Constructivist Principle

"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow."

- John Dewey

Constructivism
Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know.

In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different teaching practices. In the most general sense, it usually means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing. The teacher makes sure she understands the students' preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then build on them.

Proponents of the Constructivism Theory

 * John Dewey (1859–1952)
 * Maria Montessori (1870–1952)
 * Heinz von Foerster (1911–2002)
 * Ernst von Glasersfeld (1917–2010)
 * Paul Watzlawick (1921–2007)
 * David A. Kolb (1939–)

Foundations of Constructivism in Education
Constructivism, on the other hand, is led by the ideas of Jean Piaget and his theories of the four childhood stages of development. The theories of Constructivism are founded on the belief that “the child, at first directly assimilating the external environment to his own activity, later, in order to extend this assimilation, forms an increasing number of schemata which are both more mobile and better able to intercoordinate” (Piaget, 1955). Led by Piaget’s theory, Constructivists that currently practice education believe more in learning by doing. If a child is able to experiment for himself, the learning will be more profound. Constructivists then focus on a different aspect of education than Behaviorists, as Behaviorists focus more on how students respond to positive and negative reinforcement provided through an educator’s planned system of data presentation rather than on letting students be presented with stimuli and seeing how students learn on their own. In discussing educational theories, it is necessary to examine how they have influenced educational practices historically before we can analyze future implications. We will first discuss Behaviorism in educational practices historically and then shift to a discussion of Constructivism in educational practices historically, before moving into current practices founded on the theories of each and finally the future implications.

History of Constructivism in Education Technology
It is more difficult to define examples of Constructivism historically in educational scenarios, as there is a vast array of educational practices that would qualify as being more Constructivist in nature. These examples range from projects arranged by educators to have students learning by discovering on their own, to the simple daily activity of letting students interact with other students and learning a variety of lessons (in many different educational realms) just through this interaction. Teachers have been facilitating these educational events for a long time that is not easily defined. Constructivist theories, did, however, lay foundation for the design of curricula. Hypermedia and multimedia are examples of instructional technologies that are more Constructivist in nature. Along with the increased use of such educational technologies came the emphasis on problem solving. This is particularly Constructivist in theory, and though positive aspects of Behaviorism in learning have been identified, there has been a major shift toward more Constructivist learning situations involving problem solving (Sutton, 2003). The main argument is that learners actively construct their own knowledge based on their own experiences. It is now necessary to look at where these more historical examples of Behaviorism and Constructivism have led us in the present day.

Current Trends of Constructivism in Educational Technology
There is a huge push toward more of a Constructivist approach, however, when implementing instructional technologies. There are many supporters of this, and they provide a convincing argument. “One way forward is to switch our attention from the design of software packages (which act solely as storehouses of information) to an interactive problem-based environment in which the student assumes the key. With this profile in place, the learning task can be tailored to the student’s capabilities rather than the student having to fit in with the software designer’s generalized understanding of how learning should take place. The creation of these rich learning environments will also have to ensure that texts, reference sources, multimedia and communication facilities are fully integrated” (Shield, 2000). Learning, if taking place in authentic and real-world environments, and with relevance to the learner, is a “primary catalyst of knowledge construction” (Camp, 1999). We can clearly see the relevance that Constructivist ideals have in today’s educational practices, as real-world Constructivist learning situations are more motivating to students through practical application of knowledge. There is clearly a need for this learning as well as rote memorization, as much of what students will do as adults relies heavily on practical applications.

   

Principles in Learning based on Constructivism
What are some guiding principles of constructivist thinking that we must keep in mind when we consider our role as educators? I will outline a few ideas, all predicated on the belief that learning consists of individuals' constructed meanings and then indicate how they influence museum education.

1. Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input and constructs meaning out of it. The more traditional formulation of this idea involves the terminology of the active learner (Dewey's term) stressing that the learner needs to do something; that learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge which exists "out there" but that learning involves the learner s engaging with the world.

2. People learn to learn as they learn: learning consists both of constructing meaning and constructing systems of meaning. For example, if we learn the chronology of dates of a series of historical events, we are simultaneously learning the meaning of a chronology. Each meaning we construct makes us better able to give meaning to other sensations which can fit a similar pattern.

3. The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the mind. Physical actions, hands-on experience may be necessary for learning, especially for children, but it is not sufficient; we need to provide activities which engage the mind as well as the hands. Dewey called this reflective activity.)

4. Learning involves language: the language we use influences learning. On the empirical level. researchers have noted that people talk to themselves as they learn. On a more general level. there is a collection of arguments, presented most forcefully by Vigotsky, that language and learning are inextricably intertwined. This point was clearly emphasized in Elaine Gurain's reference to the need to honor native language in developing North American exhibits. The desire to have material and programs in their own language was an important request by many members of various Native American communities.

5. Learning is a social activity: our learning is intimately associated with our connection with other human beings, our teachers, our peers, our family as well as casual acquaintances, including the people before us or next to us at the exhibit. We are more likely to be successful in our efforts to educate if we recognize this principle rather than try to avoid it. Much of traditional education, as Dewey pointed out, is directed towards isolating the learner from all social interaction, and towards seeing education as a one-on-one relationship between the learner and the objective material to be learned. In contrast, progressive education (to continue to use Dewey's formulation) recognizes the social aspect of learning and uses conversation, interaction with others, and the application of knowledge as an integral aspect of learning.

6. Learning is contextual: we do not learn isolated facts and theories in some abstract ethereal land of the mind separate from the rest of our lives: we learn in relationship to what else we know, what we believe, our prejudices and our fears. On reflection, it becomes clear that this point is actually a corollary of the idea that learning is active and social. We cannot divorce our learning from our lives.

7. One needs knowledge to learn: it is not possible to assimilate new knowledge without having some structure developed from previous knowledge to build on.undefinedThe more we know, the more we can learn. Therefore any effort to teach must be connected to the state of the learner, must provide a path into the subject for the learner based on that learner's previous knowledge.

8. It takes time to learn: learning is not instantaneous. For significant learning we need to revisit ideas, ponder them try them out, play with them and use them. This cannot happen in the 5-10 minutes usually spent in a gallery (and certainly not in the few seconds usually spent contemplating a single museum object.) If you reflect on anything you have learned, you soon realize that it is the product of repeated exposure and thought. Even, or especially, moments of profound insight, can be traced back to longer periods of preparation.

9. Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it the case that motivation helps learning, it is essential for learning. This ideas of motivation as described here is broadly conceived to include an understanding of ways in which the knowledge can be used. Unless we know "the reasons why", we may not be very involved in using the knowledge that may be instilled in us. even by the most severe and direct teaching.