Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development PDF

Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development UNIT 1: Focus on the 21st Century Learner A. Major Schools of Thought...

Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development UNIT 1: Focus on the 21st Century Learner A. Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development Introduction In this unit, you will consider a construct which is central to your life as a future educator to 21 century learners – learning, teaching, and the relationship between them. Learning and st teaching are commonly encountered words, both within and beyond education – so common indeed that it is easy to take their meaning for granted, both individually and in combination. In this unit, we introduce significant theories of learning related to learners’ development which will help you understand the concepts behind how learners learn. We hope you will use them to challenge what is considered normal about learning as you work through the rest of this module. Unit Objectives At the end of this lesson, students must have: 1. demonstrated understanding on what is meant by learning and a learning theory; 2. explained the salient concepts and principles of the major theories; 3. developed and refined your own personal theory of learning; 4. applied these theories to teaching and learning situations. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 1  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development What is Learning? Before we dive into understanding the relevant science behind the learning process, let’s ground ourselves in a definition of learning below that is drawn from research. Which aspects resonate most with you and why? Learning is a process that: 1. is active - process of engaging and manipulating objects, experiences, and conversations in order to build mental models of the world (Dewey, 1938; Piaget, 1964; Vygotsky, 1986). Learners build knowledge as they explore the world around them, observe and interact with phenomena, converse and engage with others, and make connections between new ideas and prior understandings. 2. builds on prior knowledge - and involves enriching, building on, and changing existing understanding, where “one’s knowledge base is a scaffold that supports the construction of all future learning” (Alexander, 1996). 3. occurs in a complex social environment - and thus should not be limited to being examined or perceived as something that happens on an individual level. Instead, it is necessary to think of learning as a social activity involving people, the things they use, the words they speak, the cultural context they’re in, and the actions they take (Bransford, et al., 2006; Rogoff, 1998), and that knowledge is built by members in the activity (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006). 4. is situated in an authentic context - provides learners with the opportunity to engage with specific ideas and concepts on a need-to-know or want-to-know basis (Greeno, 2006; Kolodner, 2006). 5. requires learners’ motivation and cognitive engagement to be sustained when learning complex ideas, because considerable mental effort and persistence are necessary. The conditions for inputs to learning are clear, but the process is incomplete without making sense of what outputs constitute learning has taken place. At the core, learning is a process that results in a change in knowledge or behavior as a result of experience. Understanding what it takes to get that knowledge in and out (or promote behavioral change of a specific kind) can help optimize learning. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 2  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development In this extract, a Japanese student of English language reflects on what have been, for her, the least and most effective forms of learning. My most enjoyable language learning experience has been conversation. Conversation is fun for me. When I talk to someone, my brain works actively. When I try to talk about something, I'm very happy to feel myself forming words. When I go to English conversation classes, I really enjoy speaking aloud with others. My least enjoyable language learning experience has been reading silently. I usually translate from English into Japanese when I do so. When I read aloud, I can translate and understand more speedily than when I'm reading silently. Reading aloud and repetition are very valuable forms of learning English. I can memorize the sentences and understand their structure when I read aloud again and again. Reading aloud stimulates my own ears and brain. If it is possible, I try to think in English when I read the language. To improve my English skill, I need to speak to many people and read aloud and listen to English seriously. I want to get involved in English as many times and in as many ways as possible. This is because I am an active learner and believe that the English language can be learned best through active means. Passive learning is much less helpful for me because it does not stimulate my brain, my thinking or my mind. Write about helpful and unhelpful approaches to learning during your own education from pre-school up to the present. How did you learn? When did you learn best? What prevented you from learning? What motivated you to learn? How did this vary, depending on time, place and teacher? What was positive about those approaches? Did they reflect or express any particular theories of learning? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 3  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development Abstraction Learning Theories Formal theories of learning have their origins in psychology. Like informal theories, they are concerned with answering the question 'How do people learn?' Over time, consideration of this question by psychologists and others has resulted in the development of a number of formal learning theories, some of which you will encounter in this module. One of the main differences between formal and informal learning theories is that formal learning theories are the result of considered thought by psychologists and, very often, research. Formal theories have been written down and made available for others to consider and, where they disagree, to dispute and offer alternatives. Thus, formal learning theories are, unlike informal theories, scientific. Most of these formal theories are unknown to people outside education, psychology and related fields, yet we as education professionals need them if we are to have informed discussions about learning, how it happens, and how best to support it. A. Behaviorism Behaviorism is a branch of formal learning theory. It is often associated with, among others, the American psychologist B. F. Skinner. The essence of the behaviorist point of view is that learning cannot be observed directly – instead it must be inferred to have taken place, from an observed behavioral response to a stimulus. For instance, if a question (stimulus) is 'Which group of fruit do lemons and limes belong to?' and the answer (response) 'Citrus' is given, then from behaviorist point of view learning has taken place in order for the correct response to the stimulus to have been given. Behavioral theories of learning stress observable changes in behaviors, skills, and habits. Attention is clearly on behavior. Learning is seen as a change in behavior brought about by experience, with virtually no concern for the mental or internal processes of thinking (Woolfolk Hoy, Davis and Anderman, 2013). Read this brief article below, which provides some basic explanation of 'the behaviorist orientation to learning'. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 4  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development The Behaviorist Orientation to Learning The behaviorist movement in psychology has looked to the use of experimental procedures to study behavior in relation to the environment. John B. Watson, who is generally credited as the first behaviorist, argued that the inner experiences that were the focus of psychology could not be properly studied as they were not observable. Instead he turned to laboratory experimentation. The result was the generation of the stimulus-response model. In this the environment is seen as providing stimuli to which individuals develop responses. In essence three key assumptions underpin this view: Observable behavior rather than internal thought processes are the focus of study. In particular, learning is manifested by a change in behavior. The environment shapes one’s behavior; what one learns is determined by the elements in the environment, not by the individual learner. The principles of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a bond to be formed) and reinforcement (any means of increasing the likelihood that an event will be repeated) are central to explaining the learning process (Merriam and Caffarella, 1991). Researchers like Edward L. Thorndike build upon these foundations and, in particular, developed a S-R (stimulus-response) theory of learning. He noted that that responses (or behaviors) were strengthened or weakened by the consequences of behavior. This notion was refined by Skinner and is perhaps better known as operant conditioning – reinforcing what you want people to do again; ignoring or punish what you want people to stop doing. In terms of learning, according to James Hartley (1998) four key principles come to the fore: Activity is important. Learning is better when the learner is active rather than passive. (‘Learning by doing’ is to be applauded). Repetition, generalization and discrimination are important notions. Frequent practice – and practice in varied contexts – is necessary for learning to take place. Skills are not acquired without frequent practice. Reinforcement is the cardinal motivator. Positive reinforcers like rewards and successes are preferable to negative events like punishments and failures. Learning is helped when objectives are clear. Those who look to behaviorism in teaching will generally frame their activities by behavioral objectives e.g. ‘By the end of this session participants will be able to…. With this comes a concern with competencies and product approaches to curriculum. References Hartley, J. (1998) Learning and studying. A research perspective, London: Routledge. Hergenhahn, B. R. and Olson, M. H. (1997) An introduction to theories of learning 5e, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Merriam, S. and Caffarella (1991, 1998) Learning in adulthood. A comprehensive guide, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Skinner, B. F. (1973) Beyond freedom and dignity, London: Penguin. Tennant, M. (1988, 1997) Psychology and adult learning, London: Routledge. Watson, J. B. (1913) ‘Psychology as the behaviorist views it’, Psychological review 20: 158. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 5  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development Think of some instances from your own experience in education which would fit with the behavioral view of learning. Make some notes about those instances and how they fit with the behavioral view. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ B. Information Processing Information Processing Theory is a cognitive theory that focuses on how information is encoded into our memory. The theory describes how our brains filter information, from what we are paying attention to in the present moment, to what gets stored in our short-term or working memory and ultimately into our long-term memory. The premise of Information Processing Theory is that creating a long-term memory is something that happens in stages; first we perceive something through our sensory memory, which is everything we can see, hear, feel or taste in a given moment; our short-term memory is what we use to remember things for very short periods, like a phone number; and long-term memory is stored permanently in our brains. Basic Assumptions The information processing approach is based on a number of assumptions, including: 1. Information made available by the environment is processed by a series of processing systems (e.g. attention, perception, short-term memory); 2. These processing systems transform or alter the information in systematic ways; 3. The aim of research is to specify the processes and structures that underlie cognitive performance; 4. Information processing in humans resembles that in computers. Computer Analogy Developed by American psychologists including George Miller in the 1950s, Information Processing Theory has in recent years compared the human brain to a computer. The computer gave cognitive psychologists a metaphor, or analogy, to which they could compare human mental processing. The use of the computer as a tool for thinking how the human mind handles information is known as the computer analogy. The ‘input’ is the information we give to the computer - or to our brains - while the CPU is likened to our short- term memory, and the hard-drive is our long-term memory. Our cognitive processes filter information, deciding what is important enough to ‘save’ from our sensory memory to our short-term memory, and ultimately to encode into our long- term memory. Our cognitive processes include thinking, perception, remembering, ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 6  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development recognition, logical reasoning, imagining, problem-solving, our sense of judgment, and planning. Figure 1. Information Processing Model Essentially, computer codes (i.e., changes) information, stores information, uses information, and produces an output (retrieves info). The idea of information processing was adopted by cognitive psychologists as a model of how human thought works. For example, the eye receives visual information and codes information into electric neural activity which is fed back to the brain where it is “stored” and “coded”. This information is can be used by other parts of the brain relating to mental activities such as memory, perception and attention. The output (i.e. behavior) might be, for example, to read what you can see on a printed page. Hence the information processing approach characterizes thinking as the environment providing input of data, which is then transformed by our senses. The information can be stored, retrieved and transformed using “mental programs”, with the results being behavioral responses. Cognitive psychology has influenced and integrated with many other approaches and areas of study to produce, for example, social learning theory, cognitive neuropsychology and artificial intelligence (AI). ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 7  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development USING THE INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACH IN THE CLASSROOM Principle Example 1. Gain the students' attention. Use cues to signal when you are ready to begin. Move around the room and use voice inflections. 2. Bring to mind relevant prior Review previous day's lesson. learning. Have a discussion about previously covered content. 3. Point out important Provide handouts. information. Write on the board or use transparencies. 4. Present information in an Show a logical sequence to concepts and skills. organized manner. Go from simple to complex when presenting new material. 5. Show students how to Present information in categories. categorize (chunk) related Teach inductive reasoning. information. 6. Provide opportunities for Connect new information to something already students to elaborate on new known. information. Look for similarities and differences among concepts. 7. Show students how to use Make up silly sentence with first letter of each word coding when memorizing lists. in the list. Use mental imagery techniques such as the keyword method. 8. Provide for repetition of State important principles several times in different learning. ways during presentation of information (STM). Have items on each day's lesson from previous lesson (LTM). Schedule periodic reviews of previously learned concepts and skills (LTM). 9. Provide opportunities for Use daily drills for arithmetic facts. overlearning of fundamental Play form of trivial pursuit with content related to concepts and skills. class. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 8  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development Think of some instances from your own experience in education which would fit with the information processing view of learning. Make some notes about those instances and how they fit with the information processing view. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________. C. Humanistic Humanistic Learning Theory, often called Humanism, focuses on the specific human capabilities including creativity, personal growth, and choice. Humanists believe people are good and noble. Maslow’s research into hierarchical needs is a major concept in this learning theory, especially Self-Actualization, as it is only at this level the student can truly experience growth. Humanistic Learning Theory can be summarized this way: 1. Learners can be trusted to find their own goals and should have some options or choices in what they learn at school. 2. Students should set their standards and should evaluate their work. 3. The school experience should help students to develop positive relations with their peers The Role of the Learner Ideally, learning should be an active process, where the student is engaged with the learning activities to acquire the knowledge specific to their situation. Since a major theme is the learner being the source of authority, the learner determines what learning materials are used, and how they will learn the material. They could choose to read, listen to speeches, watch movies or practice what they have learned through social interactions or by producing a specific output. The learner also establishes the quantity of learning, as in how much do I need to learn about a specific subject. But making the correct or incorrect choice in their learning decisions rests with the student and not the teacher. This reinforces the student as the source of authority. The Role of the Teacher Just because the learner is the source of authority and makes the decision about what and how they will learn something, does not negate the need for the teacher. The teacher assumes the role of a coach or facilitator to assist the student in establishing and using their learning strategy to achieve their goal. Doing this means the teacher must be aware of the student’s unique needs, to be effective at supporting the student in acquiring the desired knowledge. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 9  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development By understanding the student’s unique needs, the teacher can assist in designing the strategy to support the individual student’s intellectual and emotional development. Creating a non-threatening and supportive environment is important to this development. While the student identifies the learning methods and materials, the teacher needs to ensure the learning activities are related to actual life experience, so the student can apply the learning to their daily living, which is a key concept in Roger’s Experiential Learning Theory. How Does Learning Take Place? Bugental (2003) proposed learning occurs through meaningful living and studied the explicit and visible behaviors resulting from the subjective internal processes occurring in the learner. A key point is emphasizing the differences between individual learners. Rogers viewed every individual experience is a logical event and different for every individual. From this individual viewpoint, the learner is encouraged to form their perspective and meaning through their experiences and beliefs. This makes each experience unique to the learner. Rogers also emphasized the importance of acquiring experience and knowledge from the environment, allowing the learner to form both positive and negative self-concepts about specific situations. Read this short article, which provides some further explanation of 'the humanistic orientation to learning'. Humanistic Orientations to Learning In this framework the basic concern is for human growth. We look to the work of Maslow and Rogers as expressions of this approach. A great deal of the theoretical writing about adult education in the 1970s and 1980s drew on humanistic psychology. In this orientation the basic concern is for the human potential for growth. As Tennant notes, the concern with ‘self’ is ‘a hallmark of humanistic psychology’ (1997: 12). There was a reaction against ‘scientific’ reductionism – people being treated as objects and rationalism. Instead the affective and subjective world was to be reaffirmed. Personal freedom, choice, motivations and feelings had to have their place. Perhaps the best known example is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of motivation. At the lowest level are physiological needs, at the highest self-actualization. Only when the lower needs are met is it possible to fully move on to the next level. A motive at the lower level is always stronger than those at higher levels. Tennant (1997) summarizes these as follows: ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 10  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development Level one: Physiological needs such as hunger, thirst, sex, sleep, relaxation and bodily integrity must be satisfied before the next level comes into play. Level two: Safety needs call for a predictable and orderly world. If these are not satisfied people will look to organize their worlds to provide for the greatest degree of safety and security. If satisfied, people will come under the force of level three. Level three: Love and belongingness needs cause people to seek warm and friendly relationships. Level four: Self-esteem needs involve the desire for strength, achievement, adequacy, mastery and