Social Learning Workshop

Presented by Crystal Massengale and Kaitlyn Stanley

A Brief History
● Social Learning Theories were and have been developed from the 1950’s to
present day. Several Theories are included within The Social Learning Lens.
Those theories are: Sociolinguistics, Socio-Cultural Theory, Social
Constructivism, Social Learning (Cognitive) Theory, Critical Literacy, and
Multiliteracies. Within The Social learning Lens there is a central role of social
interaction within learning. Social learning theorists believe social interactions
influence learning.

Key Terms
● Scaffolding
● Zone of Proximal Development
● Modeling
● Socio-linguistics
● Asset Orientation

Important Issues & Trends

● Culture
● Socio-Economic Status
● Critical Literacy

Classroom Impact & Developments

● Creating a classroom environment that allows students to interact socially is
necessary for student learning, especially for English Language Learners.
Teachers can do this by implementing content-area literacy within their instruction
(i.e. discussion, literacy journals, etc.). Children learn through their interactions
with and observations of others. The Social Learning Lens encourages teachers
to explicitly teach reading strategies through modeling and social interactions.
 Key Researchers
Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura was a psychologist who
developed Social Learning (or social
cognitive) theory. In many ways, it was an
alternative to behaviorism - focusing on how
people learn from watching or copying
others rather than from their own
experiences or consequences.
Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky is associated with Social
Constructivism, a theory that suggests that
children construct meaning through their
interactions with others. Vygotsky proposed
some important practices that are
commonly used in classrooms such as
scaffolding and working within a students’
zone of proximal development (ZPD).
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Urie Bronfenbrenner offered a way to
expand our vision of “culture” - a major
consideration in Socio-Cultural Theory. He
considered various levels of systems that
impact an individual, ranging from the
micro-system - immediate family, school or
work environment, and peers to larger
systems at play, such as mass media, laws,
and social conditions.
New London Group
The New London Group was a group of 10
researchers who met in 1994 to help
develop new literacy pedagogy that would
better address the needs of students in a
modern world. Their study on
multiliteracies has paved the way for
furthering the need to instruct students in
technological literacy and cultural literacy.
 References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the Family as a Context for Human

Development. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 723–742.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.22.6.723

Cazden, C., Cope, B., Fairclough, N., Gee, J., Kalantzis, M., Kress, G., Luke, A., Luke,

C., Michaels, S., & Nakata, M. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing

social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–92.

Janzen, J. (2008). Teaching English language learners in the content areas. American

Educational Research Association, 78(4), 1010-1038.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40071153

Tracey, D. H. & Morrow, L. M. (2017). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories

and models (3rd). The Guilford Press.