UNIT 3.
3 COGNITIVE PROCESS
MODULE 14: CONSTRUCTIVISM: KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION/
CONCEPT LEARNING
Take the Challenge!
In this Module, challenge yourself to:
explain the role of constructivism in facilitating learning.
describe strategies to promote knowledge construction
describe strategies to facilitate concept learning.
Introduction
This Module discusses constructivism which was mentioned in
the previous modules of Piaget and Bruner. It is the distillation
off most of the principles of cognitive psychologist.
Advance Organizer
CONSTRUCTIVISM
CHARACTERISTICS
VIEWS OF ORGANIZING
OF
CONSTRUCTIVISM KNOWLEDGE
CONTRUCTIVISM
INDIVIDUAL
CONSTRUCTIVISM
SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTIVISM
ACTIVITY
Read the quotation below:
“ Teaching is not about filling up the pail; it is about
lighting a fire”
-Williams Butler Years Treats
What concepts/ideas/images came to your mind when you read
“Teaching as filling up the pail”?
Elaborate._______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
What concepts/ideas/images came to your mind when you read
“Teaching is about lighting a fire” Elaborate. -
_________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Abstraction/Generalization
So far, you have studied about both the behavioristic and
cognitive views of learning. Behaviorism focused on the external,
observable behavior. Learning is explained as a connection
between the stimulus and the response. Reinforcement is the key
to learning. Behaviorists saw learning as a change in behavior
brought about by experience with little acknowledgement of the
mental or internal aspects of learning. On the other hand, the
cognitive view focuses on the internal processes. Learning is an
active process. Learners initiate experiences, search for
information to solve problems, and reorganize what they already
know to come up with new insights.
In the quotation above, "filling up the pail" is more linked
to rote learning and behaviorism. It connotes that teaching is
dominated by the teacher and the learners are passive receivers
of knowledge. "Lighting the fire" is related to the cognitive
perspective and constructivism. It signifies that teaching
involves giving opportunities for learners to explore and
discover. Learners construct their own meaning. Learners generate
insights and are "enlightened”.
More associated with cognitive psychology than behaviorism,
constructivism focuses on knowledge construction. You were
introduced to constructivism in Module 14 on Bruner's theory.
Just as there are different views within cognitive psychology,
constructivism also has different “versions”.
Two Views of Constructivism
Individual Constructivism. This is also called cognitive
constructivism. It emphasizes individual, internal construction
of knowledge. It is largely based on Piaget's theory. Proponents
of this type choose child-centered and discovery learning. They
believe the learners should be allowed to discover principles
through their own exploration rather than direct instruction by
the teacher.
Social Constructivism. This view emphasizes that "knowledge
exists in a social context and is initially shared with others
instead of being represented solely in the mind of an
individual". It is based on Vygotsky's theory. Here, construction
of knowledge is shared by two or more people. According to social
constructivists, the opportunity to interact and share among
learners help to shape and refine their ideas. Knowledge
construction becomes social, not individual.
Characteristics of Constructivism
Whether one takes the individual or social view of
constructivism, there are four characteristics that these two
views have. According to Eggen and Kauchak, these are:
1. Learners construct understanding. As discussed earlier,
constructivists do not view learners as just empty vessels
waiting to be filled up. They see learners as active thinkers who
interpret new information based on what they already know. They
construct knowledge in a way that makes sense to them.
2. New learning depends on current understanding. Background
information is very important. It is through the present views or
scheme that the learner has that new information will be
interpreted.
3. Learning is facilitated by social interaction. Constructivists
believe in creating a "community of learners" within classrooms.
Learning communities help learners take responsibility for their
own learning. Learners have a lot of opportunities to cooperate
and collaborate to solve problems and discover things. Teachers
play the role of a facilitator rather than an expert who has all
the knowledge.
4. Meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning tasks. An
authentic task is one that involves a learning activity that
involves constructing knowledge and understanding that is so akin
to the knowledge and understanding needed when applied in the
real world. Example, a writing activity where six-year olds
prepare a checklist of things they need to do in school is a more
an authentic activity than for them to be working only on tracing
worksheets with dotted lines.
Organizing Knowledge
Concepts. A concept is a way of grouping or categorizing
objects or events in our mind. A concept of teach, includes a
group of tasks such as model, discuss, illustrate, explain,
assist, etc. In your life as a student you would learn thousands
of concepts, some simple ones, others more complicated that may
take you to learn them more gradually. The concepts you learn are
also revised as you learn more and experience more.
Concepts as Feature Lists. Learning a concept involves
learning specific features that characterize positive instance of
the concept. Included here are defining features and
correlational feature. A defining feature is a characteristic
present in ALL instances. Example, a triangle has three sides.
Having three sides is a defining feature of a triangle because
ALL triangles should have three sides. If one doesn't, then it is
not a triangle. A correlational feature is one that is present in
many positive instances but not essential for concept membership.
For example, a mother is loving. Being loving is a feature
commonly present in the concept mother. But a mother may not be
loving. So "being loving" is only a correlational feature, not a
defining one.
Concepts as Prototypes. A prototype is an idea or a visual
image of a "typical example. It is usually formed based on the
positive instances that learners encounter most often. Example,
close your eyes now and for a moment think of a cat. Picture in
mind what it looks like You probably thought of the an image of
the common cat we see, rather than some rare breed or species.
Once learners have their own concept prototypes, the new examples
that they see are checked against this existing prototype.
Concepts as Exemplars. Exemplars represent a variety of
examples. It allows learners to know that an example under a
concept may have variability. Example. A learner's concept of
vegetable may include a wide variety of different examples like
cauliflower, kangkong, cabbage, string beans, squash, com,
potatoes. When he encounters a new type of vegetable like
"bitsuelas”, he would search from the exemplars he knows and
looks for one that is most similar, like string beans.
Making Concept-learning Effective. As a future teacher, you can
help students learn concepts by doing the following:
Provide a clear definition of the concept.
Make the defining features very concrete and prominent
Give a variety of positive instances
Give negative instances
Cite a "best example" or a prototype
Provide opportunity for learners to identify positive and
negative instances
Ask learners to think of their own example of the concept
Point out how concepts can be related to each other
Schemas and scripts. A schema is an organized body of
knowledge about something. It is like a file of information you
hold in your mind about something. Like a schema of what a
teacher is. A script is a schema that includes a series of
predictable events about a specific activity. Examples would
include knowing the series of steps done when we visit a doctor,
or what transpires at the beginning of the class when the teacher
arrives.
Your role as a teacher is to bring learners to construct
their own knowledge such that they have a well organized set of
concepts. Aim to make clear those concepts that are still vague
for them, and to pave the way for them to overcome
misconceptions. It is important that you acquire skills an how to
facilitate concept formation and development. Constructivism can
be an excellent guide for you.
Applying Constructivism in Facilitating Learning
Aim to make learners understand a few key ideas in an in-
depth manner, rather than taking up so many topics
superficially
Give varied examples.
Provide opportunities for experimentation.
Provide lots of opportunities for quality interaction
Have lots of hands-on activities.
Relate your topic to real life situations.
Do not depend on the explanation method all the time
ASSESSMENT:
Name: ______________________________________ Yr. & Sec:
________________
1. Think of a topic related to your field of specialization.
2. Indicate how you can apply constructivism for your students
to construct their own understanding of the topic. The first
one is partially done for you.
Constructivist Implications What will I do to teach the
topic
Have few key ideas. I will emphasize the following key ideas:
Give varied examples
Provide opportunities for
experimentation
Provide lots of opportunities for
quality interaction
Have a lots of hand-on activities
Relate your topic to real life situations
Do not depend on the explanation
method all the time.
