MODULE 14: CONSTRUCTIVISM: KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION/CONCEPT

LEARNING

LESSON OBJECTIVES

1. Explain the role of constructivism in facilitating learning.

2. Describe strategies to promote knowledge construction.
3. Describe strategies to facilitate concept learning.

LESSON OVERVIEW
This Module discusses constructivism which was mentioned in the previous modules
of Piaget and Bruner. It is the distillation of most of the principles of cognitive psychologists.

Read the quotation below.

"Teaching is not about filling up the pail; it is about lighting a fire." - William Butler
Yeats Treats

1. What concepts/ ideas/ images came to your mind when you read "Teaching as filling
up the pail"? Elaborate.
2. What concepts/ ideas/ images came to your mind when you read "Teaching is about
lighting a fire"? Elaborate.
3. What do you think the quotation meant? What two kinds of teaching are being
referred to?

LESSON CONTENT
So far, you have studied about the behavioristic and cognitive views of learning.
Behaviorism focused on the external, observable behavior. Learning is explained as a
connection between the stimulus and the response. Reinforcement is the key to learning.
Behaviorists saw learning as a change in behavior brought about by experience with little
acknowledgment of the mental or internal aspects of learning. On the other hand, the
cognitive view focuses on the internal processes. Learning is an active process. Learners
initiate experiences, search for information to solve problems, and recognize what they
already know to come up with new insights.
In the quotation above, "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."
More associated with cognitive psychology than behaviorism, constructivism focuses
on knowledge construction. You were introduced to constructivism on Bruner's theory. Just as
there are different views within cognitive psychology, constructivism also has different
"versions".
Two Views of Constructivism
Individual Constructivism. This is also called cognitive constructivism. It
emphasizes the 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
that 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 ideas. 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 has sense to them.
2. New learning depends on current understanding. Background information is very
important. It is through the present views or scheme that the learner has the 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 needed when applied in the real world. For 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 that 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, others more complicated that may take you to learn them more gradually. The
concepts you learned are also revised as you learn more and experience more.
Concepts as Future 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 al 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 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 cat we see, rather than some
rare breed or species. Once learners have their own concept prototypes, the new examples
that they see are checked against this existing prototype.
Concepts as Exemplars. Exemplars represent a variety of examples. It allows
learners to know that an example under a concept may have variability. For example, a
learner's concept of vegetables may include a wide variety of different examples like
cauliflower, kangkong, cabbage, string beans, squash, corn, and potatoes. When he
encounters a new type of vegetable like "bitsuelas", he would search from the exemplars he
knows and look 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 defining features very concrete and prominent
• Give a variety of positive instances
• Give negative instances
• Cite a "best example" or a prototype
• Provide an 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
Schemes and scripts. A scheme 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

• Aim to make learners understand a few key ideas in an in-depth manner, rather than
taking up so many topics superficially.
• Give varied examples.
• Provide opportunities for experimentation.
• Provide lots of opportunities for quality interaction.
• Have lots of hands-on activities.
• Relate your topics to real-life situations.
• Do not depend on the explanation method all the time.