3.1 Theories of Learning and Famous Learning Theorists
3.1.3 Constructivism Learning Theory
3.1.3.2 Vygotsky (1978)
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doing (competence) and what a child can show when given a specific task (performance). Other researchers have questioned the generalisability of Piaget’s data because his sample was a combination of his children and his colleagues’ children. The sample was not insignificant, but children coming from high socioeconomic status families in Europe framed it.
Piaget's (1936)'s theory of learning and cognitive development proposes a learning theory as a model, a unifying move towards education that covers the experience, opinion, understanding, and behaviour. Piaget’s theory involves the experience, idea, reflection, and action, which form the first continuous non-spatial whole for developing the graduates’ thoughts (Kolb, 1984).
Applying Piaget’s theory of learning, this study addresses the graduates' progress during the internship.
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coordinators from university act as mediators for the students during an internship. During their placement, the students apply these experiences to what they have learned in universities in a proper work environment. In similar circumstances, both lecturers and supervisor’s negotiation are to resolve the differences in the two unique environments that allow the intern to internalise on human society and its members. The student can further learn how to carry out a role or action in the workplace. In the internship, the academics/lecturers attend to the students and motivate them with leading reflection as they move towards problems that exist in workplace environments. The supervisor supports the students with relevant issues appearing in the proper work environment. In concert, the three groups of people build the idea which aims for social common or reciprocal action. The students develop applicable skills, knowledge, attitudes, and competencies with the aid of academics/lecturers, supervisors and other clients.
Vygotsky's (1934)’ social development theory and the theory of cognitive development came into existence via researches over several decades. These theories of Vygotsky (1978) underline the principles of the fundamental common action and the role of society in refining knowledge.
The researcher argues that the community shares the dominant role in the action intended to achieve the “making meaning.” However, Vygotsky (1978: 90) points out that “learning is a necessary and universal of the way of developing an organised culture, the human psychological work.” Otherwise stated, social learning precedes development. Vygotsky elaborates on both social and cultural matters that move towards cognitive development. An individual cannot understand the personal growth set within the social and cultural context without referring to it.
Two important principles of Vygotsky support his theories: The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978: 86). The MKO is a person or an adult who has a higher education or a high ability status on actions and principles.
He or she may not be an educator or even an adult. This could be an inexperienced person or a child who has more experience or is more knowledgeable than his or her peers, therefore known as MKO. The MKO can likewise be an electronic tutor or peers within the classroom. In contrast, the ZPD is essential arguments on the capacity of what a learned to accomplish on his or her own without external help or what the learner can do with the support of a knowledgeable peer or adult (Vygotsky, 1978). For example, a learner cannot assemble a motor by himself/herself and needs the help of a worker or a qualified person to develop the skills that apply to future action.
Vygotsky (1978: 86) determines the Zone of Proximal Development as “the distance between the developmental level as determined by independent problem-solving; the potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance in collaboration with
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more capable peers.” The theory justifies that the cognitive development of gaining skill and knowledge takes place in the ZPD. For instance, the typical social actions of graduates working with equals who are more experienced on a joint initiative of the task could enable interns who are self-learners. Vygotsky (1978) accepts as a right that learning moves ahead of development.
Besides, when an intern faces new knowledge, an intermediary educated person, or someone similar will aid the intern to make sense of the unique experience and prior knowledge already earned by him or her. During internships, guidance and support from supervisors/mentors and other employees of an organisation are essential to developing graduates.
Vygotsky (1978) pursues the social constructivist theory. The social mutual action of a group produces social constructivism centres on human development. Social context influences the advancements in the stages of knowing people learning from one another builds knowledge. I regard the constructivism theory as knowledge of construction being of both a cognitive and social process. The learner must take part in the action through social debates, meanings and stable collaboration, thus completing knowledge. As a result, learning occurs with the help of other people, for example, between an intern and a supervisor or between two interns during the internship. Participants develop higher mental actions. Vygotsky (1962) believes that an individual’s active learning takes place through interaction while discussing, negotiating, and sharing participants' perspectives. The role of the supervisors is to engage interns in understanding their workplace. They invite interns to inquire and to collaborate while taking part in any activity on their internship programme (Sapp & Zhang, 2009). Vygotsky is likely to have emphasised the role that young graduates play in their development. They discover and develop new understandings or schema through social interaction with a skilful supervisor or mentor who acts as a role model (Billett, 2004). The interns try to understand the instructions provided by the supervisor or mentor (often the colleagues or other employees). He or she afterwards internalises the data, applying it to lead his or her performance. Both the supervisor and the intern work in collaboration to interpret information and build meaning with a rich significance or implication.
They try to find solutions to issues that belong to the real-world. Students build their understanding and education through repetitive technique with the help of the supervisor (Billet, 2000). The social constructivist theory draws attention to the role of learners in organising and linking ideas or arguments while interacting with the natural world (Vygotsky, 1978). They reflect on a subject or question over a period, raising questions to understand better how to interpret the context and search for answers to relevant issues.
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During internships, the supervisor becomes a promoter of learning, trusting that collecting knowledge and skill that results from direct participation in actions within an environment affect the learner. In reality, the collective and reciprocal action happens between the intern and his or her environment. Therefore, knowledge and skills have a base of active experience. The supervisor’s role calls for forming the learners’ real training from the environment. Research has shown that the environment promotes skills that lead to developing the learner (Billet, 2011) and that through an internship, controlled learning allows and encourages social constructivist learning. Since then, in this education, students manage their learning. The constant support of other people in the workplace makes the interns more confident. They are more liable to feel at ease questioning and reflecting on procedures for learning. Vygotsky (1978) and Dewey (1916), in their research, explain the collective social action, development procedures, and reflective learning. The theory shows the existence of an interplay between active learning and the learner’s interaction while gaining experience. Learners can, by induction, show and translate information into construction or non-structure which they want to know, that is cognitive constructivism. In this model, learning is a growth process that calls for change and building on earlier learning experiences, for instance, how interns move from one experience to the next higher one.