Learning Assessment System Assignments (LASAs) Research Paper

Learning Assessment System Assignments (LASAs) - Research Paper Example In classrooms with the practice of learning assessment, students are aware of what they are expected to learn in a unit of study. It is this realization that makes learning assessment system critical in education systems. Learning assessment system is a tool that measures whether a student has learnt what he or she was expected to learn after a certain period of time (Woollard, 2010). The system entails assessment that is accompanied by a letter grade or number. It also entails comparing a student’s performance with set standards, as well as communication of results to the parents and students. There are spectrums of learning theories that consist of many ways or approaches to explain how humans and students in particular learn (Porter and Lacey, 2005). This paper will discuss Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Theory and Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In particular, it will compare and contrast these two theories and thereafter provide an argum ent to support the adoption of each theory to the PK-12 classroom when planning learning opportunities for students. Compare and contrast Vygotsky’s theory of â€Å"zone of proximal development† to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. ... This theory views interaction with capable or more capable peers as an effective way of developing strategies and skills. It suggests that teachers use cooperative learning exercises where children who are less competent develop with the assistance of peers who are more competent and skillful; that is, within the proximal development zone (Chaiklin, 2003). Vygotsky who was the main proponent of this theory believed that when a student is at the Zone of Proximal Development for a given task, provision of the appropriate assistance will give the student sufficient â€Å"boost† to achieve the task at hand (Berry, 2008). He also believed that once the student has benefitted from the appropriate assistance and has mastered the task, then the assistance can be removed and the student is able to achieve the task again on his own (Vygotsky, 1978). The propositions of this theory were informed by the believe by some of the educational professions who included Vygotsky that the role of education was to provide children with experiences that are within their ZPD, therefore enhancing and encouraging their individual learning. Mayer (2008) notes that the ZPD theory defines functions that are yet to mature, but are in the maturing process. This theory was developed to argue against the conventional means of determining students’ intelligence. In other words, it was developed to argue against the use of knowledge-based and academic tests as a way of gauging the intelligence of students. According to this theory, the student’s intelligence cannot be determined by examining whet he knows; instead, it argues that it is better to independently examine student’s ability to solve problems, as well