He Constructivism In psychology is a set of theories that claim that people build our own understanding and knowledge about the world through experience.
When we find something new, we have to integrate it with the ideas that we had previously and the experiences lived before, perhaps changing our beliefs or, on the contrary, discarding the new information because it is irrelevant. To do this, we must ask ourselves questions, explore and evaluate what we already know.
Constructivism is a meta-concept. It is not just another way of knowing and learning: it is a way of thinking about knowing and learning.
There are several constructivist perspectives, but what unites all is the belief that learning is an active process, unique for each individual, which consists in the construction of conceptual relationships and meanings from the information and experiences that already exist In the apprentice's repertoire.
Constructivism claims that each person constructs their knowledge both individually and socially. The"glue"that holds together the constructs is the meaning that is given to each one. Knowledge is always an interpretation of reality, not an actual representation of reality.
The principles of constructivist learning
- The learner uses sensory inputs to create meaning.
- Learning consists both in building meaning and in building systems of meaning. Learning has several layers.
- Learning occurs in the mind. Physical activity may be necessary, but not sufficient on its own.
- Learning involves the use of language. Vygotsky believed that language and learning are intrinsically related.
- Learning is a social activity.
- Learning is contextual. We do not take individual facts from situations and contexts that are relevant to learning.
- Previous knowledge is necessary for learning. It is the basis of structure and the creation of meaning. The more we know, the more we can learn.
- Learning requires time; It is not spontaneous. Trainees find information, ponder it, use it, practice it, and experience it.
- Motivation is a necessary component, since it makes the sensory apparatus of people active. Relevance, curiosity, fun, sense of accomplishment, rewards and other motivating elements facilitate learning,
Main contributors to constructivist theories
Piaget
Jean Piaget (1896-1980), known for his extensive research related to Evolutionary Psychology , Explains the learning process (The organization of information), assimilation (the integration of new information into the schemas) and accommodation (the transformation of existing schemes or the creation of new schemes).
The motivation to learn is the predisposition that the learner has to adapt to his environment or, in other words, to create a balance between his own schemes and the environment that surrounds him. The continuous interactions between existing schemes, assimilation, accommodation and this balance is what creates new learning.
Piaget found four sequential phases in the psychological development of the young apprentice and believed that teachers should be cognizant of these phases. During the sensory-motor phase (before two years), sensory experiences and motor activities are dominant.
The intelligence Is intuitive by nature and knowledge is acquired through mental representation in the second stage, the preoperational (from two to seven years). In the stage of concrete operations (from seven to eleven years), intelligence is logical and dependent on concrete references.
In the stage of formal operations (after eleven years of age) the beginning of abstract thought occurs and the learner begins to elaborate thoughts on probabilities, associations and analogies.
Piaget's theory of learning and constructivism is based on discovery. According to their constructivist theory, to provide an ideal learning environment, children should be allowed to build knowledge that is meaningful to them.
Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), one of the most Famous psychological Thanks to his theory of social constructivism, believed that learning and development are collaborative activities and that children develop cognitively in a context of socialization and education.
The perceptual, attention and memory capacities of children are transformed by cognitive tools that are provided by culture, such as history, social context, traditions, language and religion.
For learning to occur, the child must have contact with the social environment on an interpersonal level and then internalize the experience.
The earliest experiences influence the child, who constructs new ideas from them. Vygotsky describes how being able to point with a finger starts out as a simple movement and then becomes meaningful when others react to the gesture.
Vygotsky's theory is known as Social constructivism For the importance it gives to culture and the social context. An important concept for Vygotsky is the zone of proximal development, defined as"the distance between the actual development of a child as determined by independent problem resolution and the level of potential development determined by problem-solving guided by An adult or in collaboration with other partners"(Vygotsky, 1978).
This concept suggests that cognitive development is limited to a certain range at a given age. However, with the help of social interaction, such as mentoring (an adult), students can understand concepts and schemes they might otherwise not understand.
Bruner
The theory about constructivism of Bruner (1915-2016) embraces the idea of learning as an active process in which new ideas are formed based on both current and past knowledge. A cognitive structure, in Bruner's theory, is defined as the mental process that gives the learner the ability to organize experiences and derive meaning from them.
