As fundamentally social animals, humans are wired to want to socialize and connect. Not only our happiness depends on socialization, but also survival.
A professor of neuroscience, Michael Platt, described the brain’s structures in charge of managing interactions with other people as the social brain network. This is one of the reasons anxiety and depression increased during the 2020 pandemic by 25 percent.
Lockdowns exacerbated loneliness, especially among young people, who crave socializing and spending time with their peers. But some habits and practices we adopted during the COVID-19 crisis never really left.
For instance, remote and hybrid work and education are still common worldwide. Even though these have immense benefits, such as higher engagement and time efficiency, we can’t overlook the human need for interactions and connections.
We need social learning to create a healthy, comradely, and positive learning environment. Here’s everything you should know about this type of learning and how to foster it.
What is Social Learning?
Social learning represents adopting knowledge and skills through interactions and collaboration with others. As such, it highlights how important social interactions, observation, and shared experiences are in the learning process.
In digital environments, social learning leverages online platforms and tools to facilitate these interactions, enabling learners to connect, share insights, and learn from each other. Discussion forums, group projects, and virtual study sessions are only some examples of social learning activities encouraging active participation and collective problem-solving.
Moreover, social learning contributes to a sense of community among learners by creating opportunities to engage with peers, ask questions, and provide feedback.
Historical Foundations of Social Learning
We can trace the roots of social learning in early human societies, where knowledge transfer depended on observation and imitation to a large extent. Long before we established formal education systems, humans learned vital survival skills, cultural practices, and social norms through communal interactions.
Experienced elders and skilled individuals played the part of models, and younger and less experienced group members observed and emulated their behaviors.
Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura’s work opened a path to the theoretical underpinnings of social learning in the early 20th century. This pioneering psychologist used his research to advance our understanding of how people learn from one another.
According to Bandura’s social learning theory, learning is a cognitive process that happens in a social context through observation, imitation, and modeling. In 1961, Bandura used his Bobo doll experiment to demonstrate that children could learn aggressive behaviors simply by observing an adult model acting aggressively toward a doll.
Thanks to this experiment, we learned that observational learning has an immense impact, challenging the behaviorist notion that direct reinforcement is the be-all method resulting in learning.
Moreover, Bandura presented fundamental concepts such as attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation, explaining what mechanisms drive observational learning. Attention involves a learner focusing on the behavior being modeled; retention means remembering the observed behavior.
Meanwhile, reproduction reflects the capability to perform the behavior; and motivation shows the willingness to engage in the behavior.
Lev Vygotsky
This Soviet psychologist introduced the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to describe the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance and support from those with more knowledge.
George Herber Mead
Social learning also collides with the work of American sociologist George Herbert Mead, who explored how individuals develop self-concepts through social interaction. According to his symbolic interactionism theory, people create meaning and construct reality by interacting with others.
What are the Mechanics of Social Learning?
Various mechanisms are at play in social learning. The following are the most common ones.
Observation: This mechanism occurs when learners observe others, absorb information, and adapt behaviors. It may include subtle cues, social norms, and contextual understanding, meaning it’s not limited to direct instruction.
Imitation: Learners watch peers or mentors and replicate their actions, internalizing skills and knowledge through practice. Thanks to this observational learning, they can adopt new capabilities without trial and error, reducing the risk of mistakes.
Feedback: Immediate responses from peers or mentors help learners mitigate their understanding and correct mistakes. As a real-time interaction, it enables learners to connect with the material more profoundly, resulting in greater retention.
Technology: Tech provides accessible and immersive interaction platforms, expanding social learning and allowing more learners to participate. These include online communities, discussion forums, and collaborative tools, where learners can share tips, insights, and resources, or ask questions.
Moreover, technology supports asynchronous learning, allowing everyone to engage at their own pace while benefiting from collective knowledge sharing. Meanwhile, virtual classrooms and webinars also facilitate interaction, bridging geographical barriers and bringing diverse perspectives into discussions.
Diversity: Exposure to varied viewpoints enriches the magnitude of understanding, as learners encounter the challenge of having to consider different perspectives. As a result, they must navigate conflicting ideas and synthesize new information, leading to better problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking.
Mentorship: Experienced individuals guide newcomers, offering insights and support. This relationship benefits both parties, as mentors reinforce their knowledge by teaching, while mentees gain valuable guidance and insights they can apply to the real world.
On the flip side, informal mentorship often happens organically in social learning settings, creating a culture of mutual support.
