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I vividly recalled the teaching approach used by my Chemistry teacher back in Secondary School which worked very well for me.

Though at that point in time, we all felt like we're being forced and she was not 'teaching' at all.

We are all asked to read on a topic (e.g. Preparation of Salts) at home. During the lesson, there will be posters pasted on the four walls of the classroom. In a clockwise manner, we are instructed to write what we have previously read at home under the subcategories, with no repetition to our peers. A piece of soft music played in the background helped regulate the otherwise tense situation. Afterwhich, we were encouraged to explain what we have contributed to the class.

Now that I realise what she was practising then was the flip-classroom approach and student-directed learning.

It has allowed me to learn at my own pace, gave rise to student collaboration to cover the required topics and for peer-reviewing; which has created a safe learning environment for my peers and me.

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I learn/remember/understand better when teachers made efforts to segment information. I was one of the better ones in class, and I owe this to the teachers because I remember them even chunking information and printed hand notes for us to revise.

One of the vivid memories I remember was a lesson in English writing. The English teacher did an excellent job in guiding us in English writing, composition. She was under stress because the class was not doing very well in writing. She created several tool kits, words, and phrases, an exaggerated vocabulary list for us to use in writing. Apart from that, with that tool kit, she showed us how to use the tool kit. Using the Overhead Projector (OHP) with her colored markers, she wrote a sample piece of composition on her transparencies. She then gave us an assignment and grouped us up for it. For me, that lesson was the turning point for scoring well in writing. For me, at least, but not my classmates.

She used a mix of Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget was when she introduced to the class tool kits for writing, and I had to make sense of it. It had a different outcome for me because I like the tool kit as it was an eye-opener for me to start expressing myself better. "The class knows how to follow the plot, but there is no exaggeration and descriptions in your writing!" she said. Many aspects of the lesson leaned towards Vygotsky. Firstly, she gave us a tool kit, she then taught us how to use the tool kit, and then she modeled a written composition using the tool kit. The whole process itself is a Zone of proximal development. Secondly, she grouped us for collaboration on the writing. Both these strategies dwell in social-cultural theory.

There were many learning points that I remembered for that lesson. It is a vivid memory because I was doing most of the writing in that group work. My groupmates could only contribute very little, were unmotivated, and went for recess first while I stayed to finish the assignment. I did not mind then; I loved the lesson and was enthusiastic about completing the story that I started. I finished and submitted the work for the group. The completed assignment was hailed as the best writing for the class for that series of writing lessons. The group received well praises for the great piece of writing. It was set as an example. My groupmates felt devastated; they did not even know the story's content until it was readout. I remember the jealousy towards my writing abilities. After that lesson, I saw changes in my groupmates' behavior. They were more severe in their academic studies; they became competitive with classwork, and eventually, they even got better at writing.

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Providing relatable experiences and examples helps me learn better as a student in a class. The opportunity to practice on my own (experiential learning), internalizing my thoughts before explanation by the teacher helps me understand where I went wrong.

In Secondary School, my geography teacher guides and facilitate our learning by organizing the input from the class in the form of drawing and words on the whiteboard. We were asked to voice our opinions on certain concepts. During the process, she helped in linking the topic to previous content and addressed misconceptions.

During poly, there are multiple sessions of structured groupwork that forced social interactions and discussions. Meaningful debates and opportunities to learn from one another is another takeaway during this period.

In conclusion, scaffolding and social interactions in groupwork are useful strategies/activities that I applied in my teaching as well.

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As a student, I feel that my teacher used a good mix of both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theory to aid my learning.

My teacher always revisited our prior knowledge when she wants to introduce a new concept in class. Before introducing a new topic, my teacher used to recall back what we had learnt previously and I always find this method easier for me to grasp the new concepts as this allowed me to connect the dots easily. I feel that my teacher’s method of building on my existing knowledge enhanced my learning.

When I struggled to grasp a new concept, my teacher found ways to provide differentiated instruction to ensure I grasped the concept and this made my learning easier.

