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Kalantzis and Cope's social cognitivism is a powerful lens for rethinking learning in the 21st century. It helps move past narrow ideas of literacy or learning as just reading and writing in print, towards understanding meaning-making as socially, culturally, technologically embedded. Their emphasis on design, diversity, learner agency, and social tools makes their work strongly relevant in multilingual, digitally mediated culturally diverse classrooms.
At the same time, the approach requires concrete supports: teacher professional development, careful assessment design, access to resources, and institutional change. It is not easy or plug-and-play, but if well implemented, it has potential to foster deeper, more inclusive, and socially meaningful learning.
#2
The social is the ide that human cognition is fundamentally social. It enable us to observe and interact with others. Thinking inside your head is social because the brain simply unfolds. Its simply universal. In the theory of mind it is our abilty to attribute mental states beliefs, intents, deisires emotions and knowledge. TO gian awareness of our own thoughts and feelings as if from the outside by seeing them reflected in others reactions. There's a relationship of environment through the brain. Its an illusion to think that our kind is between our ears because our minds is full of words. LAstly the culture shapes our abilities and learning process. It determines the content of what isl earned by instilling specific values and customs. In the community particularly through adult-child interaction is critical development of the social mind itself.
https://cgscholar.com/community/community_profiles/learning-knowledge-and-human-development-mooc/community_updates/127943#:~:text=Social%20mind%20it%20refers%20to,states%20at%20the%20same%20time.
Option #2 – The Social Mind and Collaborative Learning
I’ve come to see that thinking is rarely just “inside your head”—even when I solve a problem alone, it’s influenced by what I’ve learned from others. One example is when I worked with classmates on a group research project. We each shared ideas, debated solutions, and gave feedback, which led us to a much better outcome than if we’d worked alone. This experience showed me the power of the social mind and collective intelligence, where collaboration allows everyone to learn from each other. It made me realize that community and culture don’t just shape learning—they can make it deeper and more meaningful.
The social mind is the belief that knowledge comes not only from internal processes but also from interacting with other people. Knowledge is believed to come from the opinions or insights of different people. It makes building knowledge sophisticated rather than the linear way of gaining intelligence. The concept of thinking 'inside your head' is also social thinking because the information you are processing is indirectly and directly influenced by interacting with other people. This expands on learning beyond the individual mind as the learner is also exposed to different perspectives, not limited to their own, which might lead to bias and limited information. Collective intelligence can be seen in collaborative learning; an example of this is problem-based learning. In medical school, for instance, the teacher will provide the case and instructions for each group. The students will then try to analyze and understand the case and collaborate on how to solve and move forward with the case. The teacher, on the other hand, will likely just act as a facilitator and guide to the flow of the activity. Giving more independence and autonomy in learning to students provides them opportunity to share their own insights and think critically, which makes learning more effective. Having collaborative activities illustrates dynamics of cooperation and teamwork, which also improve social skills and promote a deeper understanding of the importance of learning from each groupmates.
Cognitive development and language can be considered somewhat innate, as humans are biologically endowed with the ability for both; however, they are significantly influenced by environmental factors and social interactions. The constructivist idea of scaffolding—where a more knowledgeable individual offers assistance until the learner can act autonomously—emphasizes the importance of interaction in the learning process. This concept is perceptive as it illustrates that development isn't static but can be broadened through directed involvement. One limitation is that constructivism may sometimes prioritize personal knowledge creation and overlook the influence of larger cultural and social contexts on learning.
Recent studies in neuroscience regarding neuroplasticity have demonstrated that the brain can restructure itself through experiences and learning, indicating that education is not limited to fixed developmental phases. This enhances our comprehension of education by demonstrating that abilities and skills can be cultivated at various stages of life. Nevertheless, neuroscience may exhibit shortcomings in education by reducing intricate classroom dynamics to simplistic brain-based interpretations or overlooking the social, emotional, and cultural dimensions of learning
I find social cognitivism really powerful because it shows that learning happens not just through personal experience but also by observing others. Bandura’s idea of observational learning is especially relevant in classrooms—students often model their behavior after peers or teachers. At the same time, I think it raises an important question: how can teachers ensure that students are picking up positive behaviors and not just imitating negative ones?
