Constructivism

Leigh's summary of Bowers, 2005Bowers, C. A. (2005). The false promises of constructivist theories of learning: A global and ecological critique (Vol. 14). Peter Lang Pub Inc.

(blog post)

• cognitive constructivism (Jean Piaget)
  • two processes:
    • assimilation (absorption of new information and experiences by one's existing cognitive structures - new knowledge “fits” existing structures, so no need for modification of those structures)
    • accommodation (when knowledge doesn't “fit” existing structures, structures are changed to accommodate new information)
  • lead to equilibrium, until there is “cognitive conflict” again
  • focus on individual as “cognizing subject”
• social constructivism (a:Lev Vygotsky)
  • world has primacy over individual
  • society as bearer of cultural heritage without which development of the mind is impossible
• order of learning
  • Piaget: construction within individual, then tests knowledge for viability by interacting with others
  • Vygotsky: reverse, learning in social context, then internalized

• The False Promises of Constructivist Learning by C. A. Bowers

(this list from Dougiamas, 1998Dougiamas, M. (1998). A journey into constructivism. )

• trivial/personal constructivism
  • Jean Piaget
  • “Knowledge is actively constructed by the learner, not passively received from the environment.”
  • focus on prior knowledge
• radical constructivism
  • Ernst von Glasersfeld
  • “Coming to know is a process of dynamic adaptation towards viable interpretations of experience. The knower does not necessarily construct knowledge of a “real” world.”
  • does not deny an objective reality, but says we have no way of knowing it
  • truth replaced with viability
  • “So how can people with different world views communicate? From a radical constructivist perspective, communication need not involve identically shared meanings between participants. It is sufficient for their meanings to be compatible (Hardy and Taylor, 1997). If neither of the parties does anything completely unexpected to the other, then their illusions of identically shared meaning are maintained (von Glasersfeld, 1990)”
  • focus still on individual learner as constructor, not on group learning
• social constructivism
  • the social world of the learner (including and beyond the classroom)
  • people trace their ideas back to Lev Vygotsky
  • dialectic, acquisition, participation Salomon & Perkins, 1998Salomon, G., & Perkins, D. N. (1998). Individual and social aspects of learning. Review of research in education, 23, 1--24. JSTOR.:
    • Individual learning can be less or more socially-mediated learning.
    • Individuals can participate in the learning of a collective, sometimes with what is learned distributed throughout the collective more than in the mind of any one individual.
    • Individuals and social aspects of learning in both of these senses, can interact over time to strengthen one another in a 'reciprocal spiral relationship'.
  • teaching strategies (@wood1995reflections)
    • teaching in contexts that might be personally meaningful to students
    • negotiating taken-as-shared meanings with students
    • class discussion
    • small-group collaboration
    • valuing meaningful activity over correct answers
• cultural constructivism
  • “wider context of cultural influences, including custom, religion, biology, tools and language”
  • “For example, the format of books can affect learning, by promoting views about the organisation, accessibility and status of the information they contain.”
  • impact of tools we use
    • ”@salomon1998individual identify two effects of tools on the learning mind. Firstly, they redistribute the cognitive load of a task between people and the tool while being used. For example, a label can save long explanations, and using a telephone can change the nature of a conversation. Secondly, the use of a tool can affect the mind beyond actual use, by changing skills, perspectives and ways of representing the world. For example, computers carry an entire philosophy of knowledge construction, symbol manipulation, design and exploration, which, if used in schools, can subversively promote changes in curricula, assessment, and other changes in teaching and learning.”
• critical constructivism
  • “a social epistemology that addresses the socio-cultural context of knowledge construction and serves as a referent for cultural reform”
  • critical theory of Jürgen Habermas
  • the promotion of communicative ethics, that is, conditions for establishing dialogue oriented towards achieving mutual understanding (@taylor1998constructivism)
    • a primary concern for maintaining empathetic, caring and trusting relationships
    • a commitment to dialogue that aims to achieve reciprocal understanding of goals, interests and standards
    • concern for and critical awareness of the often-invisible rules of the classroom, including social and cultural myths
• constructionism
  • Seymour Papert
  • “constructivism occurs especially well when the learner is engaged in constructing something for others to see”
  • “learning as `building knowledge structures' irrespective of the circumstances of the learning”
  • “this happens especially felicitously in a context where the learner is consciously engaged in constructing a public entity, whether it's a sandcastle on the beach or a theory of the universe”
    • artefacts?

• Jean Piaget, “inventor” of constructivism?
• Ernst von Glasersfeld, inventor of radical constructivism