I feel that my teacher’s method of teacher was similar to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development because I feel that just like his theory, my teacher tapped on the assimilation method whereby using the prior knowledge that I had, she built upon it and when I struggled to understand a concept, she modified her instructions (similar to the accommodation method suggested by Piaget).

Also, my teacher used a lot of scaffolding in her lessons which allowed me to grasp the concepts better when I was struggling. As a medium ability student, I found the scaffolding method very beneficial as I could learn better when I was guided and I was able to work on similar concepts independently once I had learnt through scaffolding.

My teacher also created a lot of opportunities for group work which allowed us to interact with our peers and this was a great opportunity to learn from one another. I have always enjoyed group work as we all had various ideas to share and it was a good way to learn from each other. I feel that the scaffolding method and she creating the opportunity for us to learn through social interactions is very similar to Vygotsky’s theory.

On the whole, I feel that my teacher used a good mix of both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theory in her teaching which enhanced all our learning.

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As a student, I have come across educators who takes up the role as an facilitators. Instead of the teacher teaching the class, I was encouraged as a student to come up with ways to teach my group members. This was very evident during my math lessons. My teacher would teach the concept and then get us into group to talk and discuss on what we learnt and how we can present what was taught to the rest of the students in a fun and interesting manner. We will come up with posters, visuals or even videos to show the class what we have learnt

I liked this method of teaching as it enabled me to learn from my peers and at the same time share what I have learnt. It was a good platform for me to work on my oral and thinking skills. It was also a good opportunity for me to clear my doubts and misconceptions on the topic. My teachers will step in during the discussion if there is a need to scaffold or clear any misconceptions that arose from our sharing. I was in fact encouraged to make mistakes as my teacher believed that through mistakes only do we get to learn.

I would say that this style of teaching adopted by secondary school teacher is in line with Piaget's Theory. It enabled my teacher to monitor our thinking and at the same time, look out for resistance among students. It gave us an opportunity to present our knowledge in a variety of form and made the students aware of their misconceptions. Lastly it also gave my teacher an opportunity check on our understanding.

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When I was in primary school, I could remember the teachers would mostly write down notes on the blackboard and I would copy it down as quickly as I can. With all the information, on my own, I would group them and write in point form. This is for subject like Science that require memorizing. Looking back at those times, teachers would use our existing schemas to teach as a baseline and would inject new information into the lesson. With only just our books, a blackboard and an OHP, learning is limited to the teacher’s knowledge and experiences. Therefore, only a part of Piaget’s cognitive theory is used where we learn new information through assimilation. I could not recall being in a state of disequilibrium where new information cannot fit into my existing schemas.

As I move on to secondary school, I remember having multiple group projects especially for subjects like Math and English. Teachers would use collaborative learning strategies such as peer review and jigsaw where I get to learn from other group mates and vice versa. This is in line with Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory where we develop social interactions and learn from others and build our language as we interact with one another. The teachers would also use instructional scaffolding by breaking down difficult topics to bite size information to help us in our understanding.

As I progress to tertiary education, I learn best through pictures, videos and mind-maps. It helps me to visualise and recall information much better than just reading words.

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As a student, clear and comprehensive explanations or descriptions have always helped me learn and understand concepts better. This was especially true for JC Maths lessons - the subject was one of my weaker ones, but in line with Vygotsky's theory that language has a central role in mental development, our teacher was fantastic at explaining concepts and verbalising step-by-step methods on how to solve equations, then getting us to explain our solutions back to him so that he could evaluate our understanding.

Linking new information to prior knowledge and experience is also extremely helpful whenever I learn something new. Even now in this DISE programme, it's been helpful whenever our tutors get us to reflect on previous experiences or observations in our school stints so as to build on our schemas of information, as described in Piaget's theory. There's been assimilation in the form of learning the theoretical framework behind the practical strategies we've observed being used in schools, and accommodation in the form of learning new frameworks/methods that we should put into practice once we're back working with students in schools.

