Constructivism
Key Terms and Concepts
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Constructed Knowledge
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Stages of Development
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Active Engagement
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Intrinsic Motivation
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Exploration and Inquiry
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Zone of Proximal Development
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Prior Knowledge
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More Knowledgeable Others
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Scaffolding Theory
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Social Constructivism
Theorists
Jean-Jacques Piaget = Proposed the basic assumption of Constructivism: background, perceptions, and perspective affect learning (not just environment and experience as Behaviorists believed). Learners are active participants in learning, not passive vessels of knowledge imparted by the teacher.
Lev Vygotsky = Specified the ideas of Social Constructivism: Interaction plays a key role in learning, with emphasis on language to communicate ideas and attach meaning. Moving students into a Zone of Proximal Development (what the student can do with assistance from a More Knowledgeable Other like the teacher or more abled peer) is necessary to push the student to increasingly challenging tasks.
Jerome Bruner = For students to build on prior knowledge, they need proper scaffolding from the teacher which will be reduced over time until the student is independent in the task.
For more details, see https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
This infographic was created in Adobe Spark using a free stock photo and icons. I chose to use this application because I am already familiar with Canva. Though I favor Adobe products for photography and graphic design, I found this is not quite as user-friendly as I had hoped. I will try some of these other tools in the future: https://www.creativebloq.com/infographic/tools-2131971
Teaching and Learning Scenario, continued…
My Behaviorist scenario involved a pre-test to measure prior knowledge in identifying reliability and bias in sources. Students received differentiated instruction and modeling through computer-assisted explanations/examples and practice with “Choose Your Own Adventure” scenarios with positive and negative outcomes. A student could only move on to the research project after demonstrating proficiency/mastery on a post-test.
A complementary learning experience that demonstrates Constructivism involves social interaction (discussions, collaboration, groups) and the Zone of Proximal Development (what they can do with assistance from More Knowledgeable Others). First students find 3 sources for their chosen research topic, demonstrating that they can already use a computer database or search engine to find sources that are relevant to their topic. A social constructivist would suggest the class next create a collaborative Google Doc with their own “checklist” and rubric for evaluating sources for reliability and bias. To spark engagement, the teacher could present them with a debatable source and ask them if and how biased articles can be used in academic research. The teacher might also provide scaffolding here by reviewing the project rubric or giving them a guided chart to fill out as they evaluate their sources. The teacher would assign small groups of 2-3 with at least one student with a stronger pre-test score in each group, representing a More Knowledgable Other through peer interaction (and those students have access to the teacher as their MKO). Groups share articles looking for evidence of reliable sources and any significant bias in the language/argument. When ready, the group presents their conclusions to the teacher and gets feedback before they can proceed to the next step in their research project.
The premises of constructivism embedded in this instruction are:
1) Students will develop more if they have ownership in what they are learning;
2) It is important for the teacher to know what the student can already do and what they already think;
3) Assistance to the learner can be from a variety of sources;
4) Collaboration helps give context and meaning to student learners; and
5) Even though there are no black-and-white answers here a mutually-constructed set of criteria can be used to evaluate strong/weak, acceptable/unacceptable. This experience would be best suited for a hybrid/blended learning experience and possibly synchronous online courses using video conferencing and collaborative applications.
Sources:
Brooks, M. G., & Brooks, J. G. (1999). The Courage to Be Constructivist. Educational Leadership: The Constructivist Classroom, Volume 57(Number 3). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov99/vol57/num03/The-Courage-to-Be-Constructivist.aspx
Tchoshanov, M. (2013). Engineering of Learning: Conceptualizing e-Didactics. Retrieved May 24, 2020, from http://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214730.pdf