The Creation of Rules and Symbols by the Social System - Essay Example

The Importance of Social Interaction to Learning Introduction Human beings are social and in almost everything done, there is some form of interaction. From these interactions, the human being is capable of learning and getting more information from each other. Learning cannot be devoid of social interaction. Extensive research has been done to evaluate the importance of social interaction to learning. The research can be traced to famous theorists such as Vygotsky, Baldwin and Piaget. Their work has brought a better understanding of the role that social interaction plays in learning. Social interaction is said to begin as early as at infancy and this interaction has helped the infant to learn his or her surrounding. This paper will explore the importance of social interaction to learning. Social Interaction Social interaction can be defined as a circumstance where the behavior of one person is consciously rearranged and influenced by the behavior of the other person; also the behavior of one person can influence and consciously rearrange the behavior of the other person. The term behavior encompasses the unconcealed movements of the person in space, the person’s mental deliberation and the person’s physiological processes. A broader definition of social interaction is the circumstance where the unconcealed movements in space, mental deliberations, and physiological processes of a person consciously rearrange and influence the behavior of the other person (Turner 1988, p14). Belonging to the society is a vital quality in adults. It is important for the child to know how to interact well with others socially and make long lasting relationships. It is also important to belong to long lasting relationships. Social interaction can be found within the parks, local store, a friend’s house, and the nursery. Social interaction assists the child to know what is right and wrong, build relationships and teach them how to go about in group situations. Social interaction gives room to the learner to reflect, reconsider, find support and help and take part in problem solving. In other words, the learner has to interact with others in order to take part in those activities. In technology-based learning, social interaction brings in three benefits; improvement in the learning strategies, reduced assistance from the instructor and better perseverance. This is the most recent form of social interaction. This type of interaction has been made easy by the advancement in technology. At each stage of life, people respond to the social expectations. These social expectations push them to interact with others. Throughout the interaction, new roles and skills are learnt that enable an individual to deal with the crises that face them (Singer and Singer 1992, p34). Social interaction begins at the early stages of life (about the sixth or seventh month of infancy). The infant gets attached to some specific people like the father, mother, siblings, and members of the extended family or the caregiver if the parents are working (Singer and Singer 1992, p39). The interaction does not stop there, it continues throughout life and it becomes more complex. According to research conducted, it is suggested that children in their early infancy develop interest in what surrounds them; the social world. Social play between the mother and the infant has been comprehensively studied. The aim of the studies has been to establish the development of early communication. Early communication is the originator of language. Social play becomes very crucial in the child’s development. It remains throughout childhood becoming more attractive as the child grows. The growth of the child is accompanied by increase in the number of people the child interacts with; the groups become more complex. As the child plays with the others, there are key things that characterize the play; the players communicate, share their motives and go by the rules of the play. The formation and allocation of rules become an integral part in learning (Blenkin 1996, p64). Learning and playing occur spontaneously in children. According to Blenkin (1996, p65), learning is related to three things; symbolization, flexible thinking development, and formation of rules. The three items are very vital in human intelligence. The child’s use of language in pre-school comes from the interaction of the child with the adults. This means that when the child is learning to speak; the adult language structure and content is comprehended by the child unreflectingly. The interaction of the child and the adult provides the restraint and stimulus for learning and the use of language. When the child is learning to write, the interaction is still the same and it has to begin from the scratch (Kress 2004, p117). The child learns through constant refusal and prohibition of his or her (part of) actions. The creation of rules and symbols by the social system and its use with the language is important in the mediation of activities. The merging of language, thought and social interaction is very vital in the transformation of the child from the ambiguous use of cognitive skills to a mastery use of these cognitive skills (Meadows 2002, p244). The human mental life is created socially from processes such as language, interaction and value sharing (Morss 1996, p33). Bruner, a theorist, argues that the social experience has a role in the mental development. He also stresses that schools create new and unique forms of learning and thus form new ways of thinking. The development of particular methods of learning and reasoning is a direct product of the contrived social interaction between the child and more mature members of the society. Contrived social interaction comes as a consequence of the overt educational goals. However, school is not the ultimate source of learning; the interactions in school are of contrived nature. Informal teaching that is found outside the school is also critical in the child’s learning. The informal teaching is found in peers, parents and relatives. The spontaneous interaction of the child and the informal society helps in the child understanding learning and this is extended through the social interactions (Wood 1998, p16). According to Piaget, a theorist, child’s knowledge comes from their own construction. This means that the knowledge acquired by the child is from the child’s own construction. However, communication and social interaction play a critical role in child’s development and learning. Piaget agrees to some extent that interpersonal behavior and social experiences are part of the development. However, their role in child development is secondary and rather limited. This means that their influence on development is little or none. Piaget argues that children learn by acting on objects in time and space. The social interactions also expose the child to other conflicting and different point of views and this may