I agree with you. that is a nice idea.
Hi Sir @Jhon Ironne Baning, I totally agree with you social cognitivism is really interesting because it shows how much we learn just by watching others. Bandura’s idea of observational learning makes sense, especially in classrooms where students often copy what teachers or classmates do. I also like your point about the challenge of making sure students pick up positive behaviors it really shows how important it is for teachers to guide and model the right actions.
The Idea of the social mind shows that even when we think on our own, we are still influenced by the people around us, for example when we make decisions we often consider their opinion. the language, words, action, and ideas we used are not things we created by ourselves but they come from our community. what happening inside our heads shaped and influence by our community and sorrounding.
I experienced the idea of social mind when we have a group studies, especially when we worked on our research paper. At first I did not talk much and I just listen to our leader explain what we have to do. But when they gave us our part and I started asking questions and sharing my thoughts and ideas, i began to feel like part of the group. The discussions helped me understand the lessons in ways I would not have figured out in my own.
This show me how collective intelligence works. The group's combined knowledge was always greater than what I could come up by myself. I realized that learning doesn't just stay in my head but it's build through sharing ideas and collaboration.
Different theorists have suggested different aspects and variables that matter when we develop. However, the social mind constructs what factors when we develop as humans. The social mind refers to our thoughts that are influenced by our environment. It is shaped by how we were nurtured, our culture, beliefs and skills from another. It’s a result of social construct that allows us to form thoughts that take into account what we have accumulated from our social bonding. Thinking inside your head is also a development of social thinking. One example is when finding a wallet in the streets, you think to yourself that if you pick it up, people surrounding you might think you are dishonest. You take into consideration your surroundings and the thoughts of the passerby. Another example is culture, in certain instances we think first if a certain act is appropriate in one’s culture, taking into account respecting the other individuals.
Community and culture vastly shape our learning in a sense of certain characters being embedded from birth by culture. In some cultures, kids as early as 3 are required to go to school on their own to learn independence. This creates a great character early on that they can grow with. Other communities and cultures foster strict learning and harder topics early in life which shapes how children learn. This shows that culture impacts communities which impacts how we learn based on our beliefs, norms, and differences.
Learning Through the Social Mind
Social mind is the idea that while we are thinking for ourselves, our thinking is influenced by group, culture, and language. As a study group, for instance, students don't just study the material they are covering, they study one another's point of view. The group experience reinforces learning and generates problem-finding skills that extend beyond what any one person would develop on his or her own.
One of the advantages of such a strategy is that one gets to emphasize community, dialogue, and communal knowledge. The disadvantage is that group learning sometimes leads to lopsided participation or groupthink. But one gets to see that learning is more than a personal experience and is influenced by relationships that we have with others.
Reference:
McLeod, S. (2024). Vygotsky and Social Learning Theory. SimplyPsychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
@Bernadeth Distor, - thank you for your insights. I personally like on your point that learning is not only personal but also influenced by the relationships with others. Lev Vygotsky's theory suggests, learning is influenced by the environment. Concepts of scaffolding, ZPD, and MKO relate to the role of another person in constructing knowledge. Collaborative learning is another example - this promotes a unique avenue of not only developing social skills, but also promotes deeper learning.
The social mind for me is points to the idea that in our values, mind and problem-solving are not just individual a day to day activities but are molded by what we call the social interactions, our connections, and also cultural contexts. Even when we think inside our head, the language we use, concepts, and perspectives is the things that we learned and are seen from other people that may or have influenced us.
The Community and culture influence us on how we progress by providing like shared experience, values, knowledge, practices and morals that guide what we consider valuable and how we make sense of the world.
@Rejoice Mae Castro, thank you for your insights. Having a social mind indeed considers the influence of other people in the process of thought of an individual. Social interactions are essential in the construction of knowledge as they promote a different perspective and provide fresh new insights to ideas being discussed.