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Being in a preschool setting, I believe both Piaget and Vygotsky theories works wonder in their own circumstances or situation. Learning method differs from each student based on how well we can digest it. When I was in primary and secondary school I learn better with visuals, I understand concepts better when problems or questions were being shown visually. When I attended secondary school, mind mapping helps me a lot.

Based on piaget theory, he views intellectual growth as a process of adaptation or adjustment to the world. Adaptation is the ability to adjust to new information and experiences.  Learning is allowing us to adapt to our constant change of environment, through adaptation, we are able to adopt new behaviours that allows us to work better and bland in with changes.

Vygotsky believes in the zone of proximal development. His concepts refer to which a child needs guidance and encouragement in order to achieve a skill. It can be as easy as putting on shoes to solving a mathematical question.

I believe as a teacher its best to see which theory matches the students needs and how it benefits the child.

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Learning from peers under the guidance of a teacher.

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Visuals - posters, mind maps and videos - help in understanding concepts better rather than just talking. I understand better when I get to put the concept into practice and experience the learning itself with the guidance of a teacher (MKO). The communication between me and my teacher on clarifying doubts definitely widens the knowledge of the whole concept much more clearer. This I believe is the scaffolding that is involve in my zone of proximal development(ZPD) based on Vygotsky.

Doing pair-share activities under the supervision of my teacher, helps in correcting misconceptions. This could possibly due to different prior knowledge (aka schema) that was build earlier among my peers. Hence through social interactions(based on Vygotsky), it leads to assimilation & accommodation (stages in Piaget’s Cognitive Theory).

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I learned best when the knowledge taught to me is very structured and clear. Using of visual aid will make things easier to understand them. I would strengthen the knowledge gained by applying repetition through writing in many subject exercises given by teachers.

From my learning in my polytechnic years. They use a learning approach called Problem-Based Learning (PBL). PBL is to increase awareness of tasks involved in work situations or contexts.

Students meet in small groups with a facilitator who brings up discussions and is assigned a problem. They must research and investigate possible causes and solutions to apply in real scenarios.

The PBL approach resonates with Vygotsky’s theory as students enter the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The facilitator would provide the appropriate help to students to achieve the knowledge.

Associating with Vygotsky's ZPD with PBL. The facilitator has the knowledge and skills higher than the students. These provide the role of a more knowledgeable person that Vygotsky mentioned.

Vygotsky also claims that social interactions with someone knowledgeable. It allows the students to observe and practice their skills. Debating knowledge and contexts are good practices during presenting that are mediated by the facilitator. These can create a higher level of learning.

Vygotsky mentioned the importance of scaffolding. The facilitator provided guidance and encouragement to the student to lead through the ZPD and acquire knowledge through the task.

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Looking back on my own time as a student, I have now come to realise that group work is one of the strategies that my teachers used which is more in line with Vygotsky's theory of social constructivism. Working in groups allowed me interact with others, and gave me the opportunity to communicate with others (language playing a big part in learning, according to Vygotsky). I suppose one of the unintended benefits that arose from this was also that as students, we were more likely to turn to our peers for help, instead of our teachers. Groupings were done intentionally so that at least one student would be able to play the role of the more knowledgeable other (MKO). This, coupled with the increased likelihood for us to turn to friends, helped to foster a culture of peer support and teaching.

My teachers would also often build upon our schemas by introducing new concepts in relation to our prior knowledge. Sometimes, especially during Science lessons, we would be given a statement and then be tasked to do research on our own to prove/disprove our assumptions and then construct the knowledge from there. This is in line with Piaget's theory of cognitive development, whereby the learner either assimilates or accommodates the new knowledge by trying to deal with the equilibration that comes about from the dissonance that may occur when something goes against our schemas.

Besides the above, I have noticed that I tend to learn best when my teachers used multimodal approaches or found ways to make the learning fun and relevant for us.

