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= CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING THEORY = Brooke Urbina    ~     EP600      ~    Dr. Kate Green     ~     Signature Assignment: Expansion & Elaboration     ~   The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Purpose and Goals:
Traditional education relies on rote memorization, and instructor fed knowledge, but “Constructivism - particularly in its “social” forms - suggest that the learner is much more actively involved in a joint enterprise with the teacher and with peers in creating (constructing) knowledge” (Harasim, 2017, p. 62). Because of the collaboration significance between teachers, students and peers, ensuring students are active participants in their own learning, Constructivism, with directed and intentional training, is the learning theory that could direct feasible changes to the current education system, without overwhelming anyone involved.

Explanation of Constructivist Learning Theory:
As outlined by Saul McLeod, published researcher for The University of Manchester, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Constructivism maintains five basic 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 (Saul, 2019).

The first principle indicating that knowledge is constructed, is based on the idea that “learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning” (Saul, 2019). In traditional education, this is essentially how the courses are organized, relying on the notion that students learn and maintain knowledge of information from one year to the next, so the next course in line builds on that information. This is somewhat true with Social Studies and History courses, depending on the content from year to year, but this is inherently true for Math courses, for if students cannot build on their previous knowledge to move forward, they will not be successful in subsequent Math courses.

The second principle, maintaining that learning is an active process, supports the teaching values of every teacher. Students cannot learn if they are simply trying to learn through osmosis. They must take initiative and engage in the content to truly learn the concepts. This is one where some teachers struggle, for students cannot actively engage in a lecture. Activities must be hands on and interactive, related to real-world issues (Saul, 2019).

The next two principles complement each other: all knowledge is socially constructed and all knowledge is personal. When students are actively engaged with their peers, their knowledge becomes socially constructed, and what they remember and how they remember it, is personal to their own experiences and prior knowledge. This is where Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development comes to fruition. According to Vygotsky, “learning takes place when learners solve problems beyond their actual developmental level - but within their level of potential development - under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Harasim, 2017, p. 69).

The last of Saul’s principles of constructivist theory, “posits that knowledge can only exist within the human mind, and that it does not have to match any real world reality” (Driscoll, 2000, as cited in Saul, 2019). The world is not seen identically to everyone, so “Learners will be constantly trying to develop their own individual mental model of the real world from their perceptions of that world” (Saul, 2019), and “As they perceive new experience, learners will continually update their own mental models to reflect the new information, and will, therefore, construct their own interpretation of reality” (Saul, 2019). This is also something lower level students do regularly to make connections to the material they’re learning in class. A teacher may ask something as simple as, “What kinds of animals are brown?” Within the room, depending on the pets students have, books they’ve read or heard, and TV shows or movies they’ve watched, the responses can vary greatly, because for each student, the reality of that response is different.

The Constructivist Learning Pedagogy, as outlined by Harasim (2017) is another element of the theory that supports its feasibility of smooth integration into the traditional classroom. According to Harasim (2017), “The constructivist view of learning has generated a number of teaching approaches based on the following four key principles or values: active learning; learning-by-doing; scaffolded learning; collaborative learning” (p. 70). Each of these teaching approaches are common practice in the traditional classroom, but they can be done more effectively to adequately represent the constructivist view of learning.

Active learning strategies have been common in the practical use of many research based learning strategies. These are activities that administrators use in faculty meetings to demonstrate how teachers can use them in their classrooms, and they’re activities that teachers can easily design and facilitate effectively. The issue with some of these, however, is that they are not effective unless everyone is actively participating. If a group of students has one or two members that are determined to be passive learners, it makes the activity less effective for those who want to participate.

Seymour Papert “describes an educational philosophy that teaches children to do something rather than teaching them about something” (Harasim, 2017, p. 73), hence, learning-by-doing. Within this concept, constructivist pedagogical approaches include: problem-based learning; distributed problem-based learning; case-based learning; inquiry-based learning; role-play simulation and game-based learning. Learning-by-doing is an element many teachers shy away from, due to the “chaos” it creates in the classroom, and the intricate planning it requires to be done efficiently. Makerspaces are a current concept utilized in many schools to attempt to engage students in learning-by-doing. Some of these activities require technology, while some are simply imagination creation based, where students are given a pile of materials to see what they can create. These can be beneficial activities, but with the traditional classroom setting, they don’t readily fit into the curriculum, and if they do, one activity a year is not efficient use of learning-by-doing.

