CONTRUCTIVISM

What is meant by constructivism? The term refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for
themselves---each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning- -as he or she learns. Constructing
meaning is learning; there is no other kind.

The dramatic consequences of this view are twofold;

1) We have to focus on the learner in thinking about learning (not on the subject/lesson to be taught):

2) There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to experience (constructed) by the learner, or
community of learners.

In this quotation, “filling up the pail” is more linked to rote learning and behaviorism. It connotes that teaching
is dominated by the teacher and the learners are passive receivers of knowledge. “Lighting the fire” is related to
the cognitive perspective and constructivism. It signifies that teaching involves giving opportunities for
learners to explore and discover. Learners construct their own meaning. Learners generate insights and are
“enlightened”.

Two Views of Constructivism

 Individual Constructivism

This is also called cognitive constructivism. It emphasizes individual, internal construction of knowledge. It
is largely based on Piaget’s theory. Proponents of this type choose child-centered and discovery learning. They
believe the learners should be allowed to discover principles through their own exploration rather than direct
instruction by the teacher.

 Social Constructivism.

This view emphasizes that “knowledge exists in a social context and is initially shared with others instead
of being represented solely in the mind of an individual.” It is based on Vygotsky’s theory. Here,
construction of knowledge is shared by two or more people. According to social constructivists, the opportunity
to interact and share among learners help to shape and refine their knowledge construction becomes social, not
individual.

Characteristics of Constructivism

Whether one takes the individual or social view of constructivism, there are four characteristics that these two
views have in common. According to Eggen and Kauchak, these are:

1. Learners construct understanding. As discussed earlier, constructivists do not view learners as just empty
vessels waiting to be filled up. They see learners as active thinkers who interpret new information based on
what they already know. They construct knowledge in a way that make sense to them.

2. New learning depends on current understanding. Background inform is very important. It is through the
present view or scheme that the learner has that new information will be interpreted.

3. Learning is facilitated by social interaction. Constructivists believe in creating a “community of learners”

within classrooms. Learning communities help learners take responsibility for their own learning. Learners have
a lot of opportunities to cooperate and collaborate to solve problems and discover things. Teachers play the role
of a facilitator rather than an expert who has all the knowledge.
4. Meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning tasks. An authentic task is one that involves a
learning activity that involves constructing knowledge and understanding that is so akin to the knowledge and
understanding needed when applied in the real world. Example, a writing activity where six-year olds prepare a
checklist of things they need to do in school is a more an authentic activity than for them to be working only on
tracing worksheets with dotted lines.

Organizing Knowledge

Concepts. A concept is a way of grouping or categorizing objects or events in our mind. A concept of “teach”
includes a group of tasks such as model, discuss, illustrate, explain, assist, etc. In your life as a student you
would learn thousands of concepts, some simple ones, and other more complicated that may take you to learn
them more gradually. The concepts you learn are also revised as you learn more and experience more.

 Concepts as Feature Lists. Learning a concept involves learning specific features that characterize positive
instance of the concept. Included here are defining features and correlational feature. A defining feature is a
characteristic present in ALL instances. Example, a triangle has three sides. Having three sides is a defining
feature of a triangle because ALL triangles should have three sides. If one doesn’t then it is not a triangle. A
correlational feature is one that is present in many positive instances but not essential for concept
membership. For example, a mother is loving. Being loving is a feature commonly present in the concept of a
mother. But a mother may not be loving. So “being loving” is only a correlational feature, not a defining one.

 Concepts as Prototypes. A prototype is an idea or a visual image of a “typical” example. It is usually formed
based on the positive instances that learners encounter most often. Example, close your eyes now and for a
moment think of a cat. Picture in mind what it looks like. You probably thought of an image of the common car
we see, rather than some rare breed or species. Once learners have their own concept of prototypes, the new
examples that they see are checked against this existing prototype.

 Concepts as Exemplars. Exemplars represent a variety if examples. It allows learners to know that an
example under a concept may have variability. Example, a learner’s concept of vegetable may include a variety
of different examples like cauliflower, kangkong, cabbage, string beans, squash, corn, potatoes. When he
encounters a new type of vegetable like “bitsuelas”, he would search from the exemplars he knows and looks
for one that is most similar, like string beans.

Making Concept-learning Effective. As a future teacher, you can help students learn

concepts by doing the following:

Provide a clear definition of the concept

Make the definition features very concrete and prominent
Give a variety of positive instances
Give negative instances
Cite a “best example” or a prototype
Provide opportunity for learners to identify positive and negative instances
Ask learners to think of their own example of the concept
Point out how concepts can be related to each other

Schemas and scripts. A schema is an organized body of knowledge about something. It is like a file of
information you hold in your mind about something. Like a schema of what a teacher is. A script is a schema
that includes a series of predictable events about a specific activity. Examples would include knowing the series
of steps done when we visit a doctor, or what transpires at the beginning of the class when the teacher arrives.
Your role as a teacher is to bring learners to construct their own knowledge such that they have a well-
organized set of concepts, aim to make clear those concepts that are still vague for them, and to pave the way
for them to overcome misconceptions. It is important that you acquire skills on how to facilitate concept
formation and development. Constructivism can be an excellent guide for you.

Applying constructivism in facilitating learning

 Provide lots of opportunities for quality interaction.

 Give varied examples.

 Relate your topic to real life situations.

 Do not depend on the explanation method all the time

 Aim to make learners understand a few key ideas in an in-depth manner, rather

than taking u so many topics superficially.

 Provide opportunities for experimentation.

 Have lots of hands-on activities.