CONSTRUCTIVISM

Constructivism is a learning theory found in psychology which explains how

people might acquire knowledge and learn. It therefore has direct application to
education. The theory suggests that humans construct knowledge and meaning
from their experiences. Constructivism is not a specific pedagogy. Piaget's theory
of Constructivist learning has had wide ranging impact on learning theories and
teaching methods in education and is an underlying theme of many education
reform movements. Research support for constructivist teaching techniques has
been mixed, with some research supporting these techniques and other research
contradicting those results.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

Jean Piaget asserted that children learn actively through an exploration of their
environment. Piaget’s learning theory looks through a developmental lens, and
considers stages of knowledge acquisition to be directly linked to a child’s
developmental stage (Piaget, 1968). Piaget’s work led to his theory of ‘genetic
epistemology’, and has contributed greatly to the development of constructivist
theory. Piaget’s concepts of assimilation, accommodation, and subsequent
equilibration support the constructivist view that learning is constructed upon the
existing schematic web of the learner.
L.S. Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Vygotski is arguably the lead contributor to current understanding of constructivism. Not to

negate cognitive and developmental theories that support constructivism, but Vygotskian
theory articulates the importance of socialization to learning, and that in fact, higher order
learning such as problem solving, proceeds social interaction (Driscoll, 2005). As social
interaction occurs within a cultural context, we assume cultural importance to a social
constructivist learning environment. Vygotsky’s support of the cognitive and developmental
capability of a learner is synthesized in his Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). We have
come to understand that this zone is a stage of cognitive/developmental growth where a
learner can be lead through scaffolding to accommodate new learning. There are many
current applications of Vygotskian theory, including the grouping of multi-age learners where
the role of teacher/learner is dynamic and shared.

Jerome Bruner (1915 ~)

Not to be shadowed by the work of Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner’s contribution to

constructivist theory is significant, especially in the realm of discovery learning.
Similar to Piaget’s developmental theory, Bruner suggests that a learner’s knowledge
is represented in three stages; enactive, iconic, and symbolic. Unlike Piaget, these
stages or realms of knowledge representation are not age dependent, thus it is
assumed that a learner may be at any stage of learning. This idea provides credence
 to differentiated instruction, and to treating a classroom as a diverse learning
community rather than one of a specific grade requiring a standard approach.

C o n s t r u c ti v i s m
During the 1930s and 1940s, constructivism was the leading
perspective among public school educators in the United States. In this
theory, the emphasis is placed on the student rather than the teacher.
Teachers are seen as facilitators or coaches who assist students
construct their own conceptualizations and solutions to problems.

The main ideas underpinning constructivism learning theories are not

new. They began with the insights of Socrates who claimed that there
are basic conditions for learning that are in the cognition of the
individual (Kanuka & Anderson, 1998). But it was Piaget's theory of
intellectual growth that had the primary influence on the development of
current positions. Specifically, Piaget first emphasized the processes of
conceptual change as interactions between existing cognitive structures
and new experience

Within this theory falls two schools of thought, social constructivism and
cognitive constructivism:

1. Lev Vygotsky , a Russian psychologist and philosopher in the 1930's,

is most often associated with the social constructivist theory. He
emphasizes the influences of cultural and social contexts in learning
and supports a discovery model of learning. This type of model places
the teacher in an active role while the students' mental abilities develop
naturally through various paths of discovery.

2. Cognitive constructivism is based on the work of Jean Piaget . His

theory has two major parts: an ages and stages component that
predicts what children can and cannot understand at different ages, and
a theory of development that describes how learners develop cognitive
abilities. Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that
humans cannot be given information, in which they immediately
understand and use. Instead, learners must construct their own
knowledge. They build their knowledge through experience.
Experiences enable them to create schemas — mental models of the
world. These schemas are changed, enlarged, and made more
sophisticated through two complimentary processes: assimilation and
accommodation.

Cognitive constructivism is based on two different senses of

construction. First, on the idea that people learn by actively
constructing new knowledge, not by having information poured into their
heads. Moreover, constructivism asserts that people learn with
particular effectiveness when they are engaged in constructing
personally meaningful artifacts (e.g. computer programs, animations).