Scaffolded learning, which “refers to specialized teaching strategies or tools designed to support learning when students are first introduced to a new subject” (Harasim, 2017, p. 73). This concept, above all, could be most beneficial for teachers and students, if the environment can be effectively designed for support. Not all students require the same assistance from the teacher. Currently, students are bored in classrooms, while teachers are attempting to teach to the various levels and learning styles of their classrooms. If the system was set up to support scaffolded learning, those students who “get it” could continue their learning, while the teacher provides assistance to those who need it, at the level of which it’s needed.

Collaborative learning is also a key element, for it “emphasizes the sharing of alternative viewpoints and challenging or developing each alternative point of view” (Harasim, 2017, p. 74). In the workplace, this is a skill that students must have to be successful. They must be able to learn from their peers, question their peers, and adjust or evolve their own thinking based on the information they gather. As this is another element that educators are somewhat familiar with at attempt to utilize in their classrooms, there are many different activities for collaborative learning that teachers can easily and efficiently model in their classrooms.

Role of Teacher:
In regards to the role of the instructor in Constructivist Learning Theory, Harasim (2017) provides the example that the instructor “seeks to stimulate conceptual change by challenging a student’s existing concepts in order to create cognitive disequilibration. The student will try to restore equilibrium or resolve the problem. Through the process of disequilibration and requilibration, the student constructs new cognitive structures” (p. 65). Through this, teachers are responsible for challenging the thought process of students and providing them with the experiences to encounter disequilibration from their current frame of knowledge. As the teacher is the professional in the classroom now, they continue to be the professional in the frame of constructivist theory, even if it is a technology driven classroom, but they will need to be masters of technology use in addition to possessing mastery of their content. The principles of the constructivist view of learning lend themselves towards a student-centered classroom, maintaining significance in the role of the teacher, requiring active learning, learning-by-doing, scaffolded learning, and collaborative learning.

Active learning strategies are commonly found in curriculum planning, but the effectiveness of the delivery is questionable at times. If students are actively learning, they’re out of their seats, they’re talking, and they’re moving around the room. For some teachers, this can create chaos that they are not comfortable with. If done effectively, however, the noise is productive, not chaos. One way to actively engage students is an activity using posters and a gallery walk. In this activity, for example in a high school English class, reading To Kill a Mockingbird, students would be split into groups. Each group would be given a concept related to the reading of the novel: character analysis, setting significance, relation to today’s society, etc. Each group would be instructed to lay out their thoughts on their topic, referring to the novel or other resources they’ve obtained throughout the reading, that the rest of the class has already been exposed to and has access to. When they’ve completed outlining their ideas, and they’ve written them out on the poster, the teacher hangs the posters around the room. At this point, students are instructed to move around the room and collect notes about the novel concepts from each group, hence walking the gallery. A timer is set, so each group can engage with the content without having the pressure of other groups invading their space. While taking notes, the groups can discuss what is written on the poster, and if they question any of the information, the teacher is roaming the room to answer questions or clarify and misunderstandings that may have been presented. Once students have had the opportunity to engage with each concept, the class has a discussion about interesting elements they learned from the other groups, asks any questions they may still have, and the teacher can fill in any information that may have been lost to interpretation. In this facilitating role, the teacher provided students with the text and other resources throughout the reading, and during the activity, the teacher is able to direct students to significant concepts, answer questions, clear up misunderstandings, and expand on any information that may have been cut short.

Learning-by-doing activities are a great way for students to actually learn a concept, and depending on the purpose, they can use their newfound knowledge to teach their peers. Flipgrid is a great tool for this in many aspects. Math is a subject where students struggle to sit and listen to instructions, while taking notes, and then attempting to use their notes to apply the information to successfully completing the problems presented. With Flipgrid, teachers can encourage students to learn Math concepts by doing them. In a Math class, concepts build on each other, so if students have foundational skills, they should be able to apply those skills to the next level of the concept, more or less. Starting a new unit, students would each be assigned a problem. Conceptually, these problems build on previous skills, so students would have to apply those skills to figure out how to solve them. Once students have attempted to solve their problem, they would create a Flipgrid video, laying out their problem and explaining their thinking process through their solution. The teacher can then either watch the videos and respond with a Flipgrid video commending their skillful use of prior knowledge or making suggestions for correction at various steps of the solution, or the teacher can assign each member of the class the video of another student to do the same. This, however, may not be as effective for this activity, for if the partnering student doesn’t see a mistake made, the correct process won’t be revealed. Another method for instruction would allow the teacher to play each video for the class, and allow students to work out the problems along with their peers, stopping the video for discussion if there is a mistake and correcting it at that point.

