CTELT Newsletter Fort Hays State University

When a sixth-grade teacher was asked about her favorite theory in teaching, she answered with a smile that the only theory that she could remember was what candy she should give to her students in class.

This is partly true as we seldom think about any theories while we are teaching. Believe it or not, we all have pre-scripted philosophies in our minds. How we think about learning and teaching will influence the way we teach. There are three primary views of learning: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. The behaviorists, who believe in empiricism, view knowledge as passive, and stress the influence of the environment on the person. The cognitivists believe in rationalism and view knowledge as abstract symbolic representations in the heads of individuals but with little attention to the context in which it occurs. The constructivists view knowledge as a constructed entity made by every learner through a learning process in a certain context. Knowledge can thus not be transmitted from one person to the other. It has to be constructed by each person.

The principal claim of constructivism is that knowledge is made rather than found (Bredo, 2000). The most important epistemological assumption of constructivism is that meaning is a function of how the individual creates meaning from his or her experiences. Constructivists believe that what we know is internally generated by the individual rather than received from any external source. Radical constructivists, such as von Glasersfeld, believe that there is no objective reality that is independent of human mental activity. Personal worlds are created by the mind, so no one world is any more real than any other. Meaning-making does not rely on correspondence to the world but rather is dependent upon the understanding of the learner. All constructivists believe that the mind is instrumental and essential in interpreting events, objects, and perspectives on the external world, and that those interpretations comprise a knowledge base that is personal and individualistic (Jonassen, 1992).

Bredo (2000) discussed two implications of constructivism: (1) a concern for students’ having an active role in learning, and (2) their being allowed to redefine or discover new meanings for the objects with which they interact. Learning is an internal process and learners actively construct their own understandings or meanings. Knowledge is not a mere copy of the external world, nor is knowledge acquired by passive absorption or by simple transmission from a teacher to a student. In sum, knowledge is made, not acquired.

To be more specific, constructivists think of learning as an active process. The learners have a will and a purpose in their learning. The teachers focus on learning rather than teaching, and they accept learner autonomy. Learning is contextualized. Learning is related to our prejudices, fears, problems, and the rest of our life. Learning is a social activity as well. Learning involves languages and involves learners in real world situations. Constructivists encourage dialogue among students as well as between the student and the teacher. They strongly support collaborative learning. Constructivists focus on understanding and performance rather than memorization and exams.

Constructivists focus on learners rather than teachers. Motivation is the key to learning. Constructivists encourage learner inquiry, curiosity, and initiative. Learners have existing beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge, so experience has a critical role in learning. The learner is responsible for his or her own learning. A learner needs to learn double lessons: learn new information and learn new ways to learn. Students are encouraged to use technology in learning. The teacher does not simply transmit information. He or she is a facilitator to plan and organize as well as a guide to show direction and set limits. The goals of constructivist instruction are reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, understanding, and application.

Changing teaching style may mean changing underlying teaching philosophy, ‎epistemological belief, and perceptions of interpersonal interactions (Gunawardena, 1992). While the University is heading for the goal of becoming a “wireless campus,” it is time for us to re-reflect on teaching and consider the insights offered by the constructivist teaching paradigm that values learners’ individual experiences, encourages interpersonal communications, and fosters active learning and critical thinking.

References

Bredo, E. (2000). Reconsidering social constructivism: The relevance of George Herbert Mead’s interactionism. In D. C. Philips (Ed.), Constructivism in education: Opinions and second opinions on controversial issues (pp. 127-157). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Gunawardena, C. N. (1992). Changing faculty roles for audiographics and online teaching. The American Journal of Distance Education, 4(3), 38-46.

Jonassen, D. H. (1992). Evaluating constructivist learning. In T. M. Duffy & D. H. Jonassen (Eds.), Constructivism and the technology of instruction: A conversation (pp. 137-148). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.