Social cognitive and constructivist views of learning

Social cognitive and Constructivist views of learning

PSYCHOLOGY

BY CHRISTOPHER LOPEZ

"Radical constructivism, thus, is radical because it breaks with convention and develops a theory of knowledge in which knowledge does not reflect an 'objective' ontological reality"

Paul Watzlawick

CONSTRUCTIVISM

Constructivism's central idea is that human learning is constructed, that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning. This prior knowledge influences what new or modified knowledge an individual will construct from new learning experiences (Phillips, 1995). The second notion is that learning is an active rather than a passive process. The passive view of teaching views the learner as ‘an empty vessel’ to be filled with knowledge, whereas constructivism states that learners construct meaning only through active engagement with the world (such as experiments or real-world problem solving). Information may be passively received, but understanding cannot be, for it must come from making meaningful connections between prior knowledge, new knowledge, and the processes involved in learning.

ASPECTS

Cognitive change only happens when previous knowledge goes through a process of Disequilibration

Social nature of learning and Learning groups

ROOTS

Piaget and Vygotsky

CHARACTERISTICS

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

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

"Students learn through social interaction"

SOCIAL LEARNING

Social learning theory is part of an evolution in how researchers have come to understand the human learning process. Beginning in the 1940s, researches began to suggest that learning occurred because of operant conditioning. Essentially, these researchers were suggesting that people learned based on whether their actions were rewarded or punished. At the same time other researchers were suggesting that human personality was a result of learned habits. These researchers argued that people were driven to imitate others, and that this drive was then reinforced through social interactions. These researchers were building on operant conditioning and suggested that initial drives led to behaviors that then became reinforced.

CHARACTERISTICS

-Children learn through social interaction. Adults and peers. -Exposure to the thinking process of others. Problem solvers talk themselves through problems to solve them. -Cooperative groups allow children to hear inner speech to learn how successful problem solvers think through their problems.

ZPD

The range of tasks that a child might not be able to do alone but can do with the assistance of peers or adults.

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COGNITIVE APPRENTICESHIP

Around 1987, Collins, Brown, and Newman developed six teaching methods — modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection and exploration. These methods enable students to cognitive and metacognitive strategies for “using, managing, and discovering knowledge”. Cognitive apprenticeship is a theory that emphasizes the importance of the process in which a master of a skill teaches that skill to an apprentice. Constructivist approaches to human learning have led to the development of the theory of cognitive apprenticeship.

Cognitive apprenticeship encourages reflection on differences between novices and expert performance, also encourages the development of self-monitoring and correction skills required for the problem solving to alternate among different cognitive activities.

COGNITIVE APPRENTICESHIP, TEACHING METHODS

1. Modeling:Experts (usually teachers or mentors) demonstrate a task explicitly. New students or novices build a conceptual model of the task at hand. For example, a math teacher might write out explicit steps and work through a problem aloud, demonstrating her heuristics and procedural knowledge. Based on Vygotsky’s, is the agent that guides instruction so that students will master and internalize the skills that permit higher cognitive functioning 2. Coaching: During Coaching, the expert gives feedback and hints to the novice. 3. Scaffolding: Scaffolding the process of supporting students in their learning. Support structures are put into place. In some instances, the expert may have to help with aspects of the task that the student cannot do yet. 4. Articulation: McLellan describes articulation as (1) separating component knowledge and skills to learn them more effectively and, (2) more common verbalizing or demonstrating knowledge and thinking processes in order to expose and clarify them. This process gets students to articulate their knowledge, reasoning, or problem-solving process in a domain” (p. 482).

TEACHING WITH CONSTRUCTIVISM

CONSTRUCTIVIST’S APPROACH TO TEACHING

The theory of constructivism is an approach to learning suggesting that children must construct their own understandings of the world in which they live. In comparison to behaviorism, the learner is not a blank slate (tabula rasa), but instead brings past experiences and cultural factors to a situation and new information is constructed from prior Next knowledge.Let's look at some observations and ways of teaching with constructivism:

1. Teachers should have lessons where “hands- on” experimentation, problem solving, logical reasoning, and authentic learning are emphasized.
2. Teachers should generally behave in an interactive manner mediating the environment for students where student questions are highly valued.
3. Teachers should seek the students point of view in order to understand student learning for use in subsequent lessons.
4. Assessment of student learning should be interwoven with teaching and occur through teacher observation of students at work and through presentations and portfolios.

CONSTRUCTIVIST’S APPROACH TO TEACHING

5. Provide scaffolding to extend student’s Zone of Proximal Development. 6. Involve students in activities which engage the mind as well as the hands. 7. Have students work in groups often. 8. Initiate group discussions and debates allowing students to share their own thoughts and opinions

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