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.