Abstract:
The discussions of social constructivism are among those predominantly cited in education (Knapp, 2018). According to Vygotsky (1978), interacting socially with the more knowledgeable other such as adults and peers could facilitate learning. While this could be a challenge to teachers and students, university educators have been encouraged to incorporate collaborative learning activities with technology in classrooms to enhance the learner experience (Flint, 2016).
This paper explores collaborative learning in an undergraduate applied linguistics classroom in Hong Kong during the pandemic. The author reviews the principles of social constructivism, its strength and weaknesses and examines to what extent collaborative learning can be fostered in a university online classroom by adopting social constructivism in Blackboard Collaborate based teaching.
The findings suggested that the lack of physical presence did not make social learning difficult to a large extent. Social constructivist activities namely online peer discussion and student-led seminars supported by web-based interactive tools could foster students’ active learning. However, failure to apply any learning theories appropriately according to contexts and provide reassurance by educators may result in negative educational experiences and consequences. Whether these learning methods have the potential to foster or hinder learning could remain to be a question.
This paper explores collaborative learning in an undergraduate applied linguistics classroom in Hong Kong during the pandemic. The author reviews the principles of social constructivism, its strength and weaknesses and examines to what extent collaborative learning can be fostered in a university online classroom by adopting social constructivism in Blackboard Collaborate based teaching.
The findings suggested that the lack of physical presence did not make social learning difficult to a large extent. Social constructivist activities namely online peer discussion and student-led seminars supported by web-based interactive tools could foster students’ active learning. However, failure to apply any learning theories appropriately according to contexts and provide reassurance by educators may result in negative educational experiences and consequences. Whether these learning methods have the potential to foster or hinder learning could remain to be a question.