Vygotsky

I think that as a teacher, Vygotsky's theory pushes me and motivates me to help my students because I better understand how much I am helping my student along the way in their educational path. 

Watching the teacher I observe I see that she is the MKO, her students know this, she knows this, and I know this. She takes the time to help her students learn, not by telling them what to do but showing them how to do it. She teaches so her students, and I, can internalize that which she is teaching and we can adopt those teachings and know how to use them on our own. She is clear on her expectations and is clear on her teaching methods which helps the students learn and know what she wants. By watching her, I am able to learn how to do the same for my future students. 


I notice how she naturally gets her students to the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) because how she explains the lessons and expectations, and how she helps them when needed. She doesn't do everything for her students and expects them to be able to do complete most tasks on their own, but when they can't she is able to assist them when and where needed. 

She uses appropriate scaffolding in her classroom by not expecting her students to be able to complete a task without being taught HOW to do it. She knows what she has taught them and what she hasn't taught them, she never expects them to know something they haven't been taught. Even better, she understands that they can and do forget a lot of past knowledge, so she spends time scaffolding her students to where they need to be before starting an assignment. She understands her students needs to be taught before they can do. 

I obviously love this teacher that I observe, she's amazing, wonderful, and creative and her students love her for it. But, as we learn these theories and I see how she uses them, whether she does so consciously or subconsciously, I learn to love her teaching style and her even more.