© 2001Teresa Naves

Constructivism

© Nov, 2001 Teresa Naves Dpt Fil. Anglesa Universitat de Barcelona

tnaves@.ub.eduhttp://lada.fil.ub.es/Angles/ELTM/Naves/constructivism.ppt

© 2001Teresa Naves

The authors. Source: Martin Briner, 1999

Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky,Jean Jerome Lev1896-1980 1915 - 1896 - 1934

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Source: School Improvement in Maryland

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Source: School Improvement in Maryland

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Source: School Improvement in Maryland

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Soure: University of Bergen

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Source: Inspiration

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Source: Roberta H. Barba (1999) San Jose State University

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Piaget (1896 - 1980) Source: Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sud

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I. Piaget (1) Source: Martin Briner, 1999

• 1896-1980• Swiss psychologist and pioneer in the

study of cognitive development.• Best known for his research on the

development of cognitive functions in children.

• His theories became founding principles of the constructivist movement.

© 2001Teresa Naves

I. Piaget (2) Source: Martin Briner, 1999

• Children evolve through specific stages in which cognitive structures become progressively more complex

• There are four levels of cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

• In the final formal operational stage (11+ years), thinking includes abstract concepts. This allows analytical and logical thought without requiring references to concrete applications

© 2001Teresa Naves

I. Piaget (3) Source: Martin Briner, 1999

Learning occurs through adaptation to interactions with the environment.• Disequilibrium (mental conflict which demands resolution) gives rise to • Assimilation of a new experience which are added to existing knowledge, or • Accommodation, which is modification of existing understanding to provide for the new experience.

© 2001Teresa Naves I. Piaget (4) Source: Martin Briner

, 1999

Children in the concrete operational stage require learning activities that involve problems of locating, classifying, and ordering while using concrete objects.

© 2001Teresa Naves

I. Piaget (5) Source: Martin Briner

, 1999

Jean Piaget Society web sitehttp://www.piaget.org/

Piaget, J. (1929). The Child's Conception of the World. NY: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich.

Piaget, J. (1970). The Science of Education and the Psychology of the Child. NY: Grossman

© 2001Teresa Naves

II. Bruner (1) Source: Martin Briner

, 1999

•1915 - American psychologist

•Professor of psychology at Harvard (1952-72), Oxford (1972-80), and presently at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

•Wrote The Process of Education (1960), which emphasized curriculum innovation grounded in theories of cognitive development.

© 2001Teresa Naves

II. Bruner (2) Source: Martin Briner

, 1999

• Learning is an active, social process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on current knowledge.

• The student selects information, originates hypotheses, and makes decisions in the process of integrating experiences into their existing mental constructs.

© 2001Teresa Naves

II. Bruner (3) Source: Martin Briner

, 1999

• The teacher encourages students to discover principles by themselves. The teacher and students should actively discuss issues and concepts (i.e., socratic learning).

• The teacher must ‘translate’ ‘decode’ information to be learned into a form appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding.

© 2001Teresa Naves

II. Bruner (4) Source: Martin Briner

, 1999

• Informational page on Bruner, theories, writings at http://www.gwu.edu/~tip/bruner.html

• Bruner, J. (1960). The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

• Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

© 2001Teresa Naves

III. Vygotsky (1) Source: Martin Briner, 1999

• 1896 - 1934 Russian psychologist

• Originally a teacher and literary scholar

• Wrote Thought and Language (1962) and Mind in Society (1978), (both published posthumously in the West) which had a major influence on Soviet and Western psychology, especially regarding child development.

© 2001Teresa Naves

III. Vygotsky (2)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

• Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition.

• Everything is learned on two levels.

• First, through interaction with others,

• and then integrated into the individual's mental structure.

© 2001Teresa Naves

III. Vygotsky (3)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

A more experienced partner (whether peer or teacher) is able to provide "scaffolding" of the subject matter to support the student's evolving understanding.

© 2001Teresa Naves

III. Vygotsky (4)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

The potential for cognitive development is limited to a zone of proximal development.