encourage the child to review or rethink his ideas (Wood 1998, p17). Social Interaction and Learning Perspectives The importance of social interaction in learning has attracted interest from many researchers regardless of their disciplines and it has been studied from different perspectives such as anthropological, linguistic, and sociological (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p17). The significance of social interaction in the child intellectual development is viewed differently by the scholars. Piaget and Vygotsky approached the topic of the role of social interaction in child intellectual development from different points. Piaget underestimates the role of social interaction while Vygotsky stresses it (Blenkin 1996, p63). However, according to these theorists, children specifically the young ones attain knowledge through their participation in social interaction. There are two significant theoretical perspectives on learning; cognitive and sociocultural perspectives. Sociocultural Perspective The views of learning are based on the theories that stress the nature of social development. Vygotsky is among the most influential theorist who has based his work on this perspective (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p17). The sociological theories and anthropological studies have also influenced the sociocultural perspectives such as social construction of reality and the relationship between culture and learning. A person’s mental activity may be understood by investigating it with its historical, cultural, and institutional context; this is according to the perspective. The mental activity is also investigated using the interaction between physical environment and social agents. The perspective puts more emphasis on the nature of knowledge and social formation. The cognition is seen to include the action constructed and distributed by the others in the cultural context. The social situation is seen as forming knowledge through action with the elite members of the community. Knowledge in this case is seen as being inseparable from the activities that created and applied it. In other words, social interaction can not be separated from the learning situation (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p18). Researchers involved in the study of sociocultural perspective do not separate social interaction and learning. Language, which is developed by the culture, is seen as an important tool in social interaction because of its importance in the creation of socially shared meanings and as a tool for thinking. The person has to learn to understand the world and self through the cultural signs (semiotic) tools. These semiotic tools are seen to have cultural, social, and personal importance. The concept of internalization in sociocultural perspective is dominant as it defines learning as coming from the social intermental state to the person’s intramental state of understanding. The progress from social to individual is viewed as a transformative and complex process that is supported by the assistance and active participation given by the learning community members. The sociocultural perspective has been applied in the development of educational practices and innovative instructional settings. The educational developments put more emphasis on providing the learners with more chances of engaging in zones that provide them with optimum development. This is achieved through social interaction with the knowledgeable members of the community (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p18). Concepts in the educational developments include; cognitive apprenticeship, contingent and cognitive instruction, justifiable peripheral participation and negotiation of meaning in the construction area. These educational developments emphasize the active participation of the learners in social interaction. The developments emphasize the learner’s conceptualization of learning as a process in which the learner becomes gradually an active participant in the cultural activities. In addition, these developments emphasize learning activities that are goal oriented in situations that allow meaningful application of knowledge. In relation to social interaction, the educational developments stress intersubjectivity between the parties involved and the significance of shared history and common understanding in the establishment of these developments (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p18). Vygotsky asserts that cognitive development is determined by the culture. Culture is entailed by formation of language and interaction between the members. Learning is associated with two processes; social interaction and language. Children develop within their own culture and the culture of the family environment. Through this, they are capable of acquiring much of the knowledge (their content of thinking). In other words, culture enables the child to both know how to think and what to think (Baldwin, Christensen and Stringer 2009, p21). According to Vygotsky, a child learns through interaction with other people, initially with the family members, caregivers, siblings and later with other people such as the peers, teachers and friends. Language becomes the principal form of interaction with the adult and it assists the child in the development of knowledge that exists within their culture. Vygotsky asserts that it is wrong to focus on a child who is in isolation. The focus deviates from the processes in which the child builds knowledge and skills or the base from which the child acquires knowledge. The perspective has a lot of implication on learning and teaching. The learning activities should be organized in a way that it emphasizes the interaction between the associated learning tasks and the learners. It starts from the ways of thinking and knowledge from the learner’s culture. The thinking and knowledge is in relation to the zone of proximal development as described by Vygotsky. This zone is the place at which the child is ready for the caregivers, teachers, friends and parents for learning. Learning begins at this zone, the zone is well known to the child and it provides a point at which learning of other different things can begin (Baldwin, Christensen and Stringer 2009, p22). The Cognitive Perspective It consists of a number of theories that differ in their explanation about the relationship between the social context and the individual. The theories that explain the cognitive perspective include the cognitive psychology and Piaget developmental theory. The perspective put more emphasis on individual’s mental activity, developmental thinking, and cognitive strategies in learning. Emphasis is also put on the application of these factors. Much attention is put on the individual’s purposes and goals. Purposes and goals are vital in laying the base for learning. At the beginning of the person’s development, the person is seen as an egocentric being that much later becomes a social being. Social