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Back in primary school, I recall my P6 teacher pairing us according to our strengths and weakness in our subjects. I was paired with this classmate who was good in math but weaker in English, while I faced the opposite problem. During lessons, our teacher would get us to help our partners out whenever we had difficulties with certain questions or problem sums. This strategy used by her can be related back to the concept of interaction under Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural development, whereby we were encouraged to articulate our understanding verbally to strengthen our individual understanding of what was taught. And through process of collaboration, the peer weaker in that particular subject would benefit from their partners’ understanding.

In polytechnic, when lecturers used relatable scenarios or stories to further explain a concept/topic, that made it easier for me to understand and remember what they were teaching. There was a human/personal connection that was established when they related the material taught back to what they experienced for themselves. An example would be one of my polytechnic lecturer was teaching about generalization. As she was going through the slides, she talked about her own personal experience, where she taught this child with ASD, who had difficulties with generalizing. The story was so interesting (and the way that she explained it). that I still remember it although it has been around 5 years since then. In summary, she shared that every day, this student of hers took a specific route to school. But one day, he has a sudden meltdown and was crying and screaming non-stop. His caregiver couldn’t figure out why and neither could my lecturer until she took a walk with them another day, and realized that he would display the same actions at a specific point (in this case, the mini-mart). It was then she realized that the student was upset because the owner changed the way that the products were arranged on the shelf.

This strategy used by my lecturer can be linked to the process of assimilation by Piaget. In theoretical sense, we knew of generalisation as being able to apply a skill learnt across all settings. After the story, we could then better modify this knowledge to fit into our existing schema, with a clearer idea of how generalisation looks like in a real-life setting.

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When I reflect back on my early years, I get reminded of Piaget's theory of constructivism; the idea that people construct their own understanding of the world based on the interactions and experiences. I do recall being a child that once believed that two glasses of different width and height had different volume of water (even though it was the same amount). I was also the child that once looked out of the car window and believed that the moon was moving along with us :) I once rationalised that the water is blue because it reflects the colour of the sky. As I grew older, I interacted and experienced more, and acquired new pieces of information that either required assimilation or accommodation. I learnt about the interaction of light with things in our environment like human eyes or the the sea, and made changes to my schema accordingly. Instead of the pigments that I once thought gives the colour of our eyes, I learnt about the interaction of light's wavelengths with the amount of brown pigment in our eyes that brings about the different colours. Hence, I modified the schemas I once had. Even as I learn today, I am sure that the schemas I hold now will be altered gradually over time.

According to Vygotsky's Zone of proximal theory, between my prior knowledge and the experts I learnt from occupied a space of potential knowledge. Vygotsky's theory becomes much more apparent in my tertiary years as team work and collaborative learning increased. University Professors would go through formats and templates to teach us how to express our ideas in an organised manner. She would demonstrate ways on writing hooks, introduction, followed by the body and concluding paragraphs. and then get us to try. During subsequent lessons, we would become teachers, teaching/demonstrating to our peers the skillsets we learnt. What our professors were essentially doing was using scaffolding. They were equipping us with the tools we needed to organise, learn a chunk of information and express our ideas more effectively. The things that I learnt gave rise to my intrinsic motivation to learn and grow.

Based on Both Piaget and Vygotsky's theory, I learnt best when someone provided me with strategies that I could use independently to learn more on my own. I gained more knowledge in collaborative activities, and I retained knowledge best when opportunities were given to apply the knowledge I gained to other contexts and when I was given the chance to teach what I learnt to others. I was able to stay motivated the most when my interest in a subject had been piqued. This usually happened when the professors created a classroom where sharing of ideas was welcome, where interactive learning style was the norm, and when textbook knowledge was discussed further in real world contexts that I could relate to.

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During my secondary school time I remembered most of the time I just paid attention to what the teachers said, copied down notes and learned by heart to pass the exams. For some of the subjects like Maths, I kept practising to become good in it. Not much interaction with teachers.

There was a teacher taught us a way using abbreviation to remember loads of information.  This method helped me a lot in my learning journey.

