Peters - Theoretical Foundations for Constructivist Teaching

As a feminist scholar I focused a lot about social interactions and social constructions within society, so I tend to put more stock in Vygotsky's Social Constructivism theory. Piaget makes solid arguments for child development, but I tend to agree more with Vygotsky's theory that learning happens through social construction and social interaction. I think I also relate better to Vygotsky's theory because the learning tools Peters mentions are the ones I use myself, such as signs (semantic mediation) and social collaboration. In the science classroom, Vygotsky's theory is particularly relevent in that students learn science through exploration and experimentation, usually in groups where they can discuss and make connections with the materials as a group. The teacher provides guidance and scaffolds to assist students, but the exploration is directed by student interaction and questioning. The use of science notebooks also makes sense in the context of Social Constructivist Learning. Students create "signs" for themselves and ask questions or make observations that inspire new learning or redirect focus of the lessons.