competence. They also involve confidence, independence, reputation and prestige. Level five: Self-actualization is the full use and expression of talents, capacities and potentialities. Self-actualizers are able to submit to social regulation without losing their own integrity or personal independence; that is, they may follow a social norm without their horizons being bounded in the sense that they fail to see or consider other possibilities. They may on occasion transcend the socially prescribed ways of acting. Achieving this level may mean developing to the full stature of which they are capable (Tennant, 1997). Learning can, thus, be seen as a form of self-actualization, it contributes to psychological health (Sahakian 1984 in Merriam and Caffarella 1991: 133). Yet while self-actualization may be seen as the primary goal, other goals (linked to the other stages) are also around. These include a sense of accomplishment and the controlling of impulses (Maslow 1970: 439) Much criticism has been levelled at this model. For example, Do lower needs really have to be satisfied before higher ones come into play? People may well put physiological needs on one side to satisfy the need for love, for example. Are we all propelled to the sorts of qualities that Maslow identifies with ‘self-actualization’? To what extent are these qualities culturally-specific? The idea of a hierarchy of needs, the identifying of different needs, and the notion of self- actualization did, however, exert a powerful hold over adult education writers like Malcolm Knowles. Humanistic psychology’s positive view of people and their ability to control their own destiny, and the seemingly unlimited possibilities for individual development provided some hope for educators. Perhaps the most persuasive exploration of a humanistic orientation to learning came from Carl Rogers. His passion for education that engaged with the whole person and with their experiences for learning that combines the logical and intuitive, the intellect and feelings found a ready audience. ‘When we learn in that way’, he said, ‘we are whole, utilizing all our masculine and feminine capacities’ (1983 20). He saw the following elements as being involved in significant or experiential learning. It has a quality of personal involvement—the whole person in both feeling and cognitive aspects being in the learning event. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 11  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development It is self-initiated. Even when the impetus or stimulus comes from the outside, the sense of discovers of reaching out, of grasping and comprehending, comes from within. It is pervasive. It makes a difference in the behavior, the attitudes, perhaps even the personality of the learner. It is evaluated by the learner. She knows whether it is meeting her need, whether it leads toward what she wants to know, whether it illuminates the dark area of ignorance she is experiencing. The locus of evaluation, we might say, resides definitely in the learner. Its essence is meaning. When such learning takes place, the element of meaning to the learner is built into the whole experience. (Rogers (1983: 20) References Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall. Maslow, A. (1968) Towards a Psychology of Being 2e, New York: Van Nostrand. See, also, A. Maslow (1970) Motivation and Personality 2e, New York: Harper and Row. Merriam, S. and Caffarella (1991, 1998) Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive guide, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rogers, C. and Freiberg, H. J. (1993) Freedom to Learn (3rd edn.), New York: Merrill.. See, also, H. Kirschenbaum and V. L. Henderson (eds.) (1990) The Carl Rogers Reader, London: Constable. Tennant, M. (1988, 1997) Psychology and Adult Learning, London: Routledge. Think of some instances from your own experience in education which would fit with the humanistic view of learning. Make some notes about those instances and how they fit with the humanistic view. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 12  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development D. Cognitivism /Cognitive Constructivism The cognitivist branch of learning theory was to some degree born of dissatisfaction with behaviorism’s strict focus on observable behaviors. However, like behaviorism, it focuses on the individual. It is associated with, among others, the psychologist Jean Piaget. The cognitivist approach invokes the idea of mental processes and attempts to answer the question which behaviorism avoided: 'What is going on in the mind of the learner?' Unlike behaviorist learning theory, where learners are thought to be motivated by extrinsic factors such as rewards and punishment, cognitive learning theory sees motivation as largely intrinsic. Because it involves significant restructuring of existing cognitive structures, successful learning requires a major personal investment on the part of the learner (University of California Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning, 2019 citing Perry, 1999). Because this perspective on learning focuses on the mind and its activity when building (or 'constructing') the 'cognitive structures' referred to in the above quotation, the word 'constructivism' is sometimes added, and the phrase 'cognitive constructivism' is used by some writers. Others, however, treat cognitivist and constructivism separately. Read the short article that follows, which provides some further explanation of 