When I went to Poly, it was a totally different learning experience.  We had group discussions, frequent interaction with teachers and classmates.  Mind mapping was used to better understand difficult concepts. Job attachment gave me an opporutnity to apply what I learned in school.

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When I was in Primary school, my Science teacher used a classification method to classify living things and non living things. She gave us pictures so that we could stick it on the  blackboard using magnets. By adopting Piaget’s theory, visual learners like me are able to identify the properties of each category. I was then able to classify it accordingly. The teacher not only applied Piaget’s theory but she scaffolded the activity so that it will be simple for students in Primary 3. It sparks curiosity in me. Learning Science becomes more enjoyable.

As I progressed to secondary school, new schemas were introduced. There are times when I do not understand the new information, however it will take some time for me to ponder and reflect on it. If I was stuck, I normally asked my Science teacher to explain this further. It dawned on me that at that period of time, time is required for intellectual growth to occur. I was not only asking questions when I am curious but I was actively seeking out answers.

I continued my Diploma in Biomedical Medical Engineering due to my love for Science. What I did not realise was the course had alot of Engineering Maths modules. I am not good at Maths thus the person who coaches me with my Maths back then was my classmate. By having someone who is competent in the subject area, she was able to bridge the gap. Peer tutoring helped me when I was stuck solving mathematical problems. The assistance rendered along with encouragement, helped me ace the Maths modules. As we work collaboratively to solve problems, learning not only takes place but the learning retains better. Vygotsky’s principle was applied even though I had no idea back then.

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From what I can remember in Primary school, teachers that build on our knowledge and helps us along the way does better and also gains our trust. Thus we will believe and are more willing to learn.

I believe that repetition is important and constant checking on whether we understand what is taught is critical otherwise we will not be able to move on to the next level of learning like having the simple test to year end exams.

Vygosky’s theory states that by involving students in social interactions and encouraging students to use language to describe our understanding as mention in the slides. Our teachers get us involved in group settings and also help us to create the learning activities for guided learning in the form of ZPD. This scaffolding really helps us as learners or students to develop and learn what we need.

We also learn much better when manipulative and additional resources such as on screen projection and videos and hands on are given to us.

It really comes down to the way how interactive the teacher conduct the lesson.
as the bond with the students helps our learning a lot more than we think.

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Learning methods are displayed in various forms and practised in different ways for different people. As I recall my schooling time, I am sharing my experience with my kids and my students.

Mind mapping – My chemistry teacher, Secondary school will start a lesson by drawing a mind map to understand the chemical names of elements. This will demonstrate the overview of the chapter with all the chemical terms, which I do not need to flip pages in a book. Till now, I am practising for my kids whenever I’m teaching them chemistry.

Breaking down the task – The primary purpose to break down the task is to make it more superficial and easy to understand. Apart from understanding, absorption to your mind is highly effective too.

Group work/discussion – Able to express views based on understanding and retrieve/recall back that have been forgotten.

Repetitive – I applied this method for the math lesson and other subjects too, where I repeatedly attempt the same type of question. This method is effective for primary school as their cognitive level are low, and they need scaffolding from the teacher to repeat the instructions and steps of doing.

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As I reflect on what made it easier for me to learn during my time as a student, I realised it was really the exposure to all the different types of questions. I adopted different studying techniques for different subjects.

For example, mathematics required tons of practice on my end. Our teacher showed us the different ways a question can be phrased though they were asking for the same thing. You need to know precisely what the question wants before you can apply the correct formula.

Biology was about key words and knowing facts, the question can turn up in different experiments or show you certain charts/diagrams that you need to interpret but they were still asking about something you have learnt in the syllabus, just presented in a different format. Thus, you need to know what the question is asking for, before rummaging through your filing cabinet of key words and concepts to answer the question.

Perhaps getting exposed to a variety of questions is some sort of introducing a disequilibrium into our schemas. It presented to us new ways of using our knowledge in a variety of forms. This is probably in line with Piaget’s cognitive theory.

