Chapter 2 : literature review - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... In this case, group heterogeneity is beneficial as it consists of students with different backgrounds. So, they are expected to construct knowledge as they have their own knowledge and perspectives. Similar to Piaget, Vygotsky was more concerned about collaboration in heterogeneous groups. According to Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development is the distance between what a student can accomplish individually and what he can accomplish with the help of a more capable “other.” Vygotsky (1978) called this capable other as the more knowledgeable other (MKO). The MKO is anyone equipped with a better understanding or higher ability than the learner. In the traditional approach to teaching math, the MKO is usually identified as the teacher. Teacher-centred instruction usually has the teacher as the source of knowledge and the most well-informed and skilled individual in the classroom. However, based on Vygotsky’s definition, the MKO could be anyone, including students themselves, computers, or anything that has better knowledge and can guide the students in understanding the subject matter. These different historical perspectives have resulted in different research paradigms. Dillenbourg et al. (1996) categorized research taken from Piaget and Vygotsky, and classified cognition approaches as the “effect” paradigm, the “conditions” paradigm, and the “interactions” paradigm, respectively. The latest variant of the interactions paradigm might be known as the “computer-supported” paradigm. Each of these paradigms is described below. The “effect” paradigm relates to those working with impact of end process of collaboration, or to those who accurately evaluate the outcome of...
This was done in response to the fact that much of the literature on collaborative learning has focused on non-technical areas, such as humanities subjects. The independent variable in this case was the instructive technique, which had two categories; individual or collaborative learning; while, the dependant variable was the resulting score achieved by the learners. It was found that those... ...Download file to see next pagesRead More