These cognitive structures allow the learner to construct new concepts. The apprentice, who is usually a child, will take parts of the knowledge and experiences he already has and organize them to give meaning to what he already knows.
The resources used by the teacher should be focused on encouraging the student to discover things for himself. Communication between the learner and the teacher is the key concept in this context.
Bruner's theory gives much emphasis to the significance of categorization in learning. "To perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorize". The interpretation of information and experiences according to similarities and differences between them is a key concept in their theory.
Bruner received influences from Piaget's ideas about cognitive development in children. During the 1940s, his earliest research focused on the impact of needs, motivations and expectations (mental constructs) and their influence on perception.
He also examined the role of strategies in the process that humans use to form categories, as well as the development of human cognition. He presented for the first time the idea that children solve problems they find actively and that they are able to explore difficult issues.
This idea did not coincide with the views that dominated education at that time, but even so, they found an audience.
Bruner introduced the ideas of"willingness to learn"and"spiral curriculum". He believed that any individual could learn at any stage of their development if the teaching adapts to their cognitive abilities. The spiral curriculum refers to the idea of revisiting basic ideas over and over again, building on them and developing them to a level of full understanding.
Bruner believed that intuitive and analytical thinking should be promoted and rewarded. I thought that intuitive skills were undervalued. For Bruner, understanding the fundamental structure of a subject was indispensable for learning. He saw categorization as a fundamental process in the structuring of knowledge. The details, he says, hold best if they are located within the context from which they come.
Applications in teaching
In the academic field, the constructivist view of learning can lead to various teaching practices. In a more general sense, it usually involves encouraging students to use active techniques such as experiments and problem solving to create more knowledge and then discuss how new knowledge changes their way of understanding the world.
Constructivist teachers encourage students to think about how the activity they are doing is helping them gain insight and knowledge.
By asking themselves questions and questioning their strategies, the student in a constructivist class becomes an"apprentice expert,"which provides him with useful tools for further learning. With an appropriate teaching environment in the classroom, students learn to learn.
As students become accustomed to constant reflection on their strategies and experiences, their ideas gain complexity and power and develop skills to integrate new information. One of the most important roles of the teacher is to encourage students to come to this process of learning and reflection.
The principles of constructivism applied to the design of a course
- Students come to classrooms with a concrete worldview.
- This world view acts as a filter for all your experiences and observations.
- Changing a person's vision of the world involves work.
- Students learn both from other students and from the teacher.
- Students learn from practice.
- When all participants have a voice in the classroom, it promotes the construction of new ideas and meanings.
- Constructivism works best when the learner prepares something to expose it to others. When the student prepares visual elements such as texts, graphics, web pages or activities in which others can participate, is involved in explaining materials to other students or working in a group, learning is especially powerful.
- It is convenient to emphasize the affective aspects in the learning, to make the instruction relevant for the learner, to help him to develop attitudes and beliefs that support him both for the current learning and for the following learnings and to balance the control of the teacher with the autonomy that must Be in a learning environment.
- Provide contexts, resources and facilities for self-learning as well as learning with other students in the form of group discussions, projects and collaborations.
- Promote and make aware the skills and attitudes that allow the student to assume responsibilities related to their own cognitive processes.
Nine characteristics of a constructivist teacher
- The teacher serves as one of the many resources that students can have, it is not necessarily the primary source of information.
- The teacher uses the student's answers for the planning of the following lessons and looks for the development of the initial answers of his students.
- The teacher makes the students participate in experiences that challenge their previous conceptions.
- The teacher encourages students to ask and discuss with each other by asking open-ended questions.
- The teacher helps students to understand their own cognitive processes (metacognition) using cognitive terminology such as classification, analysis, creation, organization, hierarchy, etc. When tasks are carried out.
- The teacher encourages the students to be autonomous and have initiative; Accept not always having control of the class.
- The teacher makes available to the students information and other resources.
- The teacher does not separate the process of knowing and learning from the process of discovering.
- The teacher facilitates a clear communication between students and him through written and verbal responses, from the point of view that communication comes from the understanding of the structure of the concepts that communicate. When students can clearly and meaningfully communicate concepts, they will have integrated the new learning.