Educational Psychology

Cognitivism & Constructivism

Unit VI

Dr. Carline M. Desdemona

School of Education

MISSION VISION CORE VALUES

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holistic development to make effective contribution to Love of Fellow Beings
the society in a dynamic environment Social Responsibility | Pursuit of Excellence
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Constructivism

● Constructivism can be understood as a learning theory that

describes how humans learn and acquire knowledge.

● This theory highlights that people construct knowledge through the

experiences that they gain in real life and also generate meaning. 

● Jean Piaget is often known as the founder of constructivism,

● Other constructivists:
● Some of these key individuals are John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome
Bruner, Richard Rorty and Giambattista Vico.

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Principles

● Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or passively absorbed

● Learning is an active process

● All knowledge is socially constructed

● All knowledge is personal

● Learning exists in the mind

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Types

● Cognitive constructivism based on the work of Jean Piaget,

● social constructivism based on the work of Lev Vygotsky, and

● radical constructivism.

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● Cognitive development

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Major characteristics and developmental changes during this stage:

Birth to 2 Years

● Know the world through movements and sensations

● Learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping,
looking, and listening

● Learn that things continue to exist even when they cannot be seen (
object permanence)

● Realize that they are separate beings from the people and objects around
them

● Realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around
them
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2 to 7 Years

● Begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to

represent objects

● Tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of

others

● Getting better with language and thinking, but still tend to think in very
concrete terms

● Children become much more skilled at pretend play during this stage of
development, yet they continue to think very concretely about the world
around them. 

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7 to 11 Years

● Begin to think logically about concrete events

● Begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of

liquid in a short, wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for
example

● Thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete

● Begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to

a general principle
Note:
Kids at this point in development tend to struggle with abstract and
hypothetical concepts. During this stage, children also become less
egocentric and begin to think about how other people might think and
feel.  Excellence and Service
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Age 12 and Up

● Begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems

● Begins to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and

political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning

● Begins to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to

specific information

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Constructivism

● Constructivism is the theory that says learners construct knowledge

rather than just passively take in information.
● As people experience the world and reflect upon those experiences,
they build their own representations and incorporate new information
into their pre-existing knowledge (schemas).

● Related to this are the processes of assimilation and accommodation.

● Assimilation refers to the process of taking new information and

fitting it into an existing schema.
● Accommodation refers to using newly acquired information to revise
and redevelop an existing schema.

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Elements/Factors according to Piaget

● Schema

● A schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and

interpret information.
● In Piaget's view, a schema includes both a category of knowledge and
the process of obtaining that knowledge

● As experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add

to, or change previously existing schemas.

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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.
● seeing a dog and labeling it "dog" is a case of assimilating the animal
into the child's dog schema.

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Accommodation

● Another part of adaptation is the ability to change existing schemas in

light of new information;

● this process is known as accommodation. New schemas may also be

developed during this process.

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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).

● Piaget believed that all children try to strike a balance between

assimilation and accommodation using a mechanism he called
equilibration.
● Equilibration helps explain how children can move from one stage of
thought to the next.

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Cognitive constructivism

● 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.

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Social constructivism

● Social constructivism learning is a collaborative process, and

knowledge develops from individuals' interactions with their culture
and society.

● Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice:

● first, on the social level first, between people (interpsychological )
and, later on,

● on the individual level; inside the child (intrapsychological).

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Vygotsky’s social constructivism

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ZPD , MKO

● The Zone of Proximal Development is the gap between the level of

actual development,
● what the child can do on his own and the level of potential
development, what a child can do with the assistance of more
advanced and competent individuals.

● More Knowledgeable Others

● Social interaction, therefore, supports the child’s cognitive

development in the ZPD, leading to a higher level of reasoning.

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the teacher is expected to:

● Provide a social constructivist classroom environment that will boost
group interaction.
● ii. Discourage competition while encouraging collaboration and
sharing of experience among students.
● iii. Consider the students opinion or contribution as important
whether right or wrong.
● iv. Providing the necessary resources and guidance needed to prompt
the students into knowledge construction in the desired direction.
● v. Ensure that students feel secured to ask/answer questions, interact
and contribute to group discussions freely.
● vi. Ensure that more and less brilliant students learn from each other.

● vii. Provide scaffolding support where necessary, at the right time and
the right level.

