Key Figures in Constructionism
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget was born in 1896 and was active from the 1920’s through the 1980’s. His research focused heavily on children and he developed a theory of stages of cognitive growth. He also was a key figure in Constructivism, particularly radical constructivism, the idea that each human constructs their knowledge from their experiences, interactions, and observations, rather than simply absorbing “facts” taught by others as truth.
Building on to his cognitive theory of stages of development that children go through, he believed higher levels of thinking develop from logic and reason. Piaget believed that the interaction between what a person experiences and their ideas results in the creation of knowledge. His theory of constructivist learning includes the process of accommodation, where a person’s current ideas are reorganized to make sense of new experiences, creating adjusted and expanded knowledge. The process of assimilation comes next, where a person absorbs the characteristics of a social group, further building their knowledge.
Piaget’s ideas on constructivism have been applied to the classroom today through a focus on activity-based discovery learning. Children find out for themselves what happens when they complete an action (for example, will the cup of water balance well on the bridge of blocks?), thus adding to their current knowledge of the stability of objects. They may discuss with their class what happened and try to figure out why, thus building on to their knowledge in a social group setting.
Mcleod, S. (2024, August 5). Piaget’s theory and stages of cognitive development. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
Brau, B. “Coonstructivism.” Education Research across Multiple Paradigms, by R Kimmons, 2022, open.byu.edu/education_research. Accessed 7 Sept. 2024.
Lev Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky was born in 1934, and active in his field from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. As a social constructivist, he believed that all knowledge and learning was achieved through an individual interacting with others, thus creating shared meaning. To Vygotsky, culture and language play integral roles in learning. Culture affects how value and meaning is placed on an experience, and language is the way that knowledge is communicated to others.
In learning, Vygotsky believed that an MKO (More Knowledgeable Other) plays a key role in leading each learner through the Zone of Proximal Development, which is the difference between what a student is capable of independently, and what they can achieve with assistance. This translates into today’s learning experiences by a focus on group activities that form a collective conclusion, as well as peers taking the role of MKO within smaller groups, reinforcing their own knowledge, while assisting the less experienced learner to advance.
Mcleod, S. (2024). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
Brau, B. “Coonstructivism.” Education Research across Multiple Paradigms, by R Kimmons, 2022, open.byu.edu/education_research. Accessed 7 Sept. 2024.
Pappas, C. (2023, May 9). A Guide To Vygotsky’s Zone Of Proximal Development And Scaffolding. ELearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/guide-to-vygotskys-zone-of-proximal-development-and-scaffolding
Return to top
John Dewey
John Dewey was active in constructivist theory from the late 1800’s through the 1930’s. Like Vygotsky, he emphasized the influence of cultural forms and meaning in the progress of higher level thought. He believed that collaborative and creative activities, based on real-life activities or situations, led to higher order knowledge.
Dewey believed that sustained inquiry was helpful to keep a learner motivated, and an important way to do this was to connect the learning experience to real world situations, rather than separating “education” from “life.”
In the classroom, his ideas are seen when students work on real-world math problems, or older students are challenged to discuss ideas to solve larger problems facing their world.
Brau, B. “Coonstructivism.” Education Research across Multiple Paradigms, by R Kimmons, 2022, open.byu.edu/education_research. Accessed 7 Sept. 2024.
Hildebrand, D. (2018). John Dewey (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford.edu. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dewey/
Return to top
Implications of Constructivism for Instructional Design
When going through this unit, my thoughts automatically went to the realm of special education for children. When assisting children with learning disabilities within a mainstream classroom, groups of mixed ability students are often created, with the more advanced student acting as an MKO for the child with learning disabilities. It’s often easier for a child to take direction or understand an explanation from a peer; they share a common “language” due to their similar age and social situation in school. Peers can model in a way that is more accessible for a child with learning issues to imitate.
Scaffolding is also a vital part of many IEPs to assist children with learning disabilities. Verbal prompting, graphic organizers, calculators, notes, chunked information all play a role in getting children through their ZPD, which is different for each child. As they progress, there is a goal of reducing the amount of support provided as they gain proficiency.
One limitation of constructivism within special education is its focus on language. Often children with learning disabilities have a language disorder that can reduce their capacity to understand and express themselves with language.
Nickerson, C. (2024, February 14). Social Constructionism Definition and Examples. http://Www.simplypsychology.org; Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-constructionism.html
Reciprocal Teaching | AdLit. (2023). http://Www.adlit.org. https://www.adlit.org/in-the-classroom/strategies/reciprocal-teaching
Return to Learning Theory (LDTC 600)
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Scratchpad WordPress Theme Version: 1.0.11, Copyright 2024 by by Automattic