Philosophy_Constructivism

"The constructivist philosophy basically states that human learning is constructed and that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning"(Hoover, 1966). Dr. George Hein(1991) of Leslie College in Massachusetts defines constructivism as a philosophy that focuses on the learner, not on the work or the lesson to be taught. He believes that learning is not just understanding "the true nature of things", but taking available information and actually doing something with it, constructing some kind of thought process. Apparently Gestalt theory is the underlying philosophy of constructivism. Gestalt describes how people tend to "organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes when certain principles are applied". This process of organization is a way to reconstruct the knowledge currently being learned to fit with previously acquired concepts and experiences into a schema that makes the information make sense to the learner. This process of interaction is what the constructivists see as the catalyst for learning. Since learning must be constructed Dr. Hein additionally states that although hands on activities are very important to the learning process, developing an engaged learner is even more vital. Their motivation and interest in the learning process is a vital component. Students must acknowledge or develop an understanding of the value of the information. In other words, "Knowledge is power", if the learner can see how the information can serve a useful purpose in his life.
According to Irene Chen there are two strands of constructivisim: cognitive constructivism and social constructivism. Congnitive constructivists, like Jean Piaget, believe that learning is developmental and that if children are given developmentally appropriate materials, they will constuct meaning and learning on their own by interacting with that material. Experience with developmentally appropriate content and materials is very important to this type of educational environment. Social constructivists have some of the same theories about the way children learn, but they place more importance on the social aspect of discovery through experience.

A constuctivitist curriculum refers to raw data, primary sources, and interactive materials to provide experiences for students. It would include more than the textbook as a souce of information. (SEDL, 1995) For example, rather than reading from a textbook about animals, students would use a variety of resources to research the animal and create their own knowledge base. An example of a fourth grade science webquest is an example. A geometry activity on "Which Container Holds the Most" is another example. Students must be allowed to apply current understandings to new situations. "In the last ten years, many researchers have explored the role computers can play in constructivist teaching. Roger Schank, Seymour Papert, and Marcia C. Linn among others have demonstrated that computers often can provide an appropriate creative medium for students to express themselves and demonstrate their acquirement of new knowledge. Online collaboration projects and web publishing have both proved to be an exciting new way for teachers to engage their students. But because constructivism can require extended periods of classroom time and individualized attention to students, some educators have resisted its adoption and continue to support a drill-and-practice approach to learning. Schank and others have responded by arguing that this is merely proof of a faulty education culture in which teaching methods haven't evolved in 100 years, thus proving its obsolescence " (Mahoney). I have difficulty taking parts of this quote sitting down. The pragmatist in me says that if it isn't broken, don't fix it. Some practices do need to be kept. Many others do need to change though, and I believe that some school systems may be inching toward a curriculum that provides authentic learning opportunites for engaged learners with real world applications. But as I recall reading about the origins of education which began with learners being instructed through involvement within tribes and communities to insure survival of the community and the culture, I begin to wonder, is it really a new idea?

Philosophers such as Jean Piaget developed their cognitive theories on learning by "actually observing children (some of whom were his own children). Using a standard question or set of questions as a starting point, he followed the child's train of thought and allowed the questioning to be flexible. Piaget believed that children's spontaneous comments provided valuable clues to understanding their thinking. He was not interested in a right or wrong answer, but rather what forms of logic and reasoning the child used (Singer, 1978). " (Wanda Y. Gin) Other constructivists believe that there is no one set method for research, although much constructivist research has been defined as qualitative (Clark). Clark stated that constructivists believe that the researcher serves as an instrument in the investigation and the ideal would be to have that individual's research abilities "honed" to make them viable as a resource.

Early Philosophers

Wikipedia lists several early philosophers as being influential in the constructivist philosophy: Heraclitus (Everything flows, nothing stands still.); Protagoras (Man is the measure of all things.); and Aristotle.

Jean Piaget (1896–1980)

Piaget is probably one of the most prominent constructivist philosophers of our time. He is most well known for his development of the four stages of cognition. He developed his theory by actually observing children using a process of flexible questioning. He would then use the children's responses as clues to understand their thinking. He believed that although every child passed through the same stages, they may do so at different ages in their lives. The stages are sensorimotor (birth - 2 years), preoperational ( 2 -7 years), concrete operational ( 7-11 years), formal operational ( 11 years and up). Piaget believed that the acquisition of knowledge was an active process. He felt that knowledge had to be constructed and reconstructed by the learner and the child had to be "ready" to learn the knowledge. According to Ginn, Piaget believed that "intellectual growth involves three fundamental processes: assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration." Piaget's curriculum is centered on the learner. Children should be allowed to make mistakes with the idea that they will learn from them. Computer technology and software do fit in with Piaget's theories of discovery if students are allowed to interact with resources that do no promote rote practice and memorization, but that encourage interactivity such as multimedia, hypermedia, and virtual reality (Ginn).