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Importance of social constructivism in the

teaching/learning process
● Encourages active participation of students.
● 2. Encourages active participation and interaction among learners, the
teacher and other components of the teaching learning process.
● 3. Encourages the development of skill.
● 4. Encourages students to develop and use their own initiatives.
● 5. Discourages rote learning and passivity on the part of students.
● 6. Stimulates interest and aids retention.
● 7. Develops critical thinking and problem solving capacity.
● 8. Promotes individual and cooperative learning in the classroom.
● 9. Promotes team spirit among students as the work in groups.
● 10. Triggers curiosity on the part of learners through the use of activity
based teaching methods employed by the teacher.

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11. Promotes high self esteem on the part of students based on their trust
in selfapproach to learning. The teacher guides the students to trust,
believe in themselves and demonstrate that they can accomplish given
task.

12. Facilitates active construction of knowledge where students are

encouraged to explore and interact with the resources available.

13. Concretizes learning and knowledge in the sense that students are
more likely to retain the facts that they discover and construct by
themselves than those they are told or given by the teacher.

14. Helps in developing episodic memory. This refers to the ability to

reminisce or recall past event based on particular episodes or encounter
that surrounded it.

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What Vygotsky emphasizes

●  Vygotsky places more emphasis on culture affecting cognitive

development.

● Vygotsky places considerably more emphasis on social factors

contributing to cognitive development.

● Vygotsky places more (and different) emphasis on the role of

language in cognitive development.

● According to Vygotsky adults are an important source of

cognitive development.

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Radical constructivism

● The notion of radical constructivism was developed by Ernst von

Glasersfeld (1974) and states that all knowledge is constructed rather
than perceived through senses.
● Radical constructivism states that the knowledge individuals create
tells us nothing about reality,
● and only helps us to function in your environment.

● Thus, knowledge is invented not discovered.

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Role of the teacher in a constructivist classroom

● The primary responsibility of the teacher is to create a collaborative
problem-solving environment where students become active participants
in their own learning.
● From this perspective, a teacher acts as a facilitator of learning rather than
an instructor.
● The teacher makes sure he/she understands the students' preexisting
conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then build on
them

● Scaffolding is a key feature of effective teaching, where the adult

continually adjusts the level of his or her help in response to the learner's
level of performance.
● In the classroom, scaffolding can include modeling a skill, providing hints
or cues, and adapting material or activity (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009).

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Basic characteristics of constructivist learning environments

To be considered when implementing constructivist teaching strategies:

● 1) Knowledge will be shared between teachers and students.

● 2) Teachers and students will share authority.

● 3) The teacher's role is one of a facilitator or guide.

● 4) Learning groups will consist of small numbers of heterogeneous

students.

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Consequences of constructivist theory

● Students learn best when engaged in learning experiences rather

passively receiving information.

● Learning is inherently a social process because it is embedded within

a social context as students and teachers work together to build
knowledge.

● Because knowledge cannot be directly imparted to students, the goal

of teaching is to provide experiences that facilitate the construction of
knowledge.  

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Differences
Traditional Classroom Constructivist Classroom

Curriculum begins with the parts of the whole. Curriculum emphasizes big concepts, beginning with
Emphasizes basic skills. the whole and expanding to include the parts.

Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is highly valued. Pursuit of student questions and interests is valued.

Materials are primarily textbooks and workbooks. Materials include primary sources of material and manipulati
ve materials.

Learning is based on repetition. Learning is interactive, building on what the student already
knows.
Teachers disseminate information to students. Students Teachers have a dialogue with students, helping
are recipients of knowledge. students construct their own knowledge.

Teacher's role is directive, rooted in authority. Teacher's role is interactive, rooted in negotiation.

Assessment is through testing and correct answers. Assessment includes student works, observations and points
of view, as well as tests. Process is as important as product.

Knowledge is seen as dynamic, ever changing with our

Knowledge is seen as inert.
experiences.

Students work primarily alone. Students work primarily in groups.

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● The key difference between the two theories stems from the

emphasis that each theory lays on experiences and social
interactions.

● In constructivism, the emphasis is on personal experiences in

constructing knowledge, but in social constructivism the emphasis is
on social interactions and culture.

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● https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html
● https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/c
ognitive-constructivism/
● https://www.buffalo.edu/catt/develop/theory/constructivism.html#title
_1930168193
● https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets
-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457
● https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

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