Heidegger and the Nature of Social Learning

Abstract

The image of the “active” thinker maintains a central role in the allure of social learning pedagogy. The social learner co-constructs knowledge with others, and, in doing so, brings active cognition to the learning process. At the heart of this process is a particular type of discourse, one devoted not to the communication of already-established knowledge, but to the co-creation of knowledge. As illustrated by James V. Wertsch and Ana Luisa Bustamente Smolka, this model of discourse is particularly compelling when contrasted with the type of discourse prevalent in traditional teacher-centric pedagogy, discourse that revolves around teacher evaluation of student responses to teacher-initiated questions.1 As numerous critics, including John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, and Paulo Freire have noted, students participating in teacher-centered discourse typically assume the role of passive thinker or even nonthinker, a receptacle to be “filled” with already-known information.2 In light of this contrast, social learning shines as an opportunity for students to think for themselves, to be active, agentic learners.