Objectivism vs. Constructivism

Based on Wilson (1997) & Roblyer (2003)

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Current educational Goals and Methods: Two views

Directed instruction: grounded primarily in behaviorism and the information-processing branch of cognitive learning theories (acquisition metaphor).

Constructivist instruction evolved from other branches of thinking in cognitive learning theory (participation metaphor).

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Philosophical foundations Objectivist: knowledge has a separate, real

existence of its own outside the human mind. Learning happens when this knowledge is transmitted to people and they store it in their minds.

Constructivist: humans construct all knowledge in their minds by participating in certain experiences; learning occurs when one constructs both mechanisms for learning and her own unique version of the knowledge, colored by background, experiences, and aptitudes.

A tree was falling off in the middle of a forest in BC and no body was around. Since nobody heard, did the falling tree make a noise?

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Methodological differences

Directed Teacher: transmitter of

knowledge; expert source; director of skill/concept development through structured experiences

Student: receive information; demonstrate competence; all students learn same material

Curriculum: based on skill and knowledge hierarchies; skills taught one after the other in set sequence.

Constructivist Teacher: guide and facilitator

as students construct their own knowledge; collaborative resource and assistant as students explore topics.

Student: collaborate with other; develop competence; students may learn different material

Curriculum: based on projects/problems, etc. that foster both higher and lower level skills concurrently.

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More methodological differences Directed

Learning goals: stated in terms of mastery learning and behavioral competence in a scope and sequence

Activities: lecture, demonstration, discussions, drill practice, seatwork, testing

Assessment: written tests and development of products matched to objectives; all tests and products match set criteria; same measures for all students.

Constructivist

Learning goals: stated in terms of growth and increased ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Activities: group projects, hands-on exploration, authentic tasks, product development

Assessment: alternative assessment including performance assessment, portfolios; quality measured by rubrics and checklists; measures may differ among students.

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Theoretical Foundations: Directed

Behavioral theories: concentrate on immediately observable, thus, behavioral, changes in performance (tests) as indicators of learning. Pavlov: ‘conditioned response’, behavior is largely

controlled by involuntary physical responses to outside stimuli (e.g. dogs salivating at the sight of dog food).

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Behaviorist (Skinner, ‘stimulus-response’ ) behavior is more controlled by the consequences of

actions than by events preceding the action. A consequence is an outcome (stimulus) after the behavior influence future behaviors. (e.g. a child reasons she will get praise if she behaves well in school).

Since internal learning processes cannot be seen directly, the focus is on cause-and –effect relationships that can be established by observation.

Human behavior can be shaped by ‘contingencies of reinforcement”: positive reinforcement – increase in desired behavior

from a stimulus (study hard- praise) Negative reinforcement -increase in desired behavior

from avoiding or removing a stimulus (not finish assignment – detention).

Punishment – decrease in undesirable behaviorundesirable behavior from undesirable consequences. (cheating– failure)

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Theoretical Foundations: Directed (cont.)

Information Processing Theories: behaviorisms focus only on external directly observable indicators of learning, information-processing theory (first and most influential of the cognitive-learning theories) try to visualize what is impossible to observe directly.

Human brain has 3 kinds of memories: sensory registers--memory that receives all the information a

person senses (1 second) Short-term (working) memory (5-20 seconds) Long-term memory (indefinitely).

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Theoretical Foundations: Directed (cont.)

Information-Processing Theory: Model of human memory system

Sensory RegisterInput

(through eyes, mouth, etc.)

Working (short term) memory

Long term memory

attention

Lost

Rehearsal

Meaningful learning

Organizing

Elaborating

Imagery

Lost

May lost if not using regularly

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More directed: Gagne’s Principles Build on behaviorism and information-processing theories,

Gagne translated principles from learning theories into practical instructional strategies.

Events of instruction (9): to arrange optimal ‘conditions of learning’.

1. Gaining attention2. Informing the learner of the objective3. Stimulating recall of prerequisite learning4. Presenting new material5. Providing learning guidance6. Eliciting performance7. Formative assessment8. Summative assessment9. Enhancing retention and recall

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More Gagne Types of learning: he identified types of learning as behaviors

students demonstrate after acquiring knowledge. They differ according to the conditions necessary to foster them. He showed how the Events of Instruction would be carried out slightly different from one type of learning to another:

1. Intellectual skills Problem solving Higher order rules Defined concepts Concrete concepts discriminations

2. Cognitive strategies3. Verbal information4. Motor skills5. attitudes

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One more Gagne

Learning hierarchies: the development of ‘intellectual skills requires learning that amounts to a building process. Lower level skills provide a necessary foundation for higher level ones. E.g. to learn long division, students first have to learn all prerequisite skills including number recognition, addition and subtraction, etc.

Gagne’s work has been widely used to develop systematic instructional design principles (major influence in business, industry, and military training).

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Constructivism

The differences among those who think of themselves as constructivists makes it difficult to settle on a single definition.

Theorists like Dewey, Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bruner are credited with fundamental premises of constructivism.

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Social constructivism

Dewey: curriculum should arise from student interests Curriculum topics should be integrated, not

isolated. Education is growth, rather than an end in itself. Learning occurs through its connection with life,

rather than through participation in curriculum. Learning should be hands on and experience

based, rather than abstract.

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Social constructivism (cont.)

Vygotsky: Cognitive development is directly related to and

based on social development. Zone of proximal development: difference

between two levels of cognitive functioning (adult/expert and child/novice).

Scaffolding: the assistance that an expert gives a novice to help him/her reach higher than would be possible by the novice’s efforts alone.

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Piaget: Cognitive development

Child’s 4 stages of cognitive development:1. Sensorimoter (birth-2 yrs.) –explore world through senses

and motor activity. Cannot differentiate between self and environment (if they cannot see, it doesn’t exist)

2. Preoperational: (2-7) – develop greater abilities to communicate via speech and to engage in symbolic activities (drawing object, play pretending and imaging).

3. Concrete operational (7-11) – increase in abstract reasoning ability and ability to generalize.

4. Formal operations (12-15) – can form and test hypotheses, organize information, reason scientifically, show results of abstract thinking in the form of symbolic materials.

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Piaget (cont.)

Piaget’s basic assumptions:1. Children are active and motivated learners2. Children’s knowledge of the world becomes more integrated

and organized over time3. Children learn through the processes of assimilation and

accommodation4. Cognitive development depends on interaction with one’s

physical and social environment5. The processes of equilibration (resolving disequilibrium) help to

develop increasingly complex levels of thought6. Cognitive development can occur only after certain genetically

controlled neurological changes occur. 7. Cognitive development occurs in four qualitatively different

stages.

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Bruner: Learning as discovery Bruner also categorized children’s cognitive development stage:

Enactive stage (0-3) Iconic stage (3-8) Symbolic stage (8-)

Discovery learning: an approach to instruction through which students interact with their environment – by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing experiments.

However, teachers found that discovery learning is most successful when student have prerequisite knowledge and undergo some structured experiences.

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Gardner: Multiple intelligences

Of all theories embraced by constructivists, Gardner is the only one that attempt to define the role of intelligence in learning.

Types of intelligence:Linguistic; Musical; Logical-mathematical;

Spatial; Bodily-kinesthetic; Intrapersonal; Interpersonal; Naturalist.

Educational implication: teachers need to try to determine which types of intelligence each student has and direct the student to learning activities that capitalize on these innate abilities.