"On the constructivist view of learning, the learner constructs their
own knowledge and the knowledge is conceived to be organized more as
a network (cognitive structure - see later) than as a brick wall
(Novak, 1985; Strike and Postner, 1985)."
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Folks:
The posting below takes another look at consturctivist learning. It
is from Chapter 9
Reflection in learning - some fundamentals of learning, part 1, in
Reflection in Learning & Professional Development,Theory & Practice
by Jennifer A Moon. Kogan Page, 120 Pentonville Road London N1 9JN,
UK (www.kogan-page.co.uk). 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling VA
20166-2012, USA. © Copyright Jennifer Moon, 1999. The right of
Jennifer Moon to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988. ISBN 0 7494 2864 3 (hbk) ISBN 0 7494 3452 X (pbk).
Reprinted with permission.
Regards,
Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Book Reviews Revisioned
Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning
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THE CONSTRUCTIVIST VIEW OF LEARNING
The recent developments in student learning have been based a
constructivist philosophy. Previous emphases in studies of teaching
and learning had focused on the activity of the teacher, suggesting
that the structure of teaching - or of instruction - is the key to
learning. This view implies that knowledge is transmitted from the
teacher to the learner. It stresses the content and organization of
the curriculum as being the basis of learning and implies that
knowledge is built from ideas, they replace them like bricks in a
wall. On this empiricist model of teaching and learning, the
learner's prior academic ability and knowledge is seen as a guide to
the teacher's strategy (Prosser, 1987) and its role in a new learning
for the learner is as a foundation on which the new learning is built
or sometimes the foundation may be replaced.
Under the influence of such thinkers as Kelly (1955) and Rogers
(1961), there was a movement towards a view of learners as the
determinants of what is learnt. On this learner-centred
constructivist view, the teacher's role is that of a facilitator of
the learning, and the prior ability and knowledge of the learner
determines the learner's approach to a learning task. This view
conceives of a more active role for learners, particularly for those
who choose to be engaged in meaningful learning (see below) where
their intentions become more significant than those of the teacher.
On the constructivist view of learning, the learner constructs their
own knowledge and the knowledge is conceived to be organized more as
a network (cognitive structure - see later) than as a brick wall
(Novak, 1985; Strike and Postner, 1985). What is already known is
employed in guiding the new learning in organizing the process of
assimilation (taking in the material of learning). In meaningful
learning, where the learner intends to understand the material of
learning instead of just memorizing it, the learner accommodates or
adapts an area of the network in response to the new learning (Pines,
Fensham and Garrard, 1985). Whether learning is meaningful or not
can only be judged by the learner because meaningfulness is an
expression of the relationship between the material of learning and
the learner's existing understandings. Teachers may seek to
influence the learning by, for example, careful construction of the
material of teaching to make it likely that it will be understood by
the learner, by interaction to check understanding or by choosing
specific forms of assessment that, in turn, influence the learner's
approach to the learning of their intentions (Ramsden, 1992).
In these terms, rote learning or learning by memorizing occurs when
the learner does not, or cannot, relate the material of learning to
prior knowledge and will not wish to recall in the context of other
knowledge. It results in isolated 'bits' of knowledge and, for this
reason, a more descriptive term might be 'unconnected learning'. This
is contrasted with meaningful learning, which is when the learner
intends to understand the material of learning. Nichol (1997)
describes the distinction between meaningful and unconnected learning
as:
Learning through memorization and . . . reproduction does not result
in knowledge that can be used to reason and to solve problems in new
contexts. For this [reasoning/problem solving] to happen, students
must learn by interacting with and transforming received information
so as to own it and make it personally meaningful. They do this by
actively constructing or reconstructing information input - i.e.
modifying, revising, transforming, connecting, extending it, relating
it to what they already know - in an effort to make sense of it.
(Note that the term 'transform' here is not used in quite the same
manner in this book - see the discussion of transformative learning
later in this chapter.)
Marton and Ramsden (1988) distinguish the constructivist view by
means of its implications of a qualitative change in the learner -
'rather than a quantitative change in the amount of knowledge someone
possesses'. The qualitative change is in the understanding that the
learner constructs. While learners construct personal understanding
and knowledge, this can occur within a set of guidelines that might
be the form of thought embodied by the discipline (Bruner 1966). The
implication of this is that the thinking of discipline does not exist
separately from learners (Biggs, 1993). Similarly, Eisner (1991)
says, 'I . . . believe that humans do not simply have experience;
they have a hand in its creation and the quality of their creation
depends upon the ways they employ their minds'. On this view, the
meaning that a learner constructs is an element that has been
selected out of larger possibilities and, in this sense, education
can be regarded as 'a mind-making experience' (Eisner, 1991) - or
perhaps more accurately, a 'mind-making' opportunity. The notion
that the mind is constructed by the learner and that the ability to
employ the mind appropriately is significant in the outcome of
learning begins to hint at some of the roles that reflection might
play in the learning process.
Evidence that supports the constructivist view of learning comes from
studies of the application of study skills to help students improve
their ability to learn. Both from research (Ramsden, 1992) and from
observation in the classroom it is evident that teaching students a
bank of study skills does not usually have a long-lasting effect on
their ability to learn (Gibbs, 1981). While some gain a certain
level of confidence from study skills courses and may learn a few
techniques, they gain more from a learner-centred approach in which
they are helped to explore their own learning abilities, confront
their deficits and experiment with change in their own time and on
the basis of their own understanding. This is more effectively done
within the context of the discipline studied. In other words, other
than a few techniques, the most effective study skills are
constructed by the learner within the context of their own learning.
Raising awareness of personal study skills enables appropriate
modification and reconstruction in response to different learning
demands, and students who study well do appear to be more aware of
their study processes than those who are less effective (Gibbs,
1981). Harri-Augstein and Thomas (1991) use the term 'self-organized
learner' to describe someone who is able to deploy their learning and
study skills effectively.
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