The selection, scope, and sequencing of the subject matter[edit]

Knowledge should be discovered as an integrated whole [edit]

Knowledge should not be divided into different subjects or compartments, but should be
discovered as an integrated whole.[18][26]
This also again underlines the importance of the context in which learning is presented.
[4]
The world, in which the learner needs to operate, does not approach one in the form of
different subjects, but as a complex myriad of facts, problems, dimensions, and perceptions.
[23]

Engaging and challenging the learner[edit]

Learners should constantly be challenged with tasks that refer to skills and knowledge just
beyond their current level of mastery. This captures their motivation and builds on previous
successes to enhance learner confidence.[16] This is in line with Vygotsky's zone of proximal
development, which can be described as the distance between the actual developmental
level (as determined by independent problem-solving) and the level of potential
development (as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in
collaboration with more capable peers).[13]
Vygotsky (1978) further claimed that instruction is good only when it proceeds ahead of
development. Then it awakens and rouses to life an entire set of functions in the stage of
maturing, which lie in the zone of proximal development. It is in this way that instruction
plays an extremely important role in development. [13]
To fully engage and challenge the learner, the task and learning environment should reflect
the complexity of the environment that the learner should be able to function in at the end of
learning. Learners must not only have ownership of the learning or problem-solving
process, but of the problem itself.[31]
Where the sequencing of subject matter is concerned, it is the constructivist viewpoint that
the foundations of any subject may be taught to anybody at any stage in some form. [30]This
means that instructors should first introduce the basic ideas that give life and form to any
topic or subject area, and then revisit and build upon these repeatedly. This notion has been
extensively used in curricula.
It is important for instructors to realize that although a curriculum may be set down for them,
it inevitably becomes shaped by them into something personal that reflects their own belief
systems, their thoughts and feelings about both the content of their instruction and their
learners.[17] Thus, the learning experience becomes a shared enterprise.
The emotionsand life contexts of those involved in the learning process must therefore be
considered as an integral part of learning. The goal of the learner is central in considering
what is learned.[4][23]
The structuredness of the learning process [edit]

It is important to achieve the right balance between the degree of structure and flexibility
that is built into the learning process. Savery (1994) contends that the more structured the
learning environment, the harder it is for the learners to construct meaning based on their
conceptual understandings. A facilitator should structure the learning experience just
enough to make sure that the students get clear guidance and parameters within which to
achieve the learning objectives, yet the learning experience should be open and free
enough to allow for the learners to discover, enjoy, interact and arrive at their own, socially
verified version of truth.[28]
In adult learning[edit]

Constructivist ideas have been used to inform adult education. Current trends in higher
education push for more "active learning" teaching approaches which are often based on
constructivist views.
Approaches based on constructivism stress the importance of mechanisms for mutual
planning, diagnosis of learner needs and interests, cooperative learning climate, sequential
activities for achieving the objectives, formulation of learning objectives based on the
diagnosed needs and interests. While adult learning often stresses the importance of
personal relevance of the content, involvement of the learner in the process, and deeper
understanding of underlying concepts, all of these are principles that may benefit learners of
all ages as even children connect their every day experiences to what they learn.

Summary of Existentialism
December 11, 2017Existentialism
[We are] condemned to be free; because once thrown into the
world, [we are] responsible for everything [we do.] ~ Jean-Paul
Sartre

A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears

toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to
an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life.
He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear
almost any “how”. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Existentialism is a philosophical movement whose origins are

in the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) and
the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900).
Other major figures in the movement include: Karl
Jaspers (1883 – 1969), Martin Heidegger (1899 – 1976), Albert
Camus (1917-1960) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 – 1980).
Existential philosophy is incredibly rich and diverse and its
proponents include communists, socialists, atheists, theists,
and nihilists. Despite this diversity, almost all existentialists
share a few basic ideas that are relevant for our discussion.

