ABSTRACT
Introduction When we think of project and scenario-based learning, learners have the opportunity to interact with the course content and help each other solve problems. One of the strongest historical proponents of this strategy was Lev Vygotsky, who pioneered the socio-cultural view of learning and development. According to Vygotsky what a learner can do with the assistance of others can influence or be even more indicative of their mental development than what a learner can do alone (Panofsky, 2003). Vygotsky’s theory that learners can develop through the influence of culture (social interaction) and interpersonal communication refers to a person’s knowledge for how to do something based on the social context. This type of learning environment provides the basis for which a learner’s culturally or socially-shaped cognitive development is applied to real-world situations. Furthermore, the way the world appears to learners through project and scenario-based learning influences the culture’s understanding of the world and how learners can use the appropriate tools to practice or demonstrate their learning. Multiple identities are formed by group participation in the culture and use of the tools. Educators have specifically described these two foundational learning approaches “as strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices” (Jenkins et al., 2009, p. 29).