This scaffolding element is one that teachers need to master to efficiently maintain a student-centered classroom. Educators, in the traditional classroom, make genuine attempts at the other three principles, but scaffolding is a struggle, for in a traditional classroom, it’s virtually impossible to do with the various needs of 30 students, in one room, at the same time. With technology inclusion, however, this process can be manageable, for students at higher levels will begin to work, and they will not require a great deal of attention, at first. Middle range students may need a little instruction to get them going, and the struggling students left, will have the undivided attention of the teacher until they’ve grasped the concept they’re attempting to master. These struggling learners need confidence in their own abilities, and “Scaffolding gives students a context, motivation and foundation from which to understand the new information” (Harasim, 2017, p. 73). One method of scaffolding that teachers can easily incorporate for their English Language Learning Students (ELL) is related to their available texts. For example, students who cannot speak English at all, teachers may provide them with a translated version of the text. For students who are beginning to speak English, but their understanding is still minimal, teachers would supply the English text along with the text in their own language, or use of an iPad to use the camera function of Google Translate, which will translate text into any language, as the camera is held over the text. For students who are grasping the English language, but not at grade level, teachers could provide a “Read 180” version of the text, which is written in simpler language, at a lower level, that might be easier understood. Even in this case, a version of the text in their first language could also be made available to ensure the student received access to the full text. This phase, with the lower reading level version of the text, is also a scaffolding strategy that can be used with students possessing lexiles below grade level. At any phase, the Google Translate app can be utilized by ELL students when a version of the text is not available in their first language. In this case, the role of the teacher would be more of a resource, ensuring the student had access to materials or technology that will ensure learning can continue, even with a language barrier.

Collaborative learning activities require the students to work together, with the teacher and each other, to solve a problem (Harasim, 2017). The teacher is not a bystander, nor are they the central focus; “the teacher should be a participant in the classroom” (Harasim, 2017, p. 75). With the constructivist learning view of collaboration, the emphasis is in “the sharing of alternative viewpoints and challenging or developing each alternative point of view” (Harasim, 2017, p. 74). Socratic Seminars are a perfect manipulation of this skill. The purpose of the Socratic Seminar is to analyze a text, using the text itself and outside research to support the analysis. The teacher would divide the students into groups, assign each group a list of analysis questions related to the text, and using Mindmeister.com, an online collaborative tool, group members would begin collecting textual quotes and outside resources to support their ideas of each question. Once the research was collected, the groups would choose a presenter from each group, and the rest of the group members would be research assistants. The students will be moved into a multi-layered circle in the middle of the room, with the presenters sitting in the middle circle, and the research assistants sitting in the next two circles, behind their presenter. The instructor, here, is the facilitator of the Socratic Seminar. They will present the question to begin the discussion, and when it seems as though the discussion is going off track or hitting a low point, they will change the subject by introducing the next question. While facilitating the discussion, they are also making note of the presenters’ use of text and research to support their ideas, while making note of presented information they feel may have been misconstrued, requiring revisitation at a later point.

Role of Student:
In the constructivist learning environment, students must primarily be active learners, working together with their peers and the teacher, to expand on their knowledge of a topic in order to solve a problem or come to an educated conclusion. Categorically, students are divided into groups, whether online or in the physical classroom, and in many cases, one student is designated the leader, taking responsibility for the participation of the group members; theoretically, “the success of one student in the group encourages other students to be successful” (Shimon, 2011, as cited in Alzahrani & Woollard, 2013).

In each of the activities above, students are actively participating in the learning process. Some students take more of a leadership role to help encourage this active participation, but all students are responsible for their own learning and for being an asset to the learning of their peers. This active process is highly necessary in collaborative activities, such as the Socratic Seminar. Here, although students are in groups, any one of the students will be the leader and be responsible for expressing and defending the research and ideas of the group. When students are organized in the seminar circle, with the Presenter in the middle circle and the group members, or Researchers, in the next two supporting circles, that does not mean that one person is the permanent presenter. They are simply the presenter for the first discussion question. As the seminar goes through the points of discussion, the leader changes, rotating through the group members, and making the current leader part of the researchers. The job of the researchers throughout the process, is to take notes on the details presented by the other groups, and search their research for information that will further support their own idea, while potentially negating the ideas of the other group. This is essentially a debate, with the debater having an arsenal of assistance sitting right behind them. Here, the students are actively preparing, actively engaging, and actively supporting each other.

