Top 10 Learning Theories for Digital and Collaborative Learning

This presentation was all about learning theories that align with collaborative practice and digital learning. Each theory had key points that I see valuable for 21C learning. I have summarised some of these theories and linked to my own current practice and what I value as a teacher.






Progressive Education- John Dewey

Dewey identifies hands on learning as a key element which improves learning. Many of the children I have taught thrive in their learning when they are given the opportunity to be actively involved. We aim to provide children with as many of these opportunities as possible. What surprises me is how long this research has been around! Reflecting on my own schooling experiences in the last 20 years I feel like this was not valued by many of the teachers that I had. There were not the opportunities to be actively involved in my own learning!

Dewey also refers to the home school partnerships. This is something that I value highly and aim to develop these connections and relationships early on in the year. It is something that I continue to build throughout the year through parent helpers and 3 way conferences. I also have an 'open door' policy and welcome parents to contact me at any time with any celebrations they want to share or concerns they have.








Constructivism: Social Development Theory- Les Vygotsky

Vygotsky's research focuses on the ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) which indicates the difference between what the child can do independently compared to what they can do with the help or expertise of others. He also talks about the reciprocal relationships between teachers and learners. I align this to the Maori concept of 'Tuakana, Teina' which stands for the teacher and the learner. This is an approach that I use in my classroom all the time. The children gain so much by learning from their peers and in return being able to teach a skill to someone else. In my experience I have also found that the children enjoy teaching me something! I make it very transparent to children that I don't know all the answers and that together we need to discover the answers together.

This links to Vygotsky's thoughts on the role of the teacher.

"The teacher must adopt the role of the facilitator, not content provider."





Situated Cognition/Learning- John Seely-Brown, Alan Collins and Paul Duguid

I feel like this ties in with Vygotsky's thinking when he discusses the teacher as the facilitator and is not in the role of being the knower of all knowledge. They refer to the application of knowledge as opposed to the ability to be able to recite knowledge. This is where inquiry learning differs from the traditional 'topic teaching' where children are taught to apply knowledge to situations.




Piaget on Education

I feel like some teachers may struggle with some of the ideas above. I was drawn to this quote by Piaget because it highlights our purpose as teachers. It's not about recreating the experiences we had at school but continues to explore the notion of allowing children to develop 21C skills through their own and shared exploration.