Sociocultural Theory and the Mediated Learning Experience

Abstract

One of the most radical changes occurring in our approach to learning and instruction concerns the agency of learning. Only recently an individual was perceived as a 'natural' agency of learning. Now this position becomes increasingly challenged on both theoretical and practical grounds. The concept of mediation plays the central role in this critical reappraisal. Two theories that have contributed most to the development of the mediational approach to learning is the Vygotskian sociocultural theory and Feuerstein's theory of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE). Both theories emphasized the importance of sociocultural forces in shaping the situation of a child's development and learning. Both pointed to the crucial role played by parents, teachers, peers and the community in defining the type of learning interaction occurring between children and their environments. Beyond their role as tools of theoretical critique, Vygotsky's and Feuerstein's systems have generated a number of applied programs offering new techniques for the enhancement of students' cognitive functions, development of metacognition and integration of cognitive elements into instructional practice.

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