The zone of proximal development is the area of exploration for which the student is cognitively prepared, but requires help and social interaction to fully develop.

© 2001Teresa Naves

IV. Vygotsky (5)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

• Students need socially rich environments in which to explore subjects with teachers and peers.

• Opportunities to work with more experienced peers are especially important to help the student develop a higher level of cognitive functioning.

• Support for learning can also come from instructional practices such as graphic organizers, guided practice, etc.

© 2001Teresa Naves

IV. Vygotsky (6)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

Cultural-Historical Psychology site with lots of Vygotsky references on the Web. http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/chp.html

• Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

• Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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What is constructivism? (1)Source: Generosa Cosa

Learning is a constructive process. Learners do not passively receive information but instead actively construct knowledge as they strive to make sense of their worlds.

Cobb (1996) Constructivism and Learning.

© 2001Teresa Naves

What is constructivism? (2)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

Constructivist learning is based on students' active participation in problem-solving and critical thinking regarding a learning activity which they find relevant and engaging.

© 2001Teresa Naves

What is constructivism? (3)Source: (Cannella & Reiff, 1994; Richardson, 1997).

Constructivism maintains that individuals create or construct their own new understandings or knowledge through the interaction of what they already know and believe and the ideas, events, and activities with which they come in contact

© 2001Teresa Naves

How is leaning acquired? (1)

Knowledge is acquired through involvement with content instead of imitation or repetition

(Kroll & LaBoskey, 1996).

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How is leaning acquired? (2) Source: Martin Briner, 1999

Learners construct their own knowledge by testing ideas and approaches based on their prior knowledge and experience, applying these to a new situation, and integrating the new knowledge gained with pre-existing intellectual constructs

© 2001Teresa Naves

Learning activities and Assessment (2)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

• Through trial and error, the student then balances pre-existing views and approaches with new experiences to construct a new level of understanding.

• Learning is then assessed through performance-based projects rather than through traditional paper and pencil testing.

© 2001Teresa Naves

Learning activities and Assessment (1)

Learning activities in constructivist settings are characterized by active engagement, inquiry, problem solving, and collaboration with others.

(Abdal-Haqq (1998) ED426986 )

© 2001Teresa Naves

Teacher’s roles (1)Source: Martin Briner, 1999

• The teacher is a facilitator or coach

• The teacher guides the student, stimulating and provoking the student's critical thinking, analysis and synthesis throughout the learning process.

• The teacher is also a co-learner.

© 2001Teresa Naves

Teacher’s roles (2)

• Rather than a dispenser of knowledge, the teacher is a guide, facilitator, and co-explorer who encourages learners to question, challenge, and formulate their own ideas, opinions, and conclusions.

• “Correct” answers and single interpretations are de-emphasized

(Abdal-Haqq (1998) ED426986 )

© 2001Teresa Naves

Constructivism vs. the default mode in education, vs. the ‘banking model’

• Oldfather, Bonds, and Bray (1994) characterize as the default mode in education —an empiricist/ reductionist approach to teaching and learning.

• Freire defines a banking model as one in which the teacher fills students with deposits of information considered by the teacher to be true knowledge, and the students store these deposits, intact, until needed.

• Cannella & Reiff (1994) label these traditional models as memory-oriented transmission models.

© 2001Teresa Naves

Comparing constructivism with traditional models

• Information acquired through transmission models is not always well integrated with prior knowledge and it is often accessed and articulated only for formal academic occasions such as exams (Richardson, 1997).

