Traditionally, knowledge has been seen as an individual element. As a result of this belief, the learning process was viewed just as a matter of memorizing the content and reproducing it in the shape of a test. However, knowledge goes beyond the act of repeating something that has been said before. Knowledge is a social aspect. Cope and Kalantzis ratify that:

There are two fundamental aspects of this new recogntion of the sociability of knowledge: a shift away from knowledge memorization towards a culture of knowledge sourcing; and developing skills and strategies for knowledge collaboration and social learning (COPE&KALANTZIS, 2017).

Lev Vygotsky, a Russian and very well-known psychologist, claims that social interaction is totally related to how children learn. This theory is denominated as ‘‘Socialcultural theory of cognitive development’’ (VYGOSTKY, 1978). He affirms that:

an interpersonal process is transformed into an intrapersonal one. Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological), and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relations between human individuals (VYGOSTKY, 1978).

Hence, knowledge is constructed within the social environment, which makes absolutely important to explore peer-to-peer learning situations in order to provide interactions among the students and the exchange of more than just scientific knowledge, but real experiences. Cope and Kalantzis say it is necessary to replace the notion of knowledge as a personal thing (COPE&KALANTZIS, 2017). As educators, we need to guide our students so that they can construct and produce knowledge and we are able to do it by providing sources to their learning process such as links, videos, texts, books or any kind of media they feel comfortable with. Knowledge must be built in a social, cultural and collective environment.

REFERENCES

COPE, B., and KALANTZIS, M. (2017). Conceptualizing e-learning. In: B. Cope and M. Kalantzis (Eds), e-Learning Ecologies. New York: Routledge.

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. London: Harvard University Press

Here's a video about Vygotsky's theory: