Introduction
The subjective and personal framework as an educational professional holds to the social and philosophical foundations of education that incorporate the influences of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning theories in creating classroom learning tasks. Further, the underlying intention of incorporating these influences into classroom instructions is to purposefully inject this personal style of teaching oriented to Humanistic and Social/situational.
Vygotsky and B.F. Skinner
Vygotsky’s ZPD theory holding to the influence of the cultural setting of the classroom particular to the relations between teachers and students (Bodrova, Germeroth & Leong, 2013) provides the environment for, “Productive group work (allowing) students the opportunity to clarify and refine their growing understanding of what they have been learning (Fisher & Frey, 2011, p. 107).” The influence of B.F. Skinner led development of teaching programs using positive reinforcement rather than aversive consequences in order to achieve desired-learning outcomes through mastery of mastery of course material. Applying frequent student assessment introduced differentiation of instruction as needed. The instruction materials changed from simple to complex with the complex content delivered in simpler components with students mastering these subsections before proceeding to new concepts (Saville, Lambert, & Robertson, 2011)
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Classroom Learning Tasks – Vygotsky
According to Fisher and Frey (2011) the ZPD centered meaningful classroom learning task enabling productive group work frames around the complexity of the work, the design ensures joint attention, opportunity for debate, supportive language, the size of the group, and the role of the teacher. A 10th grade biology class works in groups in a weeklong assignment consolidating what they understand about organisms, cellular structures, adaptation, natural selection, and habitats. Each group create a new creature based on their collective information. They present their new creature and the class discusses the environmental processes of the new creature and its ability to live in the habitat. Problems are identified and worked out collectively.
Classroom Learning Tasks -Skinner
Saville, Lambert, and Robertson (2011) describe the use of Skinner influenced requires designing a preparation guide made of 10 to 12 questions about a reading assignment ranging from simple definitions to more complex and then synthesis questions as the variety of formats. The prep material is applied to chapters. The students are given a specific number of days to answer each of the handouts. The students are encouraged to discuss the material in pairs for a 50 minute in class assignment prior to handing in the material. The students provide feedback for the teacher on a record sheet that registers how the discussions went and what part of the material was difficult to understand. From this feedback the teacher prepares and presents a clarifying lecture. This is performed for each prep guide. As part of the grade pint system students participating in the discussions of the prep material are given a specific number of points.
Humanistic and Social/Situational
Humanistic and social/situational instruction intends inspiring trust for the teachers because students come to realize that such transformational teaching is about relationships rather than performance. Teachers who inspire trust are real because their students can sense a purity of intention,” according to Rosebrough and Leverett, (2011, p. 75). In this type of learning environment, the learners understand the teacher they see in the classroom every day is just as authentic when they meet outside the classroom.
The social/situational environment looks beyond focusing on human interaction to the where they engage in partnering in the learning process through tools and implements the teacher provides. Doing so allows exploring how far intelligence (learning) connects to the resources learners have access. Obvious access are Internet and library resources but tools are also object including shapes, colors, textures, and even pens and pencils. The process is also about environments placing learners in authentic learning situations immersing them in activities intended to use problem solving or critical thinking skills. Offering students opportunities in real world situations seeks encouraging learners’ cognitive abilities to draw on prior knowledge and to challenge others (Cameron & Turner, 2010) .
The fact is people prefer to learn in different ways and intelligence relates to the student’s interaction with the world rather than a process in the head or a distribution of cognition. Learning is a context that is socially and culturally mediated. It is within this type of teaching philosophy the instructor sets the parameters for distinguishing individual aptitude as part of the dynamic action of the interdependency of social/situational environments. “Each student learns a unique segment of information which they teach to other group members; they are therefore dependent on one another to acquire the composite parts which constitute the entire lesson (Cameron & Turner, 2010, p. 339).”
Classroom Learning Tasks
Classroom learning tasks in the humanistic social/situational particular to the 21st century diversity of the classroom based on demographics takes advantage of the multi-cultural aspects. In doing so, a classroom activity might entail a learning task where everyone shares something about their culture in a short essay. Then the class forms groups to discuss the different essays. This encourages one person from the group to make a report to the entire class about what is similar about the cultures and the things that bring new learning to the class (Crisp, 2010).
Conclusion
The above discourse successfully explained the views and teaching philosophy as presented in a subjective and personal framework as an educational professional incorporating the influences of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning theories in creating classroom learning tasks. Further, the above successfully explained the underlying intention of incorporating these influences into classroom instructions to purposefully inject this personal style of teaching according to Humanistic and Social/situational orientation.
- Bodrova, E., Germeroth, C., & Leong, D. J. (2013). Play and Self-Regulation: Lessons from Vygotsky. American Journal of Play, 6(1), 111.
- Cameron, L., and Turner, R. N. (2010). 14- The Application of Diversity-based Interventions to Policy and Practice. Crisp, R. J. (Ed.). (2010). The Psychology of Social and Cultural Diversity. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Crisp, R. J. (Ed.). (2010). The Psychology of Social and Cultural Diversity. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2011). The Purposeful Classroom: How to Structure Lessons with Learning Goals in Mind. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
- Rosebrough, T. R., & Leverett, R. G. (2011). Transformational Teaching in the Information Age: Making Why and How We Teach Relevant to Students. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
- Saville, B. K., Lambert, T., & Robertson, S. (2011). Interteaching: Bringing Behavioral Education into the 21st Century. The Psychological Record, 61(1), 153.
