Week 4 of 6 — Social learning theories in action

This week we dove into social learning theories — and how they play out in online environments.

Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory reminds us that learning isn't just about doing, but also about watching, modelling, and interacting. As Hill, Song & West (2009) put it, observation still matters online — but without design that fosters community, learners risk feeling isolated.

Some highlights that stuck with me:

• Observation online: Learners can still model behaviour through discussion forums, videos, and group tasks.
• Interaction drives engagement: Social presence and feedback shape motivation and behaviour.
• Design must support community: Without structure, the "social" part of social learning gets lost.

That made me reflect on informal moments in physical classrooms — chats before and after class that spark real connection. Online, these don't just happen by accident. Designers need to deliberately build them in. Things like:

☕ Virtual "coffee lounges" in Teams/Slack 👋 Arriving early or staying after Zoom sessions for casual chat 🎲 Low-barrier prompts (polls, icebreakers, or off-topic threads) to encourage participation

We also unpacked constructivism: the idea that knowledge isn't absorbed but personally and socially constructed. Piaget emphasised active, individual meaning-making, while Vygotsky and social constructivists showed how culture, community, and context shape learning. In practice, this means focusing less on delivering facts and more on designing experiences that feel authentic, contextual, and collaborative.

A few key concepts that resonated with me this week:

• Learners build self-knowledge by interpreting experiences.
• Active, relevant tasks deepen learning beyond memorisation.
• The instructor shifts to being a facilitator of reflection and exploration.
• Authentic contexts matter — because "everything works somewhere, nothing works everywhere."

In our Zoom breakout, my group (Maria, Gille, Jason, and I) tackled a design challenge: scaffolding an online Community of Practice for learning designers. We came up with strategies like mentors for new members, "speed intro" sessions, chunking guidance so it's not overwhelming, and using KWL charts ("What I Know, Want to know, Learned") to guide reflection. It was a nice reminder of Vygotsky's scaffolding in action.

Key takeaway: Whether online or in person, learning is social. If we want communities to thrive, we can't just design content — we need to design the spaces in-between where connection, modelling, and meaning-making really happen.