1. What is learning in the constructivist way?

Constructivists view learning as the result of mental construction. Students learn

by fitting new information together with what they already know. People learn
best when they actively construct their own understanding.

2. What is a schema?

Piaget defined schemas as basic units of knowledge that related to all aspects of
the world

A schema is a cognitive structure that serves as a framework for one’s knowledge

about people, places, objects, and events. Schemas help people organize their
knowledge of the world and understand new information.

3. What is ZPD/ MKO/scaffolding?

*The zone of proximal development (ZPD or Zoped) is defined as the difference

between a child's “actual developmental level as determined by independent
problem solving” and the child's “level of potential development as determined
through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more
capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978). The ZPD refers to the learner's ability to
successfully complete tasks with the assistance of more capable other people.

*The more knowledgeable other (MKO) refers to someone who has a better
understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular
task, process, or concept.

* In education, scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional techniques used to

move students progressively toward stronger understanding and, ultimately,
greater independence in the learning process. The term itself offers the relevant
descriptive metaphor: teachers provide successive levels of temporary support that
help students reach higher levels of comprehension and skill acquisition that they
would not be able to achieve without assistance.

4. Describe the basic components of Jean Piaget cognitive theory (adaptation,

assimilation, accommodation, equilibration.). Give an example to illustrate.

Adaptation

Adaptation is the tendency to adjust to the environment. It is the process by

which humans match the original experience and the new experience and this
 may not fit together. Adaptation involves two sub ‐processes: assimilation and
accommodation.

Assimilation

The process of taking in new information into our already existing schemas is
known as assimilation. The process is somewhat subjective because we tend to
modify experiences and information slightly to fit in with our preexisting
beliefs. In the example above, seeing a dog and labeling it "dog" is a case of
assimilating the animal into the child's dog schema.

Assimilation of knowledge occurs when a learner encounters a new idea, and must ‘fit’ that
idea into what they already know. Think of this as filling existing containers.

When a child learns the word for dog, they start to call all four-legged animals dogs. This is
assimilation. People around them will say, no, that’s not a dog, it’s a cat. The schema for dog
then gets modified to restrict it to only certain four-legged animals. That is accommodation.

“Assimilation is like adding air into a balloon. You just keep blowing it up. It gets bigger and
bigger. For example, a two year old’s schema of a tree is “green and big with bark” — over
time the child adds information (some trees lose their leaves, some trees have names, we
use a tree at Christmas, etc.) – Your balloon just gets full of more information that fits neatly
with what you know and adds onto it.

Accommodation is when you have to turn your round balloon into the shape of a poodle.
This new balloon ‘animal’ is a radical shift in your schema (or balloon shape)….Now that they
are in college in the redwood forest, we have conceptualization (schema) of trees as a
source of political warfare, a commodity, a source of income for some people, we know that
people sit and live in trees to save them; in other words, trees are economic, political, and
social vehicles. This complete change in the schema involves a lot of cognitive energy, or
accommodation, a shift in our schema.”

Accommodation

Another part of adaptation involves changing or altering our existing schemas

in light of new information, a process known as accommodation.
Accommodation involves modifying existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of
new information or new experiences. New schemas may also be developed
during this process.
 Equilibration

Piaget believed that all children try to strike a balance between assimilation and
accommodation, which is achieved through a mechanism Piaget called
equilibration. As children progress through the stages of cognitive
development, it is important to maintain a balance between applying previous
knowledge (assimilation) and changing behavior to account for new knowledge
(accommodation).

Equilibration is a concept developed by Piaget that describes the cognitive

balancing of new information with old knowledge. This is a major component
of Piaget's theory of childhood cognitive development. Equilibration involves
the assimilation of information to fit with an individual's own existing mental
schemas and the accommodation of information by adapting it their way of
thinking.

For example, a child loves the soups that their family eats on a regular basis.
They have developed the schema that all soup is delicious. The child then has
dinner at a friend's house and is served a bowl of soup- and hates it. Initially the
child is in the assimilation area of Equilibration - they feel that since ALL soup
is good then this soup must be good. They repeatedly keep trying it and
disliking it. This leads to disEquilibration which is a state of cognitive conflict
and stress. In order to alleviate the disEquilibration the child enters the
accommodation phase of Equilibration - they adapt their thinking to stop the
conflict and realize that not all soup is good and that some of it tastes bad.

5. How many stages of cognitive development are there according to Jean Piaget?
What are they?

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through
four different stages of mental development. They are:

- Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

- Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7

- Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11

- Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

6. Point out the differences b/t cognitive constructivism and social constructivism.

Constructivists focus on what's happening within the minds or brains of

individuals; social constructionists focus on what's happening between people as they join
together to create realities.

Cognitive constructivism states knowledge is something that is actively constructed

by learners based on their existing cognitive structures. Therefore, learning is
relative to their stage of cognitive development.
Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new information
to existing knowledge, and enabling them to make the appropriate modifications to
their existing intellectual framework to accommodate that information.
*According to social constructivism learning is a collaborative process, and
knowledge develops from individuals' interactions with their culture and society.
Social constructivism was developed by Lev Vygotsky (1978, p. 57) who suggested
that,
Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social
level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological)
and then inside the child (intrapsychological).