Constructivism
Strengths:
·
Learning occurs through experience
·
Personal experiences play a factor in the
learning process
·
Teachers guide learning process vice dictating
lessons
·
Learner interests serve as source of motivation
to gain knowledge
Weakness:
·
Learning processes could lose momentum with a
decline in motivation
·
Loosely structured, exploratory learning could
result in wandering, off-topic learning
·
Since personal experiences are the foundation,
constructivism could seem inappropriate for younger learners
Practical application:
I have worked in the field of
aviation maintenance for 21 years. You
may wonder what an aircraft maintainer could have to offer in the way of
learning theory. I have worked on a wide
range of electronics and aircraft platforms.
Each time I report to a new duty station, I must learn how to conduct
the necessary maintenance on the newest equipment. Every experience adds to my foundational
knowledge providing me large base from which to launch my latest learning
experience. As you can see, much of my training
has been designed to follow the theory of constructivism. Often times we use a concept of see one, do
one, teach one. This is a scaffolded
approach to learning. First, we gain
foundational knowledge about a new process or skill. This may occur in a
classroom setting, through self-paced, online lessons, or direct
observations. The next step is to do
one. Under the guidance of an
experienced technician or maintainer, we perform tasks reinforce the lesson and
gain practical experience. Finally, we
demonstrate mastery of the process or skill by teaching it to the next
generation of learners, thus completing the cycle.
The best application of this
concept for distance education would include a combination of asynchronous and synchronous
lessons. Asynchronous, self-paced
lessons which include a blending of theory and demonstration could be used to
build foundational knowledge. This would
be followed by guided practice sessions.
Guided sessions could be asynchronous, self-paced lessons which walk the
learner through tasks step-by-step. Each
step would offer opportunities to check work for accuracy and self-correction
as needed. Synchronous, facilitator
guided online lessons would offer learners an opportunity to demonstrate skills
while gaining immediate feedback.
Finally, leaners could assume the role of online facilitator or mentor
to help teach or guide the next generation of learners.
Hi Dale,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the blog on constructivism. I believe that scaffolding in learning is highly effective because it allows the teacher to help develop a learner’s abilities; it helps them reach their fullest potential and is critical for teachers to show the learners how to use new tools in order to obtain a correct perspective on reality. The scaffolding approach is part of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD). Slavin (2009) states for instruction to be suitable, the teacher must plan tasks within the student’s ZPD and also assist learners in learning the task or event (pg. 45).
Blessings,
Sarah
Reference:
Slavin, R. (2009). Educational psychology theory and practice, 9th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Yes, I agree. Scaffolding also seems to be a good way to allow students of various experience levels work together in a mentoring type of relationship.
ReplyDeleteHi Dale,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you divided your ideas into bullet points. It a great way to organize a post so that it's easy to read. You have provided some great examples of constructivism in your field. I wonder...how will you integrate these principles into your ISD project?
Hi Justin,
ReplyDeleteI like constructivism but I very much so believe in a hybrid learning theory. I don't believe any theory is all correct or all wrong. The hole I find in constructivism is that it leave no room for pure acquisition. I mentioned on Justin's blog that as a chemistry teacher there is a boatload of material that I have to cover that student's have no prior knowledge to fall back on. Other that that i am good with the theory. Thanks for your post and be blessed.
Hi Allen,
DeleteIt's actually Dale. Justin Utherguy (pronounced "just another guy's") is a play on words. I think constructivism lends itself well to the hybrid learn theory. As I was considering this post, I noticed that in some ways constructivism supported element of other theories. This support comes from the teacher/facilitator guiding the process. Thanks.
Dale (aka Justin)
Dale,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think you did an excellent job outling the strengths and weaknesses of constructivism theory. I definitely agree that if lessons are not structured and monitored appropriately than exploratory learning could result in students getting off task and not meeting the goals established by the lesson. I enjoyed reading how your experience in the military uses the consructivist theory in working with aircraft maintenance. In my experience in teaching and working in the military I believe that the constructivist model works better the older people get. Once students are out of middle school and high school whether in college, technical school, or in the military people are more intrinsically motivated and exploration learning can be more successful. I teach middle school and if I use explorative learning it can be succesful, but only if I constantly guide the students through the process and still then only some students will get the the desired outcome. Many students will let their group members do the work and never put forth the effort. Teachers that use constructivism in their classroom need to make sure that all students are learning from the experience.
Thanks
Dennis
Thanks Dennis. In some ways, I think constructivism can be view as a flighty concept where learning happens all willy nilly. That is why the teacher as a facilitator of learning is so very important to the process. The challenge for us is to mitigate the teacher's role in a distance learning application of the process.
DeleteDale