What I remember most prominently that resonated with Vygotsky’s theory was when my teacher placed me beside one of my classmates who topped our class for Physics. Needless to say, I was at the bottom. He was the more knowledgeable other (besides the teacher) that was the best candidate who could guide me, and address my questions immediately. At the same time, from a student’s perspective, he was able to explain certain concepts to me in a different way than the teacher so that I could understand. My zone of proximal development was probably huge, but thanks to him and some consultations with the teacher, I managed to pass my Physics.

There was also a lot of scaffolding done in school and one which I could recall would be during language class. Our English teacher guided us on how to write the different forms of essays. We would first learn the structure on how to write the essay. For example, narrative writing requires an introduction, body and end. A twist can be included just before the ending. Whereas for an argumentative essay, the structure of the essay would be different. After that we were taught on how to write the content of each paragraph, and where can we go to look for additional resources to substantiate our points.

Looking back, I was more focused on doing well for exams than really remembering and understanding the content for my own knowledge acquisition. But all the strategies that my teachers employed (be it Piaget or Vygotsky) clearly did help in my learning and I believe that learning is an ongoing process.

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I learn best in a safe and comfortable environment. Being really weak in Physics and A Maths, I was always struggling grasping the concepts. These were some strategies that helped me to learn better:

Engages prior knowledge/ linking to real life context:
- The teacher starts the lesson by getting us to recall certain concepts taught previously, after which, she built on our existing knowledge of the topic
- She uses examples that we can relate to, making learning more relevant
- This resonates with Piaget's Cognitive Theory, whereby at the assimilation stage, we use existing schema to deal with a new concept

Use of graphics for illustration of concepts:
- Other than using the textbooks, the Biology teacher encouraged us to create our own mindmaps/illustrations/graphics to represent concepts taught (she guided us for the first few topics)
- This teacher provided scaffolding for the students (Vygotsky). She understands that visual learners learn best with images, and therefore instead of using chunks of text, she broke down information and used visuals as a scaffold.

Collaborative learning:
- Being a very clumsy student, I always ended up breaking my apparatus during practical lessons.
- The teacher always paired/grouped me with peers of different learning abilities. This intentional groupings served as a social support group for me
- During group discussions, we shared ideas and provide help for each other when needed
- This is a good example of Vygotsky's beliefs whereby social interact is needed for a child's development

In conclusion, a skillful teacher understands the ability and learning needs of a child. She then plans for activities that relate to real-life examples, tapping on prior knowledge, providing the necessary scaffolding for the child.

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During my time in school, I learnt well / better:

- When I have interest in the subject and I enjoy learning with no pressures .

- I will write down the things I've learnt in order to be able to internalise it.

- Using visual aids/stimulation, helps me to understand concepts better.

- I also learnt well in a structured and organised environment.

- The subjects that were taught to me is in a very structured and systematic manner so that I am able to follow through with the lesson.

- Learning together with my peers in a stress-free / informal environment.

- Using strategies like mind mapping, concept mapping to help me understand
better.

- Hands on experience and learning through real-life applications will make me relate better thus more understanding of what was being taught.

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Back then when I was pupil in primary school there was not much help from teachers. It was purely rote learning. There was no collaborative work nor manipulatives. The only time we use our hands in class was during Art and Craft.

In retrospect, I grapple with math because I am not much of an auditory learner. I am more of a visual learner. Also in school back then, it was always frontal teaching. After teaching, we went to copying down the question and working the sums out. There was no worksheets and neither was there remedials. So the learning gap between me and my fellow classmates widened over time. Those who did well actually had tuition. Unfortunately they were the yardstick and I am not considered good enough.

Even in my secondary school days, most of my learning were based on memory work and regurgitating. We weren't taught strategies on how to tackle essay style answers. Take history as an example. We were forced to learn the answers from the textbook by heart and reproduced it on paper. These carried on till my A levels. This was a generic issue across all schools during that time. Not to fault the teachers but that was the way it was taught then ; rote learning and memory work.

