"One criticism is Vygotsky's view of active construction of knowledge. Some critics suggest that learning is not always a result of active construction. Rather, learning can occur passively or osmotically. Some children, regardless of how much help is given by others, may still develop at a slower rate cognitively. This suggests that there are other factors involved such as genetics."
I do agree with this to some extent. I think that there are multiple ways to learn, and that some students learn at different rates. Unfortunately, genetics can play a role into this because it is the environment that you are continuing to grow up in. For example, my mother may have genetically given me a more content based learning style. Others may not have that. My question is how far do genetics go in your learning style.
How much is physically learned, and how much do you ultimately learn from those around you? Environment probably plays a more vital role than anything else because think about the types of schools that people grow up going to. That is a huge problem in today's society because of the problems in equity.Â
"In transitioning this zone to a collaborative learning experience, children work with their peers in broadening their learning experience, allowing small groups of students to work together to share knowledge, exchange ideas, problem solve, and more."
Collaborative learning is one of my favorite ways to teach the students in the classroom more independence in their learning. For example, when giving a worksheet to three ESL students, I found it helpful to allow them to ask each other questions before they came to me. It was great to see them work together in order to solve the problems, and they learned from each other as well. It was effective because the students were becoming more independent as well as they were making more of an effort to understand the material with each other.Â