Constructivism and Constructionism

Constructivism and Constructionism

Dr. Orey mentioned in the Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories video this week that students can access their schema on different topics and build upon those existing schemas by constructing something like an external artifact (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  The artifact does not necessarily have to be something extravagant, a simple writing of a few sentences is perfectly acceptable.  

Reading chapter 11 in our text by Pitler, “Generating and Testing Hypothesis” is the strategy which lends itself to constructivism and constructionism in such a way that students can focus on their schema to make their hypothesis.  The tested hypothesizes will create the external artifact mention earlier which provides feedback.  This feedback is essential in building the knowledge base.  

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program seven. Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Cognitivism in Practice

A concept map is a way of helping students organize their ideas and also a way to help visual learners organize their notes.  I like using this graphic organizer for all of the students in my 8th grade Industrial technology course when they design and build CO₂ powered cars.  There are many specifications and the mind map is a great tool to keep all of the information organized.  