• Constructivist approaches, in contrast, are regarded as producing greater internalization and deeper understanding thantraditional methods. (Abdal-Haqq, 1998)

© 2001Teresa Naves

Summary by Linda van Ryneveld

1. emphasises learning and not teaching 2. encourages and accepts learner autonomy and

initiative 3. sees learners as creatures of will and purpose 4. thinks of learning as a process 5. encourages learner inquiry 6. acknowledges the critical role of experience in

learning

© 2001Teresa Naves

Summary by Linda van Ryneveld

7. nurtures learners natural curiosity

8. takes the learner's mental model into account

9. emphasises performance and understanding when assessing learning

10. bases itself on the principles of the cognitive theory

11. makes extensive use of cognitive terminology: as predict, create and analyze

© 2001Teresa Naves

Summary by Linda van Ryneveld

12. supports co-operative learning 13. involves learners in real world situations emphasises the context in which learning takes

place.14. considers students background knowledge, prior

knowledge: the beliefs and attitudes of the learner

15. provides learners the opportunity to construct new knowledge and understanding from authentic experience

© 2001Teresa Naves

Key words in Constructivism by Teresa Naves

• Meaningful learning

• Checking students background knowledge / prior knowledge

• Activating students chemata

• Raising expectations

• Hand-on activities

• High cognitive skills: classifying, sorting, listing, ordering, comparing, numbering, identifying,

© 2001Teresa Naves

Bibliography (1)

Abdal-Haqq, I. (1998). Constructivism in Teacher Education: Considerations for Those Who Would Link Practice to Theory. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education Washington DC., 1-800-LET-ERIC(ED426986), http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed426986.html.

Cannella, G. S., & Reiff, J. C. (1994). Individual constructivist teacher education: Teachers as empowered learners. TEACHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY 21(3), 27-38. EJ 498 429

DeJong, L., & Groomes, F. (1996). A constructivist teacher education program that incorporates community service to prepare students to work with children living in poverty. ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 18(2), 86-95. EJ 536 849

Fischetti, J., Dittmer, A., & Kyle, D. W. (1996). Shifting paradigms: Emerging issues for educational policy and practice. TEACHER EDUCATOR 31(3), 189-201. EJ 525 345

Kaufman, D. (1996). Constructivist-based experiential learning in teacher education. ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 18(2), 40-49. EJ 536845

Kroll, L. R., & LaBosky, V. K. (1996). Practicing what we preach: Constructivism in a teacher education program. ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 18(2), 63-72. EJ 536 947

MacKinnon, A., & Scarff-Seatter, C. (1997). Constructivism: Contradictions and confusion in teacher education. In V. Richardson (Ed.), CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHER EDUCATION: BUILDING NEW UNDERSTANDINGS (pp.38-55). Washington, DC: Falmer Press.

Martin, R. J. (1994). Multicultural social reconstructionist education: Design for diversity in teacher education. TEACHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY 21(3), 77-89. EJ 492 141

© 2001Teresa Naves

Bibliography (2)

Myers, C. B. (1996, April). BEYOND PDSs: SCHOOLS AS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES. A PROPOSAL BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF PDS EFFORTS OF THE 1990'S. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York. ED 400 227

Oldfather, P., Bonds, S., & Bray, T. (1994). Drawing the circle: Collaborative mind mapping as a process for developing a constructivist teacher education program. TEACHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY 21(3), 5-13. EJ 492 137

O'Loughlin, M. (1995). Daring the imagination: Unlocking voices of dissent and possibility in teaching. THEORY INTO PRACTICE 24(2), 107-116. EJ 512 860

Richardson, V. (1997). Constructivist teaching and teacher education: Theory and practice. In V. Richardson (Ed.), CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHER EDUCATION: BUILDING NEW UNDERSTANDINGS (pp. 3-14). Washington, DC: Falmer Press.

Teets, S. T., & Starnes, B. A. (1996). Foxfire: Constructivism for teachers and learners. ACTION IN TEACHER EDUCATION 18(2), 31-39. EJ 536 844

Vadeboncoeur, J. (1997). Child development and the purpose of education: A historical context for constructivism in teacher education. In V.

Richardson (Ed.), CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHER EDUCATION: BUILDING NEW UNDERSTANDINGS (pp. 15-37). Washington, DC: Falmer Press.

Wolffe, R. J., & McMullen, D. W. (1996). The constructivist connection: Linking theory, best practice, and technology. JOURNAL OF COMPUTING IN TEACHER EDUCATION 12(2), 25-28. EJ 526 775