Abstract
The research focuses on constructivism as a theory of human learning. It is based on the assumption that all individuals need to construct a meaning about an experience during learning. In this theory, the teacher is a facilitator while the student takes an active role.
The research problem was clarifying the role of the instructor. This was against the backdrop of cases in which learning can be impeded by trying to enforce one’s experience as a teacher rather than leaving it to the students. In the research it was found, teachers who encouraged students to give their opinions in self explanatory modes of teaching were more effective. However, it is also necessary for the teacher to step in certain scenarios. For instance, in physical activities, instructors must teach students how to look at the bigger picture.
PART A: RESEARCH PAPER
Introduction
The research paper will pay specific emphasis to the human learning theory of constructivism. This theory is founded on the belief that in order to learn, human beings must change their mental modes in order to understand the world around them. In other words, it is necessary for one to find meaning in something in order to remember it. (Mayer, 2004)
Additionally, constructivists believe that learning occurs as a sum total of issues and not as a result of isolated facts. Consequently, such adherents propose teaching centered on wholes and not parts. In constructivism, it is not possible for one to impart knowledge as an educator if they do not understand how the student’s mental processes work. It is necessary for a learner to create their meanings instead of relying on the meanings of others during learning. Consequently, adherents to this philosophy oppose memorization or dwelling on right answers alone.
Explanations of the theory of constructivism
Adherents to this theory of learning assert that the learning process occurs through two major pathways. The first is called assimilation. Assimilation occurs when a student’s frame of thought remains unchanged while learning. Usually, if an occurrence happens to fall in line with one’s frame of thought, then they may simply assimilate into their minds. In other scenarios, learning can occur through accommodation. Accommodation occurs when a students’ s frame of thought contradicts certain experiences, consequently, those students may be forced to change their frame of thought in order to take in this new experience. Usually, accommodation is synonymous will failure; i.e. when a student thought that the world works in a certain way and then an experience occurs to contradict that frame of mind, then the student may be forced to change their thoughts about those occurrences. (Atkinson et al, 2003)
Constructivism is independent of pedagogy because it is applicable in almost all scenarios. When individuals are learning something new, this process must occur. This is the reason why the theory is associated with active learning.
Constructivism is different from other approaches to learning because it acknowledges the role that the learner plays in the learning process. According to these adherents, every learner is peculiar in terms of their own needs, consequently, it is necessary for the learning process to utilize, understand and reward this uniqueness. It should also be noted that adherents to this philosophy understand the complexity of every learner and therefore encourages incorporation of their ideas into the teaching process.
In the constructivism theory, the cultural background of the learner is a fundamental aspect of the learning process. According to this theory, individuals attempting to understand or learn certain concepts are highly affected by their cultural background because it is against this background that they create meaning. In other words their culture shapes the way they regard knowledge and truth. Also, different individuals from similar cultures may have different thought processes depending on the way they interacted with knowledgeable people from their societies.
In this theory, the responsibility for the learning process is left in the hands of the learner. Consequently, effective learning occurs when the learner engages actively in the process. This is the reason why the theory is unconventional. Traditional theories of learning placed a lot of emphasis on the educator who happens to be the most prominent, however, in the constructivist approach, learners take the focal point. This is justified by the fact that all individuals need to understand the world. It is an endeavor to create some form of regularity in their lives. Consequently, when some information is missing, a learner will usually forge their own understanding of the information regardless of the situation. (Polito, 2005)
In the constructivism theory, learners are motivated by their own confidence in solving a particular problem rather than from external parties. Usually, this confidence is obtained from their experiences in the past that involved similar problems. Consequently, there is a lot of emphasis on the issue of firsthand experience.
One of the major developers of this theory; Vygotsky asserted that in constructivism, learning occurs as result of challenges that are closely related to the kind of problems that they have dealt with in the past, but those challenges must be slightly more complicated than previous experiences. Usually, learners relate a new challenge to an old one; if that student had been able to complete another similar task, then they will be motivated to pursue this new task and may therefore continue with the learning process.
It should also be noted that the role of the educator greatly changes in this theory of learning. According to constructivists, an instructor is not a teacher but is someone who facilitates the learning process. In other words, the work of the instructor is to facilitate the creation of one’s understanding of a particular concept rather than giving a lecture on a certain subject matter. Furthermore, teachers require totally different skills in this theory compared to traditional learning theories. (Kalyuga et al, 2003)
Certain avenues can be utilized by instructors to impart knowledge to their respective students. First of all, instructors need to involve students by asking questions not merely lecturing them on subject matters. Additionally, they need to engage learners by asking them to do tasks, consequently, such instructors may be considered as supportive rather than instructive. Additionally, instructors in the constructivist approach usually, give basic guidelines and then allow their learners to create their own meanings from those guidelines based on their personal experiences. Such instructors may be seen engaging in dialogue with their learners so as to encourage their own creation of the goings on in their environment. Consequently, instructors are seen as flexible individuals who can easily change the direction of the learning process to suit the affected person.
