Constructivism
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Constructivism is a learning theory that suggests people actively construct their own understanding and knowledge through experiences and reflecting on those experiences. Key founders of constructivism include Jean Piaget and John Dewey. According to constructivism, learning involves a process of assimilation of new information and accommodation or adjustment of existing knowledge. Constructivism emphasizes hands-on, active learning and problem solving over rote memorization. It suggests learning occurs through collaboration and social interaction.
Constructivism
- 2. Md. Mehadi Rahman Protiva Sultana Israt Jahan Sumi 18th Batch Evaluation and Educational Research(EER) IER University of Dhaka
- 3. Constructivism • Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. • When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know.
- 4. Founder of Constructivism : Jean Piaget
- 5. History • Early educational philosophies did not place much value on what would become constructivist ideas; children's play and exploration was seen as aimless and of little importance. • Jean Piaget did not agree with these traditional views, however. He saw play as an important and necessary part of the student's cognitive development and provided scientific evidence for his views. • Today, constructivist theories are influential throughout the formal and informal learning sectors
- 6. Influential Constructivist • John Dewey (1859–1952) • Maria Montessori(1870–1952) • Jean Piaget (1896–1980) • Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) • Heinz von Foerster (1911–2002) • George Kelly (1905–1967) • Jerome Bruner (1915–)
- 7. Theory of constructivism Formalization of the theory of constructivism is generally attributed to Jean Piaget, who articulated mechanisms by which knowledge is internalized by learners. He suggested that through process of accommodation and assimilation individuals construct new knowledge from their experiences.
- 8. Assimilation and Accommodation • Assimilation occurs when a learner adds new information, basically layering it on top of the old. • Accommodation occurs when a learner must change previously learn information before placement of new information is possible. • Explanation: Assimilation is like placing files in a file cabinet, while accommodation is like needing to add new folders or rearranging existing ones.
- 10. Constructivism is a learning theory • Learning is an active process • Knowledge is constructed from (and shaped by) experience. • Learning is a personal interpretation of the world • Emphasizes problem solving and understanding • Uses authentic tasks, experiences, settings, assessments • Content presented holistically –not in separate smaller parts
- 11. Constructivism is a process –the instructor • Adapt curriculum to address students’ suppositions • Help negotiate goals and objectives with learners • Pose problems of emerging relevance to students • Emphasize hands on, real world experiences‐ ‐ • Seek and value students’ points of view • Social context of content
- 12. Constructivism is a process –the instructor • Provide multiple modes of representations / perspectives on content • Create new understandings via coaching, moderating , suggesting • Testing should be integrated with the task and not a separate activity • Use errors to inform students of progress to understanding and changes in ideas
- 13. Constructivism is a process –the student • Help develop own goals and assessments • Create new understandings (via coaching, moderating, suggesting) • Control learning (reflecting) • Member of community of learners • Collaborate among fellow students • Learn in a social experience –appreciate different perspectives • Take ownership and voice in learning process
- 14. Constructivism is an instructional strategy • Involves collaboration between instructors, students and others (community members) • Tailored to needs and purposes of individual learners • Features active, challenging, authentic and multidisciplinary learning.
- 15. Constructivism is an instructional strategy • Constructivism can help students – Pursue personal interests and purposes – Use and develop his or her abilities – Build on his or her prior knowledge and experiences – Develop life long learning‐ • Constructivism encourages instructors to provide for each student’s – Preferred learning style – Rate of learning – Personal interactions with other learners Source
- 16. Applying constructivism in the classroom • Pose problems that are or will be relevant to students • Structure learning around essential concepts • Be aware that students’ points of view are windows into their reasoning • Adapt teaching to address students’ suppositions and development • Assess student learning in context of teaching
- 17. Pedagogy Various approaches in pedagogy derive from constructivist theory. They usually suggest that learning is accomplished best using a hands-on approach. Learners learn by experimentation, and not by being told what will happen, and are left to make their own inferences, discoveries and conclusions.
- 18. Traditional Classroom Constructivist Classroom Begins with parts of the whole – emphasizes basic skills Begins with the whole – expanding to parts Strict adherence to fixed curriculum Pursuit of student questions / interests Textbooks and workbooks Primary sources / manipulative materials Instructor gives / students receive Learning is interaction building on‐ what students already know Instructor assumes directive, authoritative role Instructor interacts / negotiates with students Assessment via testing / correct answers Assessment via student works, observations, points of view, tests. Process is as important as product Knowledge is inert Knowledge is dynamic / changes with experiences Students work individually Students work in groups
- 19. Strengths of Constructivism • Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners. • Education works best when it concentrates on thinking and understanding, rather than on rote memorization. Constructivism concentrates on learning how to think and understand. • Constructivist learning is transferable. In constructivist classrooms, students create organizing principles that they can take with them to other learning settings.
- 20. • Constructivism gives students ownership of what they learn, since learning is based on students' questions and explorations, and often the students have a hand in designing the assessments as well. • Students in constructivist classrooms learn to question things and to apply their natural curiosity to the world. • Constructivism promotes social and communication skills by creating a classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas. • Constructivist assessment engages the students' initiatives and personal investments in their journals, research reports, physical models, and artistic representations. .
- 21. Weakness of Constructivism • The biggest disadvantage is its lack of structure. Some students require highly structured environments in order to be able to excel. • Constructivism calls for the teacher to discard standardized curriculum in favor or a more personalized course of study based on what the student already knows. This could lead some students to fall behind of others. • 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 but without standardized grading and evaluations teachers may not know that the student is struggling. Since there is no evaluation in the traditional sense, the student may not be creating knowledge as the theory asserts, but just be copying what other students are doing.
- 22. Weakness of Constructivism • Another disadvantage is that it can actually lead students to be confused and frustrated because they may not have the ability to form relationships and abstracts between the knowledge they already have and the knowledge they are learning for themselves. • Constructivism can have its place in the learning system, but as an absolute learning system it has some flaws. Students may benefit with some constructivism principles integrated into the classroom setting, however, most students need more structure and evaluation to succeed.
- 23. Constructivism summary • Shifts emphasis from teaching to learning • Individualizes and contextualizes students’ learning experiences • Helps students develop processes, skills and attitudes • Considers students’ learning styles • Focuses on knowledge construction, not reproduction • Uses authentic tasks to engage learners • Provides for meaningful, problem based thinking‐ • Requires negotiation of meaning • Requires reflection of prior and new knowledge • Extends students beyond content presented to them
- 25. Thank you all
- 26. Reference • Christie, A. (2005). Constructivism and its implications for educators. http://alicechristie.com/edtech/learning/constructivism/index.htm • Clarkson, B., & Brook, C. (n.d.). I can’t understand why I didn’t pass: Scaffolding student activities. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/pdf/clarkson.pdf • Grabowski, B. (2004). Generative learning contributions to the design of instruction and learning. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (3rd ed.), pp. 719-743. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. • Grennon Brooks, J., & Brooks, M. G. (1999). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
- 27. • Honebein, Peter. C. (1996). Seven goals for the design of constructivist learning environments. In Wilson, Brent. G. (Ed.). (1996) Constructivist learning environments: case studies in instructional design. Educational Technology Publications Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey • Lorsbach, A. (n.d.). The learning cycle as a tool for planning science instruction. http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/scienceed/lorsbach/257lrcy.htm • Murphy, E. (1997). Thirteen Ed Online (2004). Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching and learning. http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html