1896–
1934 Lev Vygotsky Russian psychologist, originally a teacher and literary scholar. He wrote Thought and Language and Mind in Society. He put forward that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. It would help the learners construct understanding in groups which wouldn't be possible if they study alone. Vygotsky believed everything is learned on two levels. First, through interaction with others, and then integrated into the individual’s mental structure. A more experienced partner (whether peer or teacher) is able to provide “scaffolding” of the subject matter to support the student’s evolving understanding. Another aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a “zone of proximal development”. This “zone” is the area of exploration for which the student is cognitively prepared, but requires help and social interaction to fully develop. He stated that students need socially rich environments to explore subjects with teachers and peers. Opportunities to work with more experienced peers are especially important to help the student develop a higher level of cognitive functioning. Support for learning can also come from instructional practices such as graphic organizers, guided practice.
1915- Jerome Bruner American psychologist. He wrote The Process of Education(1960), which emphasized curriculum innovation grounded in theories of cognitive development. He believed that Learning is an active, social process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on current knowledge. He stated that a variety of teaching methods, many choices available to the students, and multi-age peer groups all facilitate learning. The students selects information, originates hypotheses, and makes decisions in the process of integrating experiences into their existing mental constructs. The implication of his theory for teaching is that the teacher should encourage the students to discover principles by themselves; the teacher and students should actively discuss issues and concepts; the teacher must translate information to be learned into an appropriate form to the learner’s current state of understanding.