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Reflecting on Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning and Cognitive Development

Reflecting on Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning and Cognitive Development

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An important part of learning is to develop new skills that can help us solve problems and become active participating members of society that are capable of sharing ideas and invoking positive change in the world. Lev Vygotsky’s theoretical perspective of learning and cognitive development pays close attention to the social perspective of developing new skills. Vygotsky suggests that learning from more competent individuals is an essential part of cognitive development. So, how can we apply Vygotsky’s theory to our…

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Acknowledging and Battling the Uncertainty of Teaching

Acknowledging and Battling the Uncertainty of Teaching

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In Chapter 3 of Kevin Kumashiro’s (2006), Against Common Sense Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice, Kumashiro discusses that teachers teach in a state of uncertainty. What does teaching in uncertainty mean? According to Kumashiro, teaching in uncertainty means that teachers do not know the hidden lessons they are teaching their students, and therefore do not know what their students are really learning from their lessons. In the chapter, Kumashiro discusses an example involving two different teachers. He then recounts…

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Curriculum as Literacy

Curriculum as Literacy

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How My Upbringing Taught Me To ‘Read The World‘ My upbringing and schooling heavily reflected a colonized western society. When I was a child, we lived in North Central Regina. Considering the high crime rate of that area and my parents’ own biases, my parents did not allow me to play outside alone or with other children in the neighborhood (especially Indigenous children). They also sent me to a babysitter that lived in a much nicer area (primarily white families…

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Reinhabitation & Decolonization

Reinhabitation & Decolonization

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The concept of reinhabitation and decolonization is rooted in the fact that Indigenous people share a deep connection with the land and their culture. “Learning from Place: A Return to Traditional Mushkegowuk Ways of Knowing” is a research project completed by Jean-Paul Restoule, Sheila Gruner, and Edmund Metatawabin. In the project, they worked to discover the ins and outs of reinhabitation and decolonization. They did so by creating an audio documentary about taking a trip down the Albany River which…

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How do we decide what we teach?

How do we decide what we teach?

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An important question to consider as an educator is ‘What do we teach and why?’. This is an important question because it allows a teacher to critically analyze the implications of what they teach and how they teach it. For this same reason, it is also important to consider how school curriculum is decided. How is school curricula decided? Curriculum is a complicated concept that involves multiple factors. These factors also play a role in how curriculum is both decided…

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YOU LEARNT…

YOU LEARNT…

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NOTE: The use of ‘learnt’ is meant to be ironic and enhance the message of the video. In ESCI 302: Environmental Education, we were asked to create a Manifesto based off of an environmental issue we are passionate about. For my Manifesto, I chose to discuss the injustice of poor water quality on First Nations Reserves in Canada. My Manifesto is inspired by Vice Canada’s documentary on the Shoal Lake 40 water crisis.