Jerome Bruner (1915- Present)

Bruner is a psycologist who is a currently research fellow at New York University School of Law. Many of Bruner's ideas and theories were influenced by those of Piaget. His ideas were based on the study of cognition. He believed that "learning was an active process where learners construct new ideas based on their current or past knowledge. He believed that instruction should address four major aspects: (1) predisposition towards learning, (2) the ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner, (3) the most effective sequences in which to present material, and (4) the nature and pacing of rewards and punishments. "(Bruner, 1966) . In his book The Process of Education (1960), Bruner saw "children as active problem-solvers who are ready to explore 'difficult' subjects" (Hoyle).

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Vygotsky lived after the time of the Russian Revolution and was influenced by the ideas of Marxism which really stressed cooperation and sharing while deemphasizing personal accomplishments and goals. The success of any individual was seen as reflecting the success of the culture. Vygotsky believed that indivdiuals developed through interactions with others and their development was very specific to their culture. Piaget on the otherhand, believed that the development came in stages. He believed that children learn through the dialectical process of shared problem solving. These ideas then would label him as a social constructivist. Vygotsky came up with two ideas of intellectual development: actual development, what a child can do on his own, and potential development, what a child can do with help. Actual development referred to a child's achievement on a standardized test while potential development refers to what a child can do with additional assistance. Children at the same level of actual develoment, might be at different levels of potential development.

The constructivist method of learning is a process that is socially and cognitively developmental and "the individual’s social, emotional, and cognitive development is the result of a progression of natural tendencies which have occurred as a result of natural selection and evolution" (Matthews, 2003). Constructionists believe that human beings go through stages of development and to interupt or go against these stages is to prohibit learning in one form or another. According to the NEA the process of education is more important than the performance of education, according to Matthews.

Another difficulty associated with this process is the amount of time that it may take for some children to "discover" the desired information. Current grading practices, NCLB, and testing time constraints often realistically prohibit this process. In addition, materials needed to nurture the discovery process may also not be available in many school settings. "Therefore while language has been shown to develop as a function of immersion (at least for the child) and requires only implicit direction, there is no evolutionary or scientific basis to assume the same is true for the skill of writing or mathematics. In fact the evidence strongly suggests that both skills are a function of explicit learning strategies and instruction and are unlikely to develop through only immersion for most children. Gough and Hillinger (1980) argue that literacy is an “unnatural act” and as such “training plays a far greater role in the learning process than it does for something with such a large biological contribution as language”(Foorman, 1995, p. 378).

The advantage to a constructivist curriculum is that the learner is actively engaged in authentic learning opportunities and may be more motivated to progress to the desired objectives.

Piaget's theories have influenced me a great deal in the sense that I truly believe that children need to be developmentally ready to receive information. I value the practice of discovery in many areas of learning, particularly in math and science. However, in the context of NCLB, time constraints with regard to testing dates, and rigid structures of schedules and daily activities within the classroom, much of the available time needed for the discovery process must be rushed. The journey of discovery is so rewarding for the teacher and the student. It's the moment that "the lightbulb" goes on and it's a wonderful thing. But it's a process that makes me sweat bullets each day that I work the process and check my time lines for gauging progress toward all my objectives . However, I continue to see a recent effort to work toward authentic learning activities that actively engage learners in the discovery of concepts. In my opinion, the comprehensive curriculum and associated GLE's for each grade level do not necessarily allow for children to cover information at a developmentally appropriate stage because many children arrive in the class more prepared than others for the learning that must occur. Maybe I should restate that to say that the curriculum, within the time frame of testing structures, makes it difficult to allow children to work through the discovery process and their developmental stages to a sufficient degree. I have truly enjoyed the time that my class has had using a mobile laptop lab. Each child has their own computer and can work on projects that really inspire them to create something that they consider to be useful. It's been amazing to watch children with special needs who struggle and sometimes seem reluctant to attend to some learning processes, get so involved in researching information for their presentation that they don't want to leave or stop what they're doing. Computers are the world that they either know, or want to know. Setting up webpages for the year and having this lab, even for a month, has given me the ability to differentiate my instruction more fully and easily. I also have time to spend with more needy students because those who are more advanced than others are so willing to share what they know. It's a source of pride for them. I really do believe that project based instruction, and especially the projects that involve technology of one sort or another, is one incredible way for students to willingly and easily construct knowledge that is authentic, realistic, and interesting to them. It's one way for teachers to easily differentiate and inspire students to classify, analyze, and create.