Micro Master LDT100x

What is constructivism?

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Constructivism is ‘an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al., 2000:256).

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Constructivism

Constructivism — particularly in its "social" forms — suggests that the learner is much more actively involved in a joint enterprise with the teacher of creating ("constructing") new meanings. It is the importance of culture and context in forming understanding. Learning is not a purely internal process, nor is it a passive shaping of behaviours.

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Vygotsky favoured a concept of learning as a “social construct which is mediated by language via social discourse.” (McMahon, 1997) Laurillard emphasises learning as an iterative process, involving discursive, adaptive, interactive, and reflexive qualities, the main focus being on teacher-student relationship since "academic knowledge consists in descriptions of the world, and therefore comes to be known through a discursive interactionbetween teacher and student".

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Cognitive and Social Constructivism 

We can distinguish between • "cognitive constructivism" which is about how the individual learner understands things, in terms of developmental stages and learning styles, and • "social constructivism", which emphasises how meanings and understandings grow out of social encounters (Vygotsky)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Scaffolding

 • Scaffoldingrefers to the role played by parents, teachers and others by which children acquire their knowledge and skills (Wood et al, 1976).

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• As a task becomes more familiar to the child and more within its competence, so those who provide the scaffold leave more and more for the child to do until it can perform the task successfully.

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• In this way, the developing thinker does not have to create cognition ‘from scratch’: there are others available who have already ‘served’ their apprenticeship.                                                                                              

Zone of Proximal Development

 The theory of the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD) is a term coined by Vygotsky to refer to the: ‘level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers…..What children can do with the assistance of others might be in some sense even more indicative of their mental development than what they can do alone’ (Vygotsky, 1978).

 

"Proximal" simply means "next". He observed that when children were tested on tasks on their own, they rarely did as well as when they were working in collaboration with an adult. It was by no means always the case that the adult was teaching them how to perform the task, but that the process of engagement with the adult enabled them to refine their thinking or their performance to make it more effective. Hence, for him, the development of language and articulation of ideas was central to learning and development.  The common-sense idea which fits most closely with this model is that of "stretching" learners.

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How Vygotsky Impacts Learning:

• Curriculum - Since children learn much through interaction, curricula should be designed to emphasize interaction between learners and learning tasks.

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• Instruction - With appropriate adult help, children can often perform tasks that they are incapable of completing on their own. With this in mind, scaffolding - where the adult continually adjusts the level of his or her help in response to the child's level of performance is an effective form of teaching. Scaffolding not only produces immediate results, but also instils the skills necessary for independent problem solving in the future.

 

• Assessment - Assessment methods must take into account the

zone of proximal development. What children can do on their own

is their level of actual development and what they can do with help

is their level of potential development. Two children might have

the same level of actual development, but given the appropriate

help from an adult, one might be able to solve many more problems

than the other. Assessment methods must target both the level of

actual development and the level of potential development.

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• The key to "stretching" the learner is to know what is in that person's ZPD—what comes next, for them. It is common in constructing skills check-lists to have columns for "cannot yet do", "can do with help", and "can do alone". The ZPD is about "can do with help", not as  a permanentstate, but as a stage towards being able to do something on your own.                                                                                                          

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What are the features of a constructivist classroom?

Tam (2000) lists the following four basic characteristics of constructivist learning environments, which must be considered when implementing constructivist teaching strategies:

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1) Knowledge will be shared between teachers and students.

2) Teachers and students will share authority.

3) The teacher's role is one of a facilitator or guide.

4) Learning groups will consist of small numbers of heterogeneous students.

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What are the pedagogical (i.e. teaching) goals of constructivist classrooms?

Honebein (1996) summarizes the seven pedagogical goals of constructivist learning environments:

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1) To provide experience with the knowledge construction process (students determine how they will learn).

2) To provide experience in and appreciation for multiple perspectives (evaluation of alternative solutions).

3) To embed learning in realistic contexts (authentic tasks).

4) To encourage ownership and a voice in the learning process (student centered learning).

5) To embed learning in social experience (collaboration).

6) To encourage the use of multiple modes of representation, (video, audio text, etc.)

7) To encourage awareness of the knowledge construction process (reflection, metacognition)

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Brooks and Brooks (1993) list twelve descriptors of

constructivist teaching behaviors:

1.  Encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative.

2.  Use raw data and primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive, and physical materials.

3.  When framing tasks, use cognitive terminology such as “classify,” analyze,” “predict,” and “create.” 

4.  Allow student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies, and alter content.

5.  Inquire about students’ understandings of the concepts before sharing [your] own understandings of those concepts.

6.  Encourage students to engage in dialogue, both with the teacher and with one another.

7.  Encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions and encouraging students to ask questions of each other.

8.  Seek elaboration of students’ initial responses. 

9.  Engage students in experiences that might engender contradictions to their initial hypotheses and then encourage discussion.

10.  Allow wait time after posing questions.

11.  Provide time for students to construct relationships and create metaphors. 

12.  Nurture students’ natural curiosity through frequent use of the learning cycle model.

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Critical Evaluation

Strengths:

Constructivism promotes a sense of personal agency as students have ownership of their learning and assessment.

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Limitations:

The biggest disadvantage is its lack of structure. Some students require highly structured learning environments to be able to reach their potential.

It also removes grading in the traditional way and instead places more value on students evaluating their own progress, which may lead to students falling behind, as without standardized grading teachers may not know which students are struggling.