Driscoll- Chapter 11
Constructivism
Diagram based on one from p. 384 of the article
Constructivism assumes knowledge is
constructed.
Conditions for
instruction... complex
Learning goals
and relevant learning
include...reasoning,
environments, social
critical thinking,
negotioation, multiple
understanding and use of
perspectives and multiple
knowledge, selfmodes of learning,
regulation, mindful
ownership in learning,
reflection
self-awareness of
knowledge construction
Methods of instruction...
microworlds and
hypermedia designs,
collaborative learning
and problem scaffolding,
goal-based scenarios and
problem-based learning,
open software and
course management
tools
Chapter begins with different scenarios…
 Medical Schooling- instructors routinely face the problems of biomedical misconceptions among
students, despite exposure to appropriate information, they continue to make diagnostic errors
in many cases
 Olympic Games- Ms. Patterson designed a website devoted to Olympic Games, website is
supplemental to her seventh grade class instruction students log on from school or home aand
explore at will
Imagine the instruction that might have resulted for the Medical School scenario if Gagne’s theory was
applied, What instructional strategies might be proposed given a different view of learning and
instruction, a view in which knowledge is assumed to be constructed rather than acquired…
I.
Constructivism: A Contrasting theory
A. Background
1. Constructivism has multiple roots in psychology and philosophy of this century
(Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky)
2. Also acknowledge the philosophies of Dewey and Goodman (p.386)
3. No single constructivist theory of instruction, rather, there are researchers in fields
from science education, psych, etc.
4. Constructivism is only one of the labels used o describe these efforts (has also been
called situated cognition)
B. Constructivist Assumptions About Learning (p. 387)
1. Ideas are often contrasted with the ideas of objectivist assumptions
2. Behavioral and cognitive information-processing theories of learning emerged from
the objectivist tradition- behaviorists define desired learning goals independent of any
learner, information processing theorists put mind back into the learning equation,
assume that knowledge is out there to be transferred to the learner (true of behaviorists
and objectivists)
3. Constructivists, on the other hand, rests on the theory that knowledge is constructed
by learners as they attempt to make sense of their experiences, learners are not empty
vessels to be filled, but rather, active organisms seeking meaning
4. This process of acquiring and constantly rebuilding knowledge has been described as
many different things… development and revision of mental models, schema
accommodation (Piaget), knowledge restructuring (p. 388)
5. Knowledge constructions do not necessarily bear any correspondence to external
reality… children believing the earth is flat and that the sun moves across it’s sky,
according to constructivist theory, this supports what children see in their environment
surrounding them… we know this to be false
6. Most constructivists will argue not all constructions of knowledge are viable
C. Constructivist Models of Memory
1. Constructivists have not been clear about what epistemological beliefs they have
about memory
2. The books talks about Eco’s rhizome metaphor (p. 388) which I really don’t
understand that well- a rhizome is, “a tangle of tubers with no apparent
beginning or end”, it constantly changes shape, every point in it appears to be
connected to another, unlimited potential for knowledge construction because
it has no fixed points.. author compares it to a plate of spaghetti or a jar of
marbles, which can be shaken and rearranged again to make a new design of
marbles
3. The rhizome model alerts us to the possibility of different meaning, different truth,
different worlds
************** I don’t understand this. Check p. 388-389 if necessary. I think they
might be trying to say Constructivists don’t organize memory as systematically as others do, no NODES,
or systems or inner-connections, memory can create new connections with different material depending
on how we need to use it. That is my interpretation of this cripe.
II.
Constructivist Learning Goals
A. Goals
1. Unlike objectivist approach that focuses on what the learner must know, the
constructivist approach emphasizes learning in context
2. Can only be done in the context of meaningful activity (p. 390)
3. Knowledge must develop and continue to change with the knowledge of the learner
4. Learning is continuous, life-long process
5. Knowledge develops in context and is central to the notions of situated learning
6. Thinking activities can be defined as writing persuasive essays, engaging in informal
reasoning, explaining how data relates to theories in scientific investigations,
formulating and solving moderately complex problems that require mathematical
reasoning
7. “Knowledge does not come into its own until the learner can deploy it with
understanding”
8. Constructivists also interested in having students identify and pursue their own
educational goals
9. Dick (1991) raised a concern about the lack of attention paid by constructivist to the
entry behaviors of students- not all are capable to pursue an independent project
10. Perkins (1991) acknowledged this saying learners must “play more of the task
management role than in convention instruction”
11. It is job of instructor to hold students in their zone of proximal development by
providing just enough guidance, but not too much
12. Prerequisite skills and entry learning goals are not ignored by constructivists, they
just attend more to higher-order goals
B. Constructivist Conditions for Learning
1. Goals of constructivist instruction: problem solving, reasoning, critical thinking
active and reflective use of knowledge
2. Variety of recs to bring about these goals
3. Learning conditions largely emphasize the process of learning
4. Conditions suggested by theorists for constructivist learning to occur (p. 393-401… a
more detailed explanation of each appears on the pages listed after the condition
below)
a. Embed learning in complex, realistic, relevant environments (394)
b. Provide for social negotiation as an integral part of learning (396)
c. Support multiple perspective and the use of multiple modes of
representation (398)
d. Encourage ownership in learning (399)
e. Nurture self-awareness of the knowledge construction process (401)
C. Constructivist Methods of Instruction
Table taken from p. 402 in the book
Table 11.1 A Summary of Goals, Conditions of Learning, and Instructional Methods Consistent
with Constructivism
Instructional Goal
Reasoning
Critical thinking
Retention
Cognitive flexibility
Conditions of Learning
Complex, realistic and relevant
environments that incorporate
authentic activity
Methods of Instruction
Microworlds, problem-based
learning
Social negotiation
Collaborative learning, Bubble
dialogue
Hypermedia
Self-regulation
Multiple perspectives are
multiple modes of learning
Ownership in learning
Mindful reflection, epistemic
flexibility
Self-awareness in knowledge
construction
Open-ended learning
environments, collaborative
learning, problem-based learning
Bubble dialogue, role plays,
debates, collaborative learning
D. Other methods that have shown or are likely to be effective in implementing
constructivist conditions for learning
1. Microworlds and hypermedia designs (p. 403)- small, but complete subsets of real
environments that promote discovery and exploration, design influence by research
on mental models, offer a point of entry that matches the learner’s cognitive ideas
2. Collaborative learning and problem scaffolding- some is computer supported
collaborative learning (CSCL), technology can facilitate, augment and even redefine
interactions among members of a work group (p. 404)
3. Goal-based scenarios/problem-based learning- present a clear and concrete goal to
be achieved and provide a task environment where learners learn and practice
target skills (designing a car, starting a business, eradicating a disease)
4. Software shells and course management tools- largely empty of content providing
instead functions that can be readily adapted to the user’s intended application,
“Bubble Dialogue”- students create conversations among comic strip characters,
including thoughts that would not be said out loud, have opportunity to express
personal (and sometimes naïve) views of the world, contemplate multiple
perspectives
E. Summary and Conclusions
1. Not a coincidence Constructivism is gaining popularity at the same time as
momentum for user-friendly computer technologies is building
2. Computer offers many opportunities for using Constructivist strategies
3. Not entirely clear as to whether Constructivism is a theory or a philosophy
4. Not competing with other theories but providing them with an alternative set of
values that deserve serious consideration (p. 406)