interaction supports the person’s construction of knowledge since it activates the knowledge in the person (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p19). Social interaction helps the person to understand and become aware of the thinking processes. The organization and clarification of thoughts in the speech helps in the reorganization of knowledge. When the learners listen to others, they are capable of comparing different point of views and interpretations. Cognitive conflicts are caused by the disagreements during interactions and when solved, they encourage cognitive reorganization in the individual. Cognitive perspective encourages equal psychological interaction in which the individuals organize their actions towards a general goal while at the same time acknowledging orientation and perspectives of the other individuals. A psychological base is created between the individuals and it helps the individual to view things from different perspectives. Equal psychological interaction between the individuals forms conflict situation that enables the construction of knowledge. The traditional cognitive perspective on learning has focused its attention on the person’s learning processes such as knowledge handling, metacognitive skills, and mental structure development. Social interaction is the only factor that affects learning and recent research has put more attention on the social context in which learning happens (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p20). It is imperative for the providers of education to realize the significant role that interactions and experiences play in the student learning. Piaget suggests that the learner be exposed to what he or she already knows and to take into account the following factors; language, objects, people and culture. These factors interact with the individual’s cognitive and produce knowledge (Baldwin, Christensen and Stringer 2009, p19). Both cognitive and sociocultural perspectives define the relationship between social interaction and learning. In other words, they try to explain the role of social interaction in learning. The cognitive perspective views learning as being affected by social interaction. Learning is a variable and can be partially explained by the characteristics of social context and interaction. In sociocultural perspective, the social context and interaction are not separated from each other. The personal environment is seen in a dialectical relationship. In addition, the person’s action is viewed as part of intersubjectivity (shared understanding in the social construction) (Kumpulainen and Wary 2002, p22) Children learn through the observation of other people’s behavior and social imitation. In other words, they develop their behavior from other people’s behavior through observation. The suggestion is based on Bandura’s theory. The theory is encompassed in the interplay of environmental, behavioral, and personal influence and the cognitive processes such as decision making, reflection, regulation of behavior and organizing information (Baldwin, Christensen and Stringer 2009, p21). Interesting research has been conducted on the importance of social interaction to learning. The research concluded that mere belief that one is having a social interaction with another person improves understanding and learning. Production of Text A text is an object produced socially and its boundaries rest on the social aspect rather than linguistics. The production of text involves bringing of social individuals who contribute their social and cultural knowledge in the creation of text. Being social individuals, they have intentions and purposes that are relative to the other text making participants. Social interaction plays a crucial role in the development of text (Kress 2004, p172). In other words, the production of text as much as the creation of language requires social interaction. Every member in the society has a contribution towards the development of text. Conclusion Social interaction is found in almost all human being activities. Within the societies, neighborhoods, schools and other places interaction is very crucial in the passing of information from one person to the other. Social interaction in learning also plays a big role as discussed in the paper. From the work of famous theorists such as Vygotsky and Piaget, it is evident that social interaction plays an important role in learning. The two perspectives (cognitive and sociocultural) have highlighted some of the key concepts in learning and social interaction. Social interaction starts as early as at infancy. The infant familiarizes with the surrounding and the people around. The infant is capable of learning from the interactions made between him and the people around. As these interactions continue, the child gets more knowledge. Socio-cultural perspective has applied extensively in learning institutions. The perspective has shifted the mode of management from the instructionist model where the teacher transmits the information to students. Vygotsky theory advocates the active participation of the student in learning. The roles of the student and the teacher change. The social context and interaction are not separated from each other. The action of the individual is seen as the part of intersubjectivity. On the other hand, cognitive perspective separates the social context and interaction. In this perspective, learning is viewed as being affected by social interaction. Learning in the cognitive perspective is a variable and it is partially explained by the characteristics of social interaction and context. Production of text is also a part of learning and it also involves the interaction of the various members of the society. Little research has been on the effect of social interaction on the production of text. In a nutshell, social interaction has impact on the process of learning. References Baldwin, S. C., Christensen, L. M. & Stringer, E. T. (2009) Integrating teaching, learning, and action research: Enhancing instruction in the K-12. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Blenkin, G. M. (1996) Early childhood education: A developmental curriculum. London: SAGE Publications Company. Kress, G. (2004) Learning to write. London: Routledge. Kumpulainen, K. & Wray, D. (2002) Classroom interaction and social learning: From theory to practice. London: Routledge. Meadows, S. (2002) The child as thinker: The development and acquisition of cognition in childhood. London: Routledge. Morss, J. R. (1996) Growing critical: Alternatives to developmental psychology. London: Routledge. Singer, D. G. & Singer, J. L. (1992) The house of make-believe: Children’s play and the developing imagination. Harvard University Press. Turner, J. H. (1988) A theory of social interaction. Stamford, CA: Stanford University Press. Wood, D. (1998) How children think and learn: The social contexts of cognitive development. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Read More