'the cognitivist orientation to learning'. The Cognitive Orientation to Learning Where behaviorists looked to the environment, those drawing on Gestalt turned to the individual’s mental processes. In other words, they were concerned with cognition – the act or process of knowing. Many psychologists were not happy with behaviorism. There was a belief among some that there was too much of a focus on single events, stimuli and overt behavior. Such criticism was especially strong from those who saw themselves as Gestalt psychologists (Gestalt meaning configuration or pattern in German). For them, perceptions or images should be approached as a pattern or a whole rather than as a sum of the component parts. Such thinking found its way into psychoanalysis and into the development of thinking about group functioning (perhaps most famously in the work of Kurt Lewin). It also had a profound effect on the way that many psychologists thought of learning. Where behaviorists looked to the environment, those drawing on Gestalt turned to the individual’s mental processes. In other words, they were concerned with cognition – the act or process of knowing. Researchers like Jean Piaget, while recognizing the contribution of environment, explored changes in internal cognitive structure. He identified four stages of mental growth (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational). Jerome Bruner explored how mental processes could be linked to teaching (emphasizing, among other things, learning through discovery). Robert M. Gagné developed a model that highlighted eight different forms of learning – behaviorists identifying only a fragment of human capabilities. James Hartley (1998) has usefully drawn out some of the key principles of learning associated with cognitive psychology. As he puts it: ‘Learning results from inferences, expectations and making connections. Instead of acquiring habits, learners acquire plans and strategies, and prior knowledge is important’ (1998: 18). The principles he identifies are: ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 13  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development 1. Instruction should be well-organized. Well-organized materials easier to learn and to remember. 2. Instruction should be clearly structured. Subject matters are said to have inherent structures – logical relationships between key ideas and concepts – which link the parts together. 3. The perceptual features of the task are important. Learners attend selectively to different aspects of the environment. Thus, the way a problem is displayed is important if learners are to understand it. 4. Prior knowledge is important. Things must fit with what is already known if it is to be learnt. 5. Differences between individuals are important as they will affect learning. Differences in ‘cognitive style’ or methods of approach influence learning. 6. Cognitive feedback gives information to learners about their success or failure concerning the task at hand. Reinforcement can come through giving information – a ‘knowledge of results’ – rather than simply a reward. References Bruner, J. (1960, 1977) The Process of Education, Cambridge Ma.: Harvard University Press. Gagné, R. M. (1985) The Conditions of Learning 4e, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Hartley, J. (1998) Learning and Studying. A research perspective, London: Routledge. Merriam, S. and Caffarella (1991, 1998) Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive guide, San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. Piaget, J. (1926) The Child’s Conception of the World, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. It is difficult to know which of Piaget’s 50 or more books to choose here – but this and The Origin of Intelligence in Children are classic starting points. H. E. Gruber and J. J. Voneche (1977) The Essential Piaget: an interpretative reference and guide, London is a good collection. See, also, M. A. Boden’s (1979) Piaget, London: Fontana for a succinct Introduction. Tennant, M. (1988, 1997) Psychology and Adult Learning, London: Routledge. Think of some instances from your own experience in education which would fit with the cognitivist view of learning. Make some notes about those instances and how they fit with the cognitivist view. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 14  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development E. Constructivism and Social Constructivism Constructivism is ‘an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al., 2000, p. 256). In elaborating constructivists’ ideas Arends (1998) states that constructivism believes in personal construction of meaning by the learner through experience, and that meaning is influenced by the interaction of prior knowledge and new events. Both constructivism and social constructivism acknowledge how knowledge is constructed through an active process in the mind of the knower, but social constructivism asserts the centrality of social interactions in the process. These social interactions can be between a parent and child, students and teachers, groups of students and so on. Social constructivism is often associated with the Russian psychologist Vygotsky, who is seen as originating many of the ideas. According to social constructivist, the opportunity to interact and share among learners helps to shape and refine their ideas. Knowledge construction becomes social, not individual. Principles of Constructivism 1. Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or passively absorbed. Constructivism's central idea is that human learning is constructed, that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning. This prior knowledge influences what new or modified knowledge an individual will construct from new learning experiences (Phillips, 1995). 2. Learning is an active process. The second notion is that learning is an active rather than a passive process. The passive view of teaching views the learner as ‘an empty vessel’ to be filled with knowledge, whereas constructivism states that learners construct meaning only through active engagement with the world (such as experiments or real-world problem solving). Information may be passively received, but understanding cannot be, for it must come from making meaningful connections between prior knowledge, new knowledge, and the processes involved in learning. 3. All knowledge is socially constructed. Learning is a social activity - it is something we do together, in interaction with each other, rather than an abstract concept (Dewey, 1938). For example, Vygotsky (1978), believed that community plays a central role in the process of "making meaning." For Vygotsky, the environment in which children grow up will influence how they think and what they think about. Thus, all teaching and learning is a matter of sharing and negotiating socially constituted knowledge. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 15  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development 4. All knowledge is personal. Each individual learner has a distinctive point of view, based on existing knowledge and values. This means that same lesson, teaching or activity may result in different learning by each pupil, as their subjective interpretations differ. This principle appears to contradict the view the knowledge is socially constructed. Fox (2001, p. 30) argues (a) that although individuals have their own personal history of learning, nevertheless they can share in common knowledge, and (b) that although education is a social process, powerfully influenced by cultural factors, nevertheless cultures are made up of sub- cultures, even to the point of being composed of sub-cultures of one. Cultures and their knowledge-base are constantly in a process of change and the knowledge stored by individuals is not a rigid copy of some socially constructed template. In learning a culture, each child changes that culture. 5. Learning exists in the mind. The constructivist theory posits that knowledge can only exist within the human mind, and that it does not have to match any real-world reality (Driscoll, 2000). Learners will be constantly trying to develop their own individual mental model of the real world from their perceptions of that world. As they perceive each new experience, learners will continually update their own mental models to reflect the new information, and will, therefore, construct their own interpretation of reality. References Behets, D. (1990) Concerns of preservice physical education teachers. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 10: pp.66-75. Center for Teaching and Learning (undated) What is learning? [online]. University of California Berkeley. Availablehttps://teaching.berkeley.edu/resources/learn/what- learning Hare, C. (2019). An Introduction to humanistic learning theory. Retrieved from https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/an-introduction-to-humanistic-learning- theory- 1489cdde6359 Lawless, C. (2019). What is Information Processing Theory?: Using it in Your Corporate Training. Retrieved from https://www.learnupon.com/blog/what-is-information- processing-theory/ Lucas, M.R. and Corpus, B. (2014). Facilitating learning: A metacognitive process. Lorimar Publishing Inc. Merriam, S. B. and Kim, Y. S. (2008) Non‐Western perspectives on learning and knowing. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education Special Issue: Third Update on Adult Learning Theory [online] 119(Autumn): pp.71-81. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ace.307 Smith, M. K. (1999). ‘The cognitive orientation to learning’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education. [https://infed.org/mobi/the-cognitive-orientation-to- learning/. Retrieved: July 20, 2020. Smith, M. K. (1999) ‘The behaviorist orientation to learning’, The encyclopedia of ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 16  Handouts – Unit 1.A Major Schools of Thought Related to Learners’ Development pedagogy and informal education. Retrieved from https://infed.org/mobi/the- behaviourist-orientation-to-learning/ on July 20, 2020. Surgenor, P. (2010) Behaviourism. In: Teaching Toolkit: How students learn 2 [online]. UCD Teaching and Learning Resources. Available at: http://www.ucd.ie/teaching/t4media/UCDTLT0017.pdf Surgenor, P. (2010) Constructivism. In: Teaching Toolkit: How students learn UCD Teaching and Learning Resources. Available at: http://www.ucd.ie/teaching/t4media/UCDTLT0018.pdf Tweed, R. G. and Lehman, D. R. (2002) Learning considered within a cultural context. American Psychologist 57(2): pp.89-99. Available at: https://nusearch.nottingham.ac.uk/permalink/f/t1e4u0/TN_apa_articles10.1037/0003- 066X.57.2.89 Willinsky, J. (1998) Learning to divide the world: education at empire's end. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Woolfolk Hoy, A., Davis, H. A. and Anderman, E. M. (2013) Theories of learning and teaching in TIP. Theory Into Practice 52(sup1): pp.9-21. ED 204 – Facilitating the Learner-Centered Teaching 17