Constructivist Perspectives

Constructivism is broad term used by philosophers, curriculum designers, psychologists, educators to emphasize the learner’s contribution to meaning and learning through both individual and social activity.

During our study on the blocks it dawned on me quite lately that there is no ONE constructivist theory of learning. Most of the theories in the cognitive area includes the ‘concepts’ of construtivism because these theories assume that individuals ‘construct’ their own cognitive structures as they interpret their experiences in particular situations.

The individual or the psychological perspectives on constructivism are concerned with how people build up certain elements of their cognitive or emotional ideas and therefore the psychologists who are focused on this aspect of constructivism are interested in knowledge, beliefs, self-concept or identity.

The information processing theories are connected to the constructivist perspectives. Information processing approaches to learning regarding the human mind as a symbol processing system which converts sensory input into symbolic structures and processes those symbol structures so knowledge can be held in memory and retrieved. Some psychologists have named information processing as a ‘trivial constructivism’ because it only contributes in building an accurate representation of the outside world.

Piaget’s view of constructivism

In contrast, the Piaget’s psychological constructivist approach is less concerned with representations and more interested in meaning as constructed by the individual. In a previous post I have highlighted on the cognitive theory section, how humans build their cognitive abilities through a four stage process as they grow up. Thinking as each stage builds on and incorporates previous stages as it comes more organized and adaptive and less tied to concrete events. The concern here seems to be with logic and the construction of universal knowledge that cannot be perhaps learnt from the environment (for example conservation and reversibility).

Vygotsky’s social constructivism

The basic idea of Vygotsky being a social theorist is that social interaction, cultural tools, and activity shape individual development and learning. By participating in a range of activities with others learners appropriate (or internalize) the outcomes produced by working together. Because Vygotsky’s ideas related very much to the social setting, many psychologists regard Vygotsky as a social constructivist. The idea of zone of proximal development, along with the scaffolding, culture creates cognition when the adult uses tools and practices from the culture to see the child towards goals that are valued in a particular culture.

Many different facets of the constructionist's view.

How is knowledge constructed?

The following are ideas proposed by Mosham (1982) as to how knowledge is constructed.

1. The realities and the truths of the external world direct knowledge construction. Therefore humans beings are always learning through their environment. Through accurate mental representations such as cause-and-effect patterns and condition-action productions and many other mechanisms. This is the basic idea of the information processing theories.
2. Internal processes such as Piaget’s organization, assimilation and accommodation direct knowledge construction. This idea has been carefully explained in detail in another post of cognitive learning theories here on the blogger. New knowledge is abstracted from old knowledge through consistent gathering, ordering, re-ordering of information.
3. Both external and internal factors direct knowledge construction. This is the basic idea of Vygotsky as described in his learning theories. Knowledge grows through interactions of internal (cognitive) and external (environmental and social) factors. 

The elements of constructivist perspectives

Complex learning environments and authentic tasks

According to constructivist ideas, students should always be given problems that reflects a complex learning environment and should not be given simple problems that do not stretch them. There are multiple, interacting elements in complex problems and multiple solutions are possible. Students may need support as they work on these complex problems.

Social negotiation

A view proposed by Vygotsky and share by many psychologists is that higher mental processes develop through social negotiation and interaction, so collaboration in learning is valued. To accomplish this, students must talk and listen to each other.

Multiple perspective and representations of content.

When a situation or idea is explained to students through just one example, or just one model, one analogy, one way of understanding complex content, students often oversimplify as they try to apply that one approach to every situation. Resources for the class should have provided multiple representations of content using different strategies, analogies, examples and metaphors.

  

What does involve in a constructive approach?

One of the primary goals of using constructivist teaching is that students learn how to learn by giving them the training to take initiative for their own learning experiences.

According to Audrey Gray, the characteristics of a constructivist classroom are as follows:

• the learners are actively involved
• the environment is democratic
• the activities are interactive and student-centered
• the teacher facilitates a process of learning in which students are encouraged to be responsible and autonomous

 

How do we approach a constructivist style in the classroom

In the constructivist classroom, students work primarily in groups and learning and knowledge are interactive and dynamic. There is a great focus and emphasis on social and communication skills, as well as collaboration and exchange of ideas. This is contrary to the traditional classroom in which students work primarily alone, learning is achieved through repetition, and the subjects are strictly adhered to and are guided by a textbook. Some activities encouraged in constructivist classrooms are:

1. Experimentation: students individually perform an experiment and then come together as a class  discuss the results.
2. Research projects: students research a topic and can present their findings to the class.
3. Field trips. This allows students to put the concepts and ideas discussed in class in a real-world context. Field trips would often be followed by class discussions.
4. Films. These provide visual context and thus bring another sense into the learning experience.
5. Class discussions. This technique is used in all of the methods described above. It is one of the most important distinctions of constructivist teaching methods.

How differently can we approach the ideology of constructivism in the classroom?

Constructivist approaches can also be used in online learning like that used for the courses offered by the Centre for Open learning at MNU. For example, tools such as discussion forums, wikis and blogs can enable learners to actively construct knowledge. Because existing knowledge schemata are explicitly acknowledged as a starting point for new learning, constructivist approaches tend to validate individual and cultural differences and diversity.

So what are the role of teachers

In the constructivist classroom, the teacher’s role is to prompt and facilitate discussion. Thus, the teacher’s main focus should be on guiding students by asking questions that will lead them to develop their own conclusions on the subject.

The following three major roles for facilitators to support students in constructivist learning environments have been identified by David Jonassen.

• Modeling
• Coaching
• Scaffolding

 

Is the classroom a suitable environment to practice a constructive approach?

The model for developing constructivist learning environments has been fixed around a specific learning goal. This goal may take one of several forms, from least to most complex:

• Question or issue
• Case study
• Long-term Project
•  Problem (multiple cases and projects integrated at the curriculum level)

Jonassen recommends making the learning goals engaging and relevant but not overly structured. In CLEs, learning is driven by the problem to be solved; students learn content and theory in order to solve the problem. This is different from traditional objectivist teaching where the theory would be presented first and problems would be used afterwards to practice theory.

Depending on students' prior experiences, related cases and scaffolding may be necessary for support. Instructors also need to provide an authentic context for tasks, plus information resources, cognitive tools, and collaborative tools.

Classroom assessments that are constructivist

Traditionally, assessment in the classrooms is based on testing. In this style, it is important for the student to produce the correct answers. However, in constructivist teaching, the process of gaining knowledge is viewed as being just as important as the product. Thus, assessment is based not only on tests, but also on observation of the student, the student’s work, and the student’s points of view. Some assessment strategies include:

• Oral discussions. The teacher presents students with a “focus” question and allows an open discussion on the topic.
• KWL(H) Chart (What we know, What we want to know, What we have learned, How we know it). We discussed this technique in the second block sessions. This technique can be used throughout the course of study for a particular topic, but is also a good assessment technique as it shows the teacher the progress of the student throughout the course of study.
• Mind Mapping. In this activity, students list and categorize the concepts and ideas relating to a topic.
• Hands-on activities. These encourage students to manipulate their environments or a particular learning tool. Teachers can use a checklist and observation to assess student success with the particular material.
• Pre-testing. This allows a teacher to determine what knowledge students bring to a new topic and thus will be helpful in directing the course of study.