Learning as dialogue

Many of the earlier learning theories place the learner in splendid isolation. From the neo-behaviourist theories of Thorndike, Watson and Skinner, we were led to believe that learners respond to stimuli and make associations between the two, and that these links represent learning. This passive, reductionist explanation of learning prompted a number of pedagogical strategies, including reinforcement of behaviour, punishment and reward, and the introduction of teaching machines with their instructional texts, structured assessment of learning and remedial loops. Later, Piaget, Inhelder and others were responsible for introducing a cognitive version of learning theory which held that children were 'solo scientists' who constructed their own meaning through exploration of their environment. This prompted new approaches in schools that included discovery learning and progressive curricula that neatly reflected Piaget's stages of cognitive development model. And yet these theories paid scant attention to the social contexts within which learning occurs.

It was not until social theories such as Vygotsky's social constructivist model were introduced that education as a whole began to capitalise on the dialogic power of learning. Indeed, the Zone of Proximal Development and other social pedagogy models were largely unheard of in the West before the 1970s. Vygotsky's writings were ideologically repressed by those opposed to their Soviet Socialist provenance. Once Vygotskiian influences began to pervade classroom practice, teachers were quick to seize on the power of dialogue as a strategy. The ancient Socratic forms of education - where teachers questioned learners and where learning became a conversation - experienced a revival. Participatory and collaborative forms of education soon followed, as student centred approaches to education were adopted across all sectors of education. Behaviouristic, passive forms of learning fell out of favour, although vestiges of these didactic practices still remain.

Dialogue has proved time and again to be a very powerful aspect of learning. Ask yourself - how much have you learnt through conversations when compared to reading books? Learning through dialectical processes that lead to synthesis of disparate ideas or opposing perspectives turns out to be a strong foundation for successful critical thinking. Our ideas in isolation have limited power and reach. Our ideas, when shared, modified, repurposed and amplified, have a value that pertains to entire communities of interest. Extensive conversations with others within one's community of practice are now easier than ever, thanks to social media such as social networks, wikis and blogs. How much we can learn from each other is now moderated by the extent of our personal learning networks, rather than the boundaries of our classroom walls. Each of the pedagogies featured above has clearly played its role in the evolution of our school systems, but dialogic forms of pedagogy, in whatever format they occur, are the most influential in promoting long lasting educational impact.    

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Learning as dialogue by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.