Date post: | 02-Jul-2015 |
Category: |
Education |
Upload: | fixitrightnow |
View: | 122 times |
Download: | 2 times |
ConstructivismPresented by Ernie Vela
What is Constructivism?
Bredo 1997: thinking takes place in
situations and that cognitions are
largely constructed by individuals as a
function of their experiences in these
situations.
Learning and development highlight
the contributions of individuals to what
is learned.
What is Constructivism?
What do social constructivists say?
◦ They further emphasize the importance of
social interactions in acquisition of skills
and knowledge.
What is Constructivism?
It is not a theory but rather an epistemology, or philosophical explanation about the nature of learning (Hyslop-Margison & Strobel, 2008; Simpson, 2002).
Learners create their own learning.
Constructivism makes general predictions that can be tested.
What is Constructivism?
Rather than viewing knowledge as a
truth, constructivists construe it as a
working hypothesis.
A person’s constructions are true to
that person but not necessarily to
anyone else.
What is Constructivism?
All knowledge, then, is subjective and
personal and a product of our
cognitions.
Learning is situated in contexts.
Constructivism Assumptions
It shares with social cognitive theory
the assumption that persons,
behaviors, and environments interact
in reciprocal fashion. (Bandura, 1986,
1997)
A key assumption of constructivism is
that people are active learners and
develop knowledge for themselves
(Geary, 1995).
Constructivism Assumptions
Its basic premise is that learners
construct understandings underlies
many learning principles.
It underlies the emphasis on the
integrated curriculum in which
students study a topic from multiple
perspectives.
So how do you teach in a
constructivist setting? Teachers should not teach in the
traditional sense of delivering instruction to a group of students.
They should structure situations such that learners become actively involved with content through manipulation of materials and social interaction.
Activities include observing phenomena, collecting data, generating and testing hypothesis, and working collaboratively with others.
Perspectives on
ConstructivismPerspective Premises
Exogenous The acquisition of knowledge
represents a reconstruction of the
external world. The world influences
beliefs through experiences, exposure
to models, and teaching. Knowledge is
accurate to the extent it reflects
external reality.
Endogenous Knowledge derives from previously
acquired knowledge and not directly
from environmental interactions.
Knowledge is not a mirror of the
external world; rather, it develops
through cognitive abstraction.
Dialectical Knowledge derives from interactions
between persons and their
environments. Constructions are not
invariably tied to the external world nor
wholly the workings of the mind.
Rather, knowledge reflects the
outcomes of mental contradictions that
Exogenous Constructivism
Refers to the idea that the acquisition of knowledge represents reconstruction of structures that exist in the external world.
When is it useful?◦ When we are interested in determining
how accurately learners perceive the structure of knowledge within a domain.
Endogenous Constructivism
Mental structures are created from earlier structures, not directly from environmental information.
Knowledge develops through the cognitive activity of abstraction and follows a generally predictable sequence.
When is it useful?◦ It is relevant to explore how learners develop
from novices through greater levels of competence.
Dialectical constructivism
Knowledge derives form interactions between persons and their environments.
When is it useful?◦ It is should be implemented when designing
interventions to challenge children’s thinking and for research aimed at exploring the effectiveness of social influences such as exposure to models and peer collaboration.
Situated Cognition
A core premise of constructivism is
that cognitive processes (including
thinking and learning) are situated
(located) in physical and social
contexts.
Situated Cognition involves relations
between a person and a situation;
cognitive processes do not reside
solely in one’s mind.
Situated Cognition
Relevant to motivation.
◦ Depends on cognitive activity in
interaction with sociocultural and
instructional factors, which include
language and forms of assistance such as
scaffolding.
◦ Addresses the intuitive notion that many
processes interact to produce learning.
Situated Cognition
Instructional Implication
◦ Teaching methods should reflect the
outcomes we desire in our learners.
If we are trying to teach them inquiry skills, the
instruction must incorporate inquiry activities.
The method and the content must be properly
situated.
Contributions and
Applications Rather recent
Difficult to determine contributions because it’s approach is not a unified one that offers specific hypotheses to be tested.
Social cognitive theory emphasizes the roles of expectations and goals; these beliefs and cognitions do not arise from nowhere but, rather are constructed from learners.
Contributions and
Applications
Drawbacks:
◦ Emphasis on relativism
◦ Nature may constrain our thinking more
than we wish to admit.
◦ May downplay the importance of human
cognitive structures.
Contributions and
Applications Important implication for instruction
and curriculum design:
◦ Involve students actively in their learning
and to provide experiences that challenge
their thinking and force them to rearrange
their beliefs.
Constructivism and Teaching
Emphasis on integrated curricula and
having teachers use materials in such
a way that learners become actively
involved.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive
Development
Cognitive Development depends on four factors:
◦ biological maturation
◦ experience with the physical environment
◦ Experience with the social environment
◦ Equilibration : refers to a biological drive to produce an optimal state of equilibrium (or adaptation) between cognitive structures and the environment.
Equilibration
It coordinates the actions of the other
three factors and makes internal
mental structures and external
environmental reality consistent with
each other.
Equilibration
Assimilation
◦ Fitting external reality to the existing
cognitive structure.
Accommodation
◦ Changing internal structures to provide
consistency with external reality.
Mechanisms of Learning
Equilibration is an internal process.
◦ Cognitive development can occur only
when disequilibrium or cognitive conflict
exists.
◦ Piaget felt that development would
proceed naturally through regular
interactions with the physical and social
environments.
Mechanisms of Learning
Learning will be optimal when
cognitive conflict is small and
especially when children are in
transition between stages.
Information must be partially
understood (assimilated) before it can
promote structural change
(accommodation).
Implication of Piaget’s theory for
education
Understand cognitive development
Keep students active
Create incongruity
Provide social interaction
Piaget’s Theory
It is constructivist because it assumes
that children impose their concepts on
the world to make sense of it
(Byrnes,1996).
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural
Theory
More emphasis on the social
environment as a facilitator of
development and learning.
Vygotsky
Humans have the capacity to alter the
environment for their own purposes.
His theory stresses the interaction of
(social), cultural-historical, and
individual factors as the key to human
development.
Key points in Vygotsky’s
Theory Social interactions are critical; knowledge is
coconstructed between two or more people.
Self-regulation is developed through internalization of actions and mental operations that occur in social interactions.
Human development occurs though the cultural transmission of tools(language, symbols).
Language is the most critical tool. Language develops from social speech, to private speech, to covert (inner) speech.
The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the difference between what children can do on their own and what they can do with assistance from others. Interactions with adults and peers in the ZPD promote
Vygotsky’s Theory
One’s interactions with the
environment assist learning.
The experiences one brings to a
learning situation can greatly influence
the outcome.