the students can use the laptops to complete in class assignments like math, reading, and science quizzes or tests. The students are learning different resources on the computer to obtain more knowledge in an more efficient manner.

A tool used on a laptop could be instead of looking up a word in the dictionary, students can use online dictionaries instead. There are also countless spell check tools to review what is written.

Students are only scaffold by older peers or adults, technology has it own way of scaffolding a learner. With technology ever changing, sometimes a new update changes how the program or APP worked before. Maybe its only a few clicks differently, but you have to figure how to get from page A to B in a different manner to learn new things. 

Vygotsky Post 2

In classrooms today, many other influences are used for teaching that could be considered "the more knowledgeable other".  For example, many schools are requiring students to purchase iPad's before the school year.  In this case, iPad apps can be instructional and be a source of all-knowing guidance for a student.  Apps that take you through a learning process step by step or by providing some sort of repetitive game allows the student to learn.  In today's day and age, iPad's would be considered "the more knowledgeable other".

Vygotsky Post 1

After reading this chapter, I found that the main ideas were concerning the types of grouping.  Heterogeneous groups refer to the groups of students with mixed ability.  In this group you will find a mixture of high-achieving students and low-achieving students.  This type of group is beneficial because it allows low-achieving students to be influenced by high-achieving students.  Also, it is beneficial to high-achieving students because they are able to communicate and explain their ideas, which means they understand the material they are working with.  Another type of grouping is  homogeneous.  Homogeneous groups are students grouped by similarities.  In most cases, homogeneous groups are separated by ability.  This is better for high-ability groups because they are able to form ideas, and kind of bounce off of each other, and allows for more educational competition.  Low-achieving groups also benefit from this, but it can be difficult to keep each groups at the same level, as a teacher.

One question I had about the chapter is do mixed-ability groups allow for high-achieving students to excel, as they would if they were in an all high-ability group?

Vygotsky and grouping go hand in hand because Vygotsky believes that one cannot learn or develop individually.  Vygotsky believes that one cannot learn without outside influences like people, culture and environment.  Vygotsky would most likely agree with heterogeneous grouping because that gives some students the ability to reach places intellectually that they would otherwise not reach in a group that is homogeneous.

Vygotsky and Piaget differ because Vygotsky takes more of a social approach to learning and development.  According to Vygotsky, development takes place on a much larger scale, and learning helps to speed up development.  Piaget has four stages in which learning does not speed up or hinder development.  Vygotsky talks about environment and culture greatly influencing the developmental process, whereas Piaget doesn't have such a social approach.

Right now, I am sitting in my living room with my roommate, watching TV.  My learning is being influenced a the moment by my roommate sharing ideas, and the textbook.  The TV is also somewhat distracting, they are not teaching me anything.

Vygotsky post 1

Heterogeneous and homogenous grouping can affect students differently learning. It is an important decision that a teacher must make if she wants to divide the class up in groups that are all on the same level, sex, ability, or to have the class mixed all together. There are positive and negatives for each, for example a student that is struggling could copy the behavior of a student that is exceling. The student exceling may be frustrated with the level of work they are being asked todo. But the student exceling may benefit as well if he/she explains to a student how to do something to understand the process better. This helps explain why they got the answer they did and vocalize it, which is an important tool to have in the real world. Homogenous groups usually only benefit students that are exceling to push for more success and not be held back by other students.

My question is that in the third grade classroom I am observing, the group is a bit wild, the teacher is always bringing the class back on topic and trying to engage her students. What would the best method of grouping for a class like this.

 Students learn through social interactions Vygotsky believed. Grouping relates to Vygotskeys beliefs because students interact with each other at their desk or quads they are placed with. I believe Vygotsky would choose heterogeneous grouping because it not only helps the students that struggle but adds strength to the students excel prior knowledge. With the interaction between the students it would be a positive change in the classroom.

Though I am working alone, my past teachers, my parents, grandparents, and everyone around me has influenced of what I have learned. With out my teachers I would be illiterate, with out my parents I would be lazy. I am using a laptop that I received as a graduation present, without this resource I would be at the library typing this. I have gone to class and listened and participated in the activities explain Vygotsky, for me, I would rather go to class than sit down and understand the chapter on my own. My learning has been influenced by so many others. 

Vygotsky Post 1

     This chapter talks about grouping. There are two overarching ways to group: heterogeneously (with variations in age, skill level, etc.) or homogeneously (with similar students). Within these, there are many sub-categories. Students can be homogeneously grouped by ability. This can be within or without the restraint of age. It is important to be flexible in the groups that have been picked and to react to the learning that is happening.  When done well, cooperative learning has many benefits.

     Vygotsky believed that learning is social, and grouping is a very tangible example of that. He would also claim that work we deem “individual” is never truly and completely individual, but that it has social and cultural influences. Vygotsky would recommend heterogeneous grouping to draw from the widest base of experiences and cultures.

     Piaget claimed that learning can always happen, but that it is only time and biological maturation that drive development. Vygotsky, on the other hand, believed that learning drove development. This means that children could be coached into developing more quickly.

     My learning experience is being shaped right now by my roommate, Becca. She is threatening to kick me if I don’t write this. I am also using a laptop, which is a tool I may not have were I in another culture.

Vygotsky post 2

Another type of scaffolding other than people is technology such as computer programs that train employees. Computer programs can temporarily give the user instructions that are pretty easy to understand so that those instructions can be internalized and used on a regular basis. Something similar that I have seen in classrooms on my own are posters and charts on the walls that the students are able to see everyday and use as a reference. For example when a teacher of a kindergarten classroom keeps a calendar at the front of the class and goes over the date with the class these students are being scaffolded not only by the teacher, but by the diagram that she is using. When the teacher is not pointing out the date herself the students can use the calendar to help them think about the date on their own and internalize the information.

Vygotsky post 1

This module talked about how different types of grouping (heterogeneous and homogeneous) affect children's learning. Heterogeneous groups can help the less capable students out because they have more competent peers to be able to scaffold their thinking so they can understand a concept better. This kind of group also helps the higher achieving students in the group because they are sometimes forced to explain their thinking and when you can explain something it means you know something much more thoroughly. Homogeneous groups are mostly helpful to higher achieving students because they are able to reach their full academic potential because they are not held back by their inferior classmates.

A question that I had about these modules is how homogeneous grouping can be helpful to the lower achieving students. I understand that it helps them master some of the material better but do they skip through basic ideas where higher achieving students might go more in depth or how do teachers keep the two different types of students at similar levels?

This relates to Vygotsky's theory because it claims that no learning happened individually. Vygotsky believed that even though an individual might be doing work on his own his learning would be influenced by the people in his environment, the tools at his disposal, the culture he was brought up in, and the language he used. These aspects of learning must all be internalized for learning to be the most efficient. The scaffolding of higher achieving students could help lower achieving students reach potential they might not have even been ready for developmentally, but because of the help of the higher achieving student they could understand well enough to accomplish a task.

Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky thought that development was more of a lifelong process than a more stage based ideology. Piaget did not believe that learning could push the development of an individual along because learning happened within a certain stage. Vygotsky, on the other hand, believes that learning happens in pieces that are part of the larger picture of development.

As I write this post I have my book and notes at my disposal to help me remember specific details that I have not yet internalized. I also have friends in the room with me that are not doing homework and that makes it so I am influenced by their lack of productivity. I also think about the sentences I am going to type before I type them so I am internalizing information before I externalize it.