Learning Environment:
In a perfect world, classroom teachers have the space and resources to design the perfect learning environment for their students to be active learners. Logically, however, the physical environment of a traditional education system is maintained within four walls, 30 student desks or tables, a teacher’s desk and a white board or something comparable. Within this space, fortunately, teachers can provide an effective learning environment. For students to actively learn, they need the space to move around and be active. To do this, desks cannot be in institutional rows. When creating groups, one must consider each student’s view of the presenting area and their views of each other. No one in the grouping should feel as though they are on the outside of the conversation because of where their seat is positioned. In a traditional classroom, for various activities, but obviously not at the level of the school described in Tsai’s video, the grouping and learning style of the school designed by students is feasible.

The idea of students creating their own classroom is innovative, bold, and quite frankly, genius; however, from watching Charles Tsai’s video, “If Students Designed Their Own Schools…,” it seems as though there has to be more guidance from mentor teachers than was lead to believe, and with this mentorship, something similar could be done efficiently within the traditional classroom. The groups of students would have to be matched by passion, so one student was passionate about Math, one English, one History, one Science, and then one or two passionate about various fine arts or practical arts. The teacher would be a mentor for each individual student, as the groups progress through the lesson. Each group would have a menu of sorts, laying out concepts that needed to be mastered for successful completion of the unit, and each student would be responsible for teaching their "content" to the group. For each concept, students would have some kind of performance event to complete, demonstrating their mastery, and their mentor teacher would give them feedback on where to revise, go more in depth, change direction, etc, until that concept was mastered. At the end, there would be a group collaborative assignment that pulled all of their passions into one, that they then had to present for a final assessment. This way, students would be held accountable for their learning, ensuring they were obtaining the skills necessary to be successful on their required standardized exams and prepared for college, if they choose to attend. If organized effectively, this kind of grouping and learning can also be done online.

Online, group members would be divided similarly to the groups in the physical classroom, as possible. The group would receive a menu of items that needed to be completed, dividing the menu according to individual strengths. Group members would be required to meet regularly to discuss their progress and ask questions of their group members as needed. This meeting could be done via Google Hangouts, other video meeting programs, or whatever chat system is available to them through their school’s online platform. Each individual would have a set time to have their material prepared to present to their group members, and at this time, each group member could ask questions, ask for clarification, or offer suggestions to strengthen the product. Once each portion was complete, the group members would determine the best order of presenting, so that their concepts and ideas were clearly and effectively presented, and then the group would schedule a video conference with the instructor to formally present their research and ideas.

In either environment, students are in control of their own learning, individually and as a group. They have each other to rely on, so they are not isolated to their own devices.

Instructional Materials (Curriculum):
Because collaboration is significant to the effectiveness of constructivism, the curriculum must allow for peer interaction, whether it be through chat rooms’ conversation and feedback or through video conferencing or other collaborative online tools. The curriculum focusing on the concepts versus specific details, allows for students to converse regarding their own research, and it allows for individual ideas to be developed by the group (Harasim, 2017).

Assessments should be products of active learning. Multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer questions that have one correct answer are not assessing knowledge. They are simply testing a student’s ability to memorize. Essays, where students are explaining their ideas and supporting them with the research, or presentations based on the research and ideas they’ve developed are clearer attributes of assessment than any traditional test. Even with a subject such as Math, an assessment should be more than simply solving pages of equations. Even writing out the work, a teacher cannot accurately follow the thought process of the student. Flipgrid or VoiceThread would be highly effective tools for assessment, allowing the students to record them talking through their thought process for solving each type of equation. This might mean requiring fewer questions to demonstrate mastery, but this way, teachers will have a better understanding of what the student was thinking, so they will know how to help correct any misunderstandings.

Writing an Essay
For many, writing an essay is an individual task, requiring the research and skills of an individual student; however, even writing an essay can be collaborative and integrate technology use beyond simply typing the physical paper.

Step 1:

 * Divide students into groups

Step 2:

 * Provide groups with a list of potential prompts to respond to

Step 3:

 * Each student in the group must choose a different prompt, so they must decide who will use which one

Step 4:

 * Once prompts have been chosen, one group member will be designated the leader, and they will create a Mindmeister Map on Mindmeister.com to share with the collaborative group.