Self-efficacy: Social learning contexts can typically improve one’s ability to succeed. When learners observe their peers overcome challenges and achieve goals, they start believing they too can accomplish the same. This confidence and motivation boost propels learners to take on new challenges, knowing they have a supportive community to lean on.
What are the Best Digital Platforms and Tools for Social Learning?
Social learning thrives the most on platforms prioritizing interaction, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. The following tools are typically among L&D professionals’ first choices when creating a collaborative digital environment.
1. Microsoft TeamsÂ
This tool blends chat, video calls, and collaborative document editing into one platform. Its channel-based organization helps create dedicated spaces for different topics, making it easy for users to share insights and resources within focused groups.
Plus, participants can tag and search conversations, improving knowledge retrieval and supporting ongoing learning.
2. SlackÂ
With its user-friendly interface and extensive integration capabilities, Slack can facilitate polls, quizzes, and automated reminders, promoting continuous engagement and knowledge exchange. Moreover, Slack has a thread feature to keep discussions organized and allows users to discuss specific topics without cluttering the main feed.
3. MiroÂ
This platform offers a unique approach to social learning through its digital whiteboard functionality. It enables real-time brainstorming and visual collaboration, which is why this tool is ideal for creative problem-solving sessions.
Users can co-create mind maps, flowcharts, and diagrams and transform abstract ideas into tangible visuals. Another benefit is that Miro integrates with other platforms, like Microsoft Teams and Slack, allowing smooth collaboration across different tools.
4. Trello
For project-based learning, Trello provides a simple but equally powerful framework. Its card and board system helps teams organize tasks, share resources, and track progress as a team.
Users can attach files, add comments, and set deadlines, which facilitates transparent communication and accountability. Trello’s allows a visual approach to project management, encouraging members to contribute and learn from each other.
5. Google WorkspaceÂ
Google Docs and Sheets allow real-time collaboration between multiple users, creating an environment where feedback and iteration flow through the learning process. Moreover, the commenting and suggestion features enable discussions directly within the documents, translating into more critical thinking and collective problem-solving.
6. FlipgridÂ
Unlike others, this tool enables users to share short video responses to prompts. It encourages personal expression and peer feedback and creates a vibrant learning community.
For instance, learners can comment on each other’s videos, potentially introducing a rich dialogue and cultivating diverse perspectives.
How to Design Digital Social Learning that Promotes Knowledge Sharing and Teamwork?
L&D professionals typically take several strategic approaches when designing digital social learning environments. But their goal is almost always to create spaces where participants feel connected, confident, and motivated to contribute.
Here are the steps you should take.
Ensure Collaboration with the Right Platforms
Identify which collaborative tools integrate well into daily workflows. Choose platforms that support real-time collaboration, such as shared documents and chat channels, as these allow learners to engage without disrupting their tasks.
These tools should encourage informal interactions, where team members can discuss ideas and solve problems collectively.
Incentivize Participation
Decide which gamification elements (e.g., scoring systems, leaderboards, game badges, quiz timers, rewards) you’ll work with to motivate learners. These should not only make learning fun but also create a friendly competition, driving participants to share knowledge, strategies, and resources.
Include Mentoring
A culture of trust, belonging, and openness encourages learners to learn together and support each other. Establish peer mentoring systems where experienced members guide newcomers to promote mutual respect and ensure knowledge flows freely between all participants in digital classrooms.
Encourage Problem-based Learning
This strategy nudges teams to tackle real-world challenges together. It helps learners apply theoretical knowledge but also builds teamwork as everyone must collaborate to find solutions.
For instance, you can use relevant and engaging case studies that prompt helpful discussions and debates.
Encourage FeedbackÂ
Ask learners for continuous input on the effectiveness of the learning process and tailor your next strategies and corrections to their suggestions.
Use Social Media ElementsÂ
Consider experimenting with features like discussion boards and comment sections within the learning platform to facilitate casual interactions. These encourage learners to share ideas and resources outside formal sessions, which helps build a community of practice.
Conclusion
Social learning is likely the oldest method for adopting new skills and knowledge. Before there were digital tools and platforms, learning from each other was the only possibility.
However, this strategy will never cease to exist. As long as there are humans, we will observe and imitate each other, resulting in knowledge sharing. Just because we have the internet and eLearning, it doesn’t mean we should separate it from social learning.
Instead, these should merge and benefit from each other to enable easier knowledge adoption and collaboration among learners. Together, digital environments and social learning result in a comprehensive method that allows learners to learn from each other regardless of where they are.