Closely related to the latter facts is the nature of the learner as a thinker. The ultimate goal in constructivism is to teach the learner to become an effective thinker. This means that the learner needs to know that certain solutions to certain problems may be wrong. However, these learners need to be encouraged to try again by applying their thought process. Consequently, such instructors need to apply a series of roles that range from coaching to mentoring.
Conclusion
While the constructivist approach to teaching may be effective in its own ways, there are certain problems that have to be addressed with regard to the role of creating meaning in experiences. (Mayer, 2004) Many authors writing about this topic have not looked at ways in which the teacher/instructors can impede the process of creating meaning for the learner. In other words, there is a thin line between facilitating students to forge their meanings and affecting the creation of those meanings by giving them one’s own perception.
PART 2: RESEARCH PROJECT
Introduction
The major objective of the research project is to look into ways in which instructors can hold back learners from creating their own experiences by telling them about their own perceptions of the matter. It is essential to clarify this ambiguous issue in the constructivism theory by studying an actual learning process. For the research, this will involve the classroom environment. A history teacher will be the instructor and the latter mentioned issues will be examined with regard to constructivism.
Method
Procedures
There are a series of procedures that were used in the research process. First of all, the research employed a classroom as the site for the research. Because the classroom was part of a school body, there was a need to request for permission from the school authorities. This was done by sending formal notices to three schools. The school that responded to the request first became the school of choice. It should be noted that all the schools had to have a constructivist approach to learning. Observation was used as method of data collection and this was also combined with structured interviews.
Observation was a useful tool in the research process because it allowed the subjects to behave naturally since the observation was done through the assistance of a digital camera. The subjects were not informed of the research until after the observation. (Kirschner et al, 2006) Consequently, their reactions, actions and engagements were all as natural as possible. However, the instructor was aware of the research. Observation was also a crucial part of this research process because it allowed involvement of a third party which eliminated biases that arise out of relying on the thoughts and opinions of a particular individual.
Interviews were also used in the research to find out the opinions of the instructors on constructivism or actively engaging the students in the learning process. This was a crucial part of the process because it introduced another element to the research. Instead of relying on the words of the observer alone, the thoughts and opinions of the parties implementing this procedure could also be evaluated. It was instrumental in understanding where the major challenges were in the practical scenario for understanding the student.
Subjects
The subjects chosen for the analysis were history students and their instructor. Also, other subjects that were studied in the research included external parties such as museum attendants who were part of the instructing team in the history class. The reason why these particular subjects were chosen was that history is a rich subject that has numerous opportunities for applying the constructivist approach. (Mayer, 2004) Consequently, those who apply this kind of procedure may have to look for ways of creating the most favorable and applicable methodology without interfering with the construction process.
Materials
The materials used for the experiment varied depending on the nature of the procedure. For observation, it was necessary to use a digital camera. The reason for this method was that students could continue doing what they normally do without having to worry about a stranger in their classroom. Statistics have shown that when researchers actively participate in the observation, then they are likely to interfere with normal occurrences. Therefore, the digital camera was an instrumental material for the research.
The structured interview entailed pre-written questions that were presented to the participants. Participants’ responses were summarized by the interviewer at the time. However, in order to ensure that all the information was accurately recorded, then a camera was used to record all sessions. This allowed some culling of unnecessary information and a complete account of the entire goings on in the interview process.
Results
The results from the interview and the observation depicted a series of issues that need to be considered by any individual implementing constructivism. (Kalyuga et al, 2003) In the observation, it was found that learning was actually impeded in certain scenarios where the instructor could not link direct physical activities with the message behind it. However, in cases where the instructor was specific in linking physical activities with meaning, then she became successful. For example, she asked all class members to create a family tree in order to understand the concept of migration and this instantly applied to the students.
In the interview process, it was found that most of the instructors were finding it difficult to clearly outline their points of view and encourage students to create their own. For instance, when one of the teachers in the interview tried using video tapes to teach the students about the country’ fight for freedom, she found that students were more creative and they remembered more when they spoke first rather than when the instructor herself did.
Conclusion
Constructivism is based on the premise that each learner can create their own meanings on experiences and that they need to be engaged actively in learning. From the research it was found that certain modes of learning were self explanatory and did not need descriptions from the instructor in creating meaning. However, in other scenarios, it was necessary to create a link between an activity and the actual meaning so as reinforce the ideas in the student’s minds.
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