Step 5:

 * Once each group member is in the Mindmeister Map, they will create a section of the map for their prompt, by typing their prompt onto the map.
 * From here, each group member will add ideas to each prompt, including textual references, research links, video links and/or images.

Step 6:

 * Once the research has been gathered, students will use what their group members have provided, and their own ideas, to construct a draft of their essay, organizing it in the most logical order, in relation to the prompt.

Step 7:

 * Once a draft of the essay has been written, each group member will share their papers with their group members.  Using the Kaizena Google Add On or Flipgrid, group members will read their peers’ papers, aloud, audibly making comments, suggestions, and corrections as they go.
 * While recording, either voice or video, students can also use the comments function in Google Docs to leave comments for their peers to read.

Step 8:

 * Once the papers have been peer reviewed, students will listen to the Kaizena recordings and watch the Flipgrid videos left by their peers, make revisions, and submit for a final review.

Step 9:

 * In the final review step, students will share their revised papers with one group member.
 * That one group member will use Kaizena or Flipgrid to read this final draft and make any final comments, suggestions, and/or corrections.

Step 10:

 * Students will make any final revisions and submit their paper to the designated online platform for evaluation.

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Step 1:

 * Group students into groups of 2 or 3

Step 2:

 * Provide each group with a list of experiments they can attempt, along with any resources available for them to research the processes and materials for each one.

Step 3:

 * The groups will research each experiment and choose which one they want to attempt.
 * Once they’ve chosen an experiment, they will divide responsibilities among them to collect materials.
 * When they are ready to attempt the experiment, they will record a video of their process, explaining the experiment as they go. If the experiment is successful, they will explain why they feel it was successful, and if it was not successful, they will explain what they feel they could have done differently to make it more effective.

Step 4:

 * Once the experiment is completed, and students have the videos of their process, they will login to their Wevideo accounts to edit, creating a single, smooth transitioning, experiment video.
 * The video will then be submitted through the appropriate digital platform.

Step 5:

 * Pulling the videos from the digital platform they were submitted in, the instructor will play each video for the class.
 * Since the experiments were all related to a concept or concepts being studied in class, students will take notes about the process and outcomes of each experiment.
 * The class will then discuss why the experiment was or was not successful.

Conclusion
Overall, Constructivist Learning Theory allows for a balance of teacher and student in the learning process, while scaffolding the primary responsibility for learning onto the student. Through active learning activities, learning-by-doing, scaffolding, and collaborative learning, students are active participants in their own learning, and when students take ownership in something, they take responsibility for it, thus becoming active learners.

Resource Links
Saul McLeod


 * https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/saul.mcleod.html

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development


 * Zone of proximal development

Active Learning Strategies


 * https://teaching.berkeley.edu/active-learning-strategies

Seymour Papert


 * Seymour Papert

Learning-by-Doing


 * https://ctl.byu.edu/tip/student-learning-doing

MakerSpaces


 * http://www.makerspaceforeducation.com/constructionism--constructivism.html

Scaffolding


 * https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sca/cresource/q1/p01/

Collaborative Learning


 * https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/engaging-students/collaborative-learning

Student-Centered Learning


 * https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED567102.pdf

Gallery Walk Active Learning Activity


 * https://www.uticaschools.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=273&dataid=289&FileName=Gallery%20Walk%20Activity%20Protocol-1.pdf

To Kill a Mockingbird


 * To Kill a Mockingbird

Flipgrid


 * https://info.flipgrid.com/

Google Translator


 * https://www.blog.google/products/translate/google-translates-instant-camera-translation-gets-upgrade/

Read 180


 * READ 180

Socratic Seminars


 * http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/socratic-seminars-30600.html

Mindmeister


 * https://www.mindmeister.com/

Google Hangouts


 * Google Hangouts

Video Conferencing Tools


 * https://www.owllabs.com/blog/video-conferencing-tools

Multiple Choice Tests


 * https://www.rasch.org/mra/mra-03-09.htm

Fill in the Blank Test Questions


 * https://elearningindustry.com/fill-in-the-blank-questions-in-elearning-what-elearning-professionals-should-know

Short Answer Test Questions


 * https://ar.cetl.hku.hk/am_saq.htm

VoiceThread


 * https://voicethread.com/

Kaizena


 * https://www.kaizena.com/

WeVideo


 * https://www.wevideo.com/

Category:Constructivist Learning Theory Category:Constructivist Learning Environment Category:Role of teacher in Constructivist Learning Environment Category:Role of Student in Constructivist Learning Category:Constructivist Instructional Materials