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I think as a student, I learned best when it was broken down into simple terms and bite-sized information for me to digest. It was also very useful when the teachers scaffolded and provided sufficient examples. A prime example would be Physics - when they went through concepts like gravity, force, and sound in relation to things around us.

In comparison with the concepts learned today, I think I can draw out some similarities such as the real-life relations in science as shown above. It also really helped when the teachers pointed out that the answers given could not have made sense e.g the bus is probably not driven at the speed of 10km/h. (Piagets)

The teachers in my schools also encouraged lots of interaction and provided the students with the space to explain their understanding of the topic to the class. I think that really helped us to consolidate our thoughts and put them in words; try explaining it to the class. Especially in Polytechnic, they would then go through the lecturer's slides and correct some misconceptions that were earlier presented. (Vygotsky)

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When recalling my experience as a primary/secondary/JC student,
- I learnt best when I could see the practical application of what is being taught.
- The teachers were always rushing to complete the syllabus in time for the exams.
- Anything that was abstract was beyond my learning and understanding.
- In short, none of them had applied any of Piaget or Vygotsky's theories.
- I had to apply them on my own by finding a peer who was more knowledgeable (Vygotsky) to study with, and also practicing what was taught with this peer. Whether it was the teaching/learning of physics or mathematics concepts.

When in University,
- The tutors had paired us based on ability and this also allowed them to spend more/less time with us as required.
- They ensured that they used scaffolding to encourage learning (Piaget) and not "spoon feed" information.
- They had also presented new information in various ways especially if they were unfamiliar to us. This definitely facilitated the assimilation of new experiences with our prior life experiences (Piaget).
- We were also made to do a lot more presentations, role plays and peer teaching which allowed us to use language to demonstrate understanding and learning (Vygotsky).

In conclusion, my education before University was met with feelings of failure and lack of joy in learning. It turns out that it was not my fault, and that if my teachers knew how to teach (better), then that would make the entire learning experience better for everyone.

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To learn better as a student in class, I used mind-maps, retelling my understanding to peers and teachers in my own words. I will try to create links and associations with my prior knowledge. I also figured out that I am an auditory learner. So, I read out important information repeatedly to retain and digest the information.

Recalling my secondary school days, most teachers have used strategies such a think-pair-share and round-robin to explain and elaborate our understanding of topics. This associate closely with Vygotsky’s social culture aspect of development, much learning happened through peer teaching and teacher scaffolding.

In my poly days, I evoke a particular lesson. My tutor asked all the students in the classroom to form a human cell and to demonstrate how it reacts to foreign objects. Even after 15 years, I can associate and recall the lesson so vividly implies the effective use of concrete illustration and scaffolding by the tutor. The activity showcased that even in older students, concrete illustration is vital. It made it more powerful, as students themselves become the concrete illustration. The teaching involved a good blend of Vygotsky’s scaffolding as well as adapting to Piaget’s cognitive development stage and process.

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I learnt better when I

had interest in a subject and enjoyed the learning process. I was not pressured or too stressed (Piaget believed in evaluating the student's development, thus suitable tasks were assigned to me. Not too challenging to create anxiety but suitable difficulty order to promote learning)

used strategies like mind-mapping, note-taking, categorising information, etc

had discussions with classmates (Vygotsky mentioned language playing a central role, thus through discussions, I was able to build on to what I know. Piaget's theory about collaboration also promoted learning)

was shown examples, given or help (scaffolding), notes from teachers

experimented and was given hands-on experience to apply what was learnt (According to Piaget's theory, learning takes place when there is experiential learning)

