Tenets+of+Constructivism

//Major Tenets of Constructivism //
If the goals of instruction are self-directed learners, capable of high level critical thinking and problem solving through collaboration - what kind of environment, instructional strategies and learning opportunities are most likely to support this?

If the primary emphasis is on the //process// of knowledge construction - how can the teacher facilitate a genuinely collaborative, active, hands-on, relevant learning environment?

//All references are from the course readings, therefore we have not included a reference list. //
// Theorists: Gagne, Piaget, Bruner (Sprial curriculum), Ausubel, Vygotsky. // || //Theorists: Vygotsky, Bruner. // || //Theorists: Spiro. // || //Theorists: As Bruner says, "learning in most settings is a communal activity, a sharing of culture." (Driscoll, p. 396) and Vygotsky suggests that learning and higher cognitive processes develop through social interaction - hence the importance of collaboration. // || //Theorists: Spiro. // || //Theorists: Hannafin, (1992), Perkins (1991), and Duffy & Cunningham (1996). // || // Theorists: Dewey theory of active learning, Piaget’s cognitive structures through manipulation of environment // || //Theorists: Bruner. // || //Theorists: Bruner's discovery learning, Spiro. // || //Theorists: Spiro. // || // Theorists: Spiro suggest using multiple models, metaphors and analogies to provide 'multiple interpretations' of the same information. (Driscoll, p. 398) T he use of multimedia can be an additional, excellent support in enabling the same content information to be viewed through a variety of sense modalities. ////Students are free to select a variety of resources, including technological, to assist in generating solutions. (Driscoll, p. 405) // || //Theorists: Vygotsky, Bruner, situated cognitive theorists. // || //Theorists: Spiro’s cognitive flexibility theory. // || //Theorists: Spiro, Jonassen (1999). // || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Vygotsky’s cognitive and cultural tools, Jonassen (1999), Bruner’s discovery learning, Collins & Stevens (1983), Spiro. || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: //Bruner’s discovery learning. || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: //Bruner’s discovery learning. || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: //Bruner’s cognitive representation theory. || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: //Vygotsky, Bruner’s discovery learning and guided practice. || Theorists: Bruner's discovery learning. || Theorists: Bruner's guided practice. || Theorists: Bruner’s guided practice, modeling of conduct of inquiry, and “considering matters as a historian does”. || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Theorists: //Collins & Stevens (1983) Model of inquiry teaching: Instructional strategies. || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: Bruner's discovery learning and conduct modelling. // || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: Bruner's discovery learning and guided practice // || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: Vygotsky, and Bruner's discovery learning and guided practice. // || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Theorists: //Vygotsky. || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Theorists: Bruner's discovery learning. // || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: Vygotsky's cognitive and cultural tools. // || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Theorists: Vygotsky and Bruner's theories of social feedback. // ||
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** 1. Construction of knowledge ** // ||  ||
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">a. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**The instructor considers the learner’s prior knowledge and organization in order to activate and relate it to new knowledge**. ////<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">This situates the Zone of Proximal Development where the instructor gradually supports movement of the learner to independence. //
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Problems and projects include scaffolding that support multiple interpretations, starting points, and intellectual abilities.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> c. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Learners have access to resources which can be used in knowledge construction and problem solving.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> d. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Learners actively learn by affecting or manipulating their environment and its parameters to construct a product or conclusion.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> e. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Various multimedia provide a resource and medium in which to create, manipulate and debate knowledge, instead of acting as an instructional delivery method.** //
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** 2. Process, not product ** // ||  ||
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> a. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**The learning process allocates control of instruction to learners. Learners set their own goals, research, analyze and organize topics (info) and the relationships between them.** //
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**The learning environment tasks the learner with creating or constructing representations of individual meaning.** ////<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Learners acquire, translate, and transform information into knowledge or meaningful representations through either assimilation (adding to their existing understanding) or accommodation (creating new interpretations and organization of their understanding) based on its viability in their current model of the world. //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> c. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Learners systematically gather and evaluate information in order to ensure that it serves and purposes their learning goals.** ////<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Models, to help guide this discovery process, are part of the learning environment. //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> d. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Learning environment (content and tools) should be realistic and complex allowing for the development of knowledge in context in which all relevant material is available but not pre-specified.** //
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** 3. Multiple perspectives ** // ||  ||
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> a. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Use of technology affords additional modes of social negotiation and collaboration allowing learners to share and reconcile multiple dissonant perspectives or strategies and find synergistic solutions.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> b. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Technology, materials, facilitator or peers provide multiple interpretations and models that enables the learner to systematically revisit, rearrange and re-purpose material from different conceptual perspectives.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Learners are encouraged and given opportunities to collaborate** . //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">d. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Learners are encouraged to create meaningful interpretations and models/schema of understanding by systematically interpreting and consolidating a variety of perspectives on a subjective reality.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">e. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Relevant cases, stories, information or patterns are rich and authentic representations of real world situations or problems.** //
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** 4. Situated cognition ** // ||  ||
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">a. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**The learning environment provides question/issue based, case-based, project-based, or problem-based learning to solve a 'real' problem.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Problems are in context with all relevant factors supplied thereby providing scaffolding or cues for activating relevant prior knowledge.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**The problems are relevant and open-ended producing interest, curiosity and engagement.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">d. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**The learning environment provides an authentic situation or simulation of the real-world problem.** //
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** 5. Reflexive cognition ** // ||  ||
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">a. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Students are required to self-regulate and self-reflect - metacognition allows students to understand their process of knowledge construction.** //
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Teachers and students analyze their perspectives, assumptions, and theories on the subject and their learning processes.** //
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Students are expected to explain the steps in their active inquiry based problem solving process and knowledge construction.** //
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">d. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Students are required to think about their thinking and think like “experts” in subject area.** //
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** 6. Cognitive apprenticeship ** // ||  ||
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> a. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Peers or teachers understand the appropriate components and conduct necessary to support the active learning process.** ////<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Examples: create need or interest in problem, encourage quest for knowledge and inquiry, practice Socratic questioning, encourage discovery of different applications for knowledge, etc. //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Peers or teachers model the behaviour and the cognitive processes necessary.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> c. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Modelling and coaching improve students understanding and skills in the task area.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> d. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Scaffolding supports the learning process and extends the student`s abilities in task performance. Example: templates that provide guidelines for inquiry.** //
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** 7. Process-based evaluation ** // ||  ||
 * || //<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">a. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Assessment tests learning outcomes by assessing student`s ability to access, relate, apply and transfer skills.** Example: assessment does not require students to verbally regurgitate rules or procedures. //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">b. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Learners self-evaluate by setting goals, determining strategies and evaluating their own learning.** When solving authentic open-ended problems, students often encounter questions, beyond their prior knowledge, requiring self-regulated learning in order to gain a deeper understanding of a problem. //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">c. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Cognitive tools enables students to apply knowledge in practice thereby allowing them to move beyond verbal description of their skills.** //
 * || //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">d. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Self assessment, team or peer assessment, and facilitators' assessment are part of the evaluation process. Peer and self assessment and review leads to engagement and meaningful feedback.** //