Kierkegaard’s rejection of a “rational and philosophical”

Christianity serves as a starting point for our deliberation. He
believed that Christianity erred by trying to be reasonable
when it should be based on faith. Faith isn’t a matter of
affirming certain rational propositions, but of acting in a
certain way. Kierkegaard made this point in his famous
retelling of the biblical story of Abraham and his son Isaac. It
wasn’t reasonable for Abraham to sacrifice (kill) his son simply
because God asked him to. Instead, following the orders of his
God was an act of faith. From an ethical point of view Abraham
action was immoral, but for Kierkegaard faith and religion
transcend reason and ethics.

These considerations lead to the first basic idea of

existentialism: reason is an inadequate instrument with which
to comprehend the depth, mystery, and meaning of
life. Reason’s limitations were poignantly described by the
Russian novelist Feodor Dostoyevsky who said that while
reason satisfies our rational selves, desire is the real
manifestation of life. But Western philosophy began when the
Greeks used reason to understand the world, and Greek
rationalism sought rational and objective foundations of
knowledge, meaning, truth, and value.

The existentialists reject this tradition. They repudiate the

abstract, obtuse, specialized, esoteric, and formal subtlety
which divorces the intellect from life. They maintain that life
isn’t an equation or riddle to be rationally resolved; it’s more of
a mystery to be lived. Reason can’t resolve our most pressing
existential concerns; for example, it can’t tell us the meaning
of life. Theory, speculation, and metaphysical and moral
abstraction are worth less than concrete reality.
Thus existentialism emphasizes concrete, personal experience
over rational abstractions. This is its second basic idea.

The emphasis on the concrete is captured in the existential

dictum “existence precedes essence.” This means that we
exist first, as particular, concrete, human subjects before we
are defined by any universal, objective form or essence.
Existence refers to ‘that a thing is,” while essence refers to
“what a thing is.” For instance, the essence of the four-legged,
tail-wagging thing we often see is “dogness.” That is what is.
But existentialists deny that there is any human nature or
essence that tells us what we are or what we ought to do;
rather, we exist first as concrete human subjects and then
proceed to create our essence. Fate or a God don’t determine
us, we determine ourselves. It is up to us whether we become
saints or sinners, and moral theories can’t tell us what to do.
Intellectual theories are too detached from life to provide
guidance in our concrete lives. Theories may provide the
rationale for human actions, but they can’t command our
assent.

We can easily see how moral theories can’t make us do

anything. The prescriptions of natural law, a social contract,
the categorical imperative, or the net utility can’t command
our conduct because we can always ask, “Why follow these
theories?” Moral theories may define our moral duties and
obligations, but they mean nothing without personal
commitment. Action “x” may violate the natural law, the social
contract, the categorical imperative, and the greatest
happiness principle but, “so what?” That violation doesn’t tell
us we shouldn’t do “x.” These theories assume ethics is
objective, that some actions really are right or wrong. By
contrast, existentialists emphasize the human subject as the
ultimate source of morality. Only when we commit ourselves to
some course of action do we fully act as moral agents.

The emphasis on personal commitment brings us to

a third basic idea of existentialism: human beings are radically
free. We are the ones who create the meaning, truth, and value
in our lives, and we are totally responsible for our lives. We
often claim to be unable to do certain things, but in fact, we
don’t do them because we don’t want to. If we wanted to do
them we would. For instance, the fact that it’s wrong to steal
doesn’t prevent us from doing it, only we can do that. True, we
can’t do everything—we can’t fly—but we can choose from our
available options and, in the process, create our selves. Thus
existentialists claim that moral theories which derive from
rational thinking are defective because they emphasize
personal abstraction over experience, and they can’t account
for the role that human freedom—manifested by personal
commitment—plays in the moral domain.

In modern parlance, the word existential also refers to

philosophical concerns with an individual’s question for
answers to questions about life, death, and meaning. But
existentialism is much more. It is a deep and rich philosophy
which I urge my readers to further investigate. The best
introduction to existentialism for the general reader that I
know of is William Barrett’s, Irrational Man: A Study in
Existential Philosophy. I taught out of it years ago and learned
much from it. Good luck.)