revisited topics and through repetition so that I could retain the knowledge

understood the relevance of the topic

had an open mind and saw things from different perspectives

liked the teacher or the teacher was fun

felt inspired, supported and encouraged by the people around me

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When recalling my experiences with my secondary school when I was growing up, I realised that their teaching have included elements of both Vygotsky and Piaget. Being someone who is extremely weak in Chinese, I was assigned a peer tutor who helped (and laughed at me) immensely. The idea of collaborative learning (Tomasello, Kruger, & Ratner, 1993) becomes more apparent now; my peer had a better understanding of not just the subject but a better understanding of my learning processes and weaknesses and thus was in a better position to help me. Additionally, resources such as sentence starters, idiom handbooks and model essays were provided to me with guiding tips on how I can adjust my writing style and increase my vocabulary to improve my competence in the Chinese language. The basic tendencies in thinking posited by Piaget were also evidenced by how my Chinese teacher guided me using the resources. I was tasked to highlight phrases (organization) and reorganize them into categories (adaptation) which I could use for my essays in future. In line with disequilibrium, I had to try and find the best way to categorise those phrases. My teacher and my peer tutor were always there beside me as well to ensure that this process was not too tedious for me.

Additionally, on a school-wide level, students were actually banded by subjects based on their academic results. For Chinese I was banded into the group that required more support; where the best albeit scariest looking teachers were tasked to help us. This would closely parallel Hipsky’s (2011) and Tomlinson’s (2005b) differentiated instruction where students with greater learning needs were grouped together and have their needs matched with the appropriate teaching methods.

In conclusion, the educators in my secondary school demonstrated the ideas of Vygotsky and Piaget in their teaching methods. The improvements I made in Chinese were thanks to their willingness and ability to assist in my learning and help me in a way that I could best absorb the content of a difficult subject.

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When I read on Piaget and Vygotsky's theories, I realise that in life, it is impossible to follow and believe in just one of their theories. I feel that both their theories are well thought out and that both have their own sense of what children need to go through as they grow up. However, I do not believe in just focusing on one theory.

For Piaget's theory, he mentioned that all of us has this need to have a state of equilibrium as we will not like it when we are faced with new challenges and not being able to solve them. Thus, when this happens, it will be our "natural" instinct to resolve the issue and make our state equilibrium again. I feel that this part of his theory can be put to good use when we are testing the student's understanding of a certain topic that we have taught. When teachers give out tests, some of the questions will cause students to be in a state of disequilibrium which will cause them to try harder to solve the questions. This would give students the space to learn and figure out problems on their own. This skill is important as they grow. However before we can test our students' knowledge on a certain topic, we would need to teach them. This is when Vygotsky's theory comes in. His concept on Zone of Proximal Development is a concept I feel that even teachers in secondary schools should use. With proper guidance, it would give students the opportunities to learn and expand their knowledge.

I feel that these two main components were put into use by my teachers in my secondary school which aided me throughout my secondary school years. As a student, it was very helpful when my teachers gave us extra study notes and summarise after every lesson. It gave me the chance to speak out my thoughts and doubts that I had of the topic. My teachers would also give us small quizzes after every topic to test our understanding. This allowed me to know where I stand and to self reflect.

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Learning, remembering, understanding are all different things to me so I will be breaking down my thoughts for each cognitive skill accordingly.

I learn best when I'm learning something I want to learn. I learn the fastest when I am given a challenging task with a deadline to meet. The feeling of frustration of wanting to reach the set goal pushes me to quickly accommodate new information and complete the task. However, doing the task relatively well would require a More Knowledgeable Other who is able to guide me or practise with me.

I understand what I'm learning best when my teacher is able to break things down and allow me to put this new information into my existing schema, or even to change my existing schema. This is done by using great analogies and giving lots of examples and questions to let us apply what is taught.

My memory space is limited so I choose what I want to remember. I can remember information that I need for an exam or test by using studying techniques. In this case, a teacher can help by teaching me how I can remember information better. That is a form of scaffolding too because teaching me studying skills and techniques will allow me to achieve a higher potential than if I were to study without any knowledge of how to study. To really remember things long-term and not just for a test or an exam, I feel that the information must be something we have to apply every day in our daily lives. The information must be applicable to be significant enough for me to want to embed it into my memory. If a teacher can let me see why what I am studying is relevant to my life, it helps me to want to remember what he is teaching. I see this as scaffolding too. A MKO can help me get to somewhere faster than if I were to explore learning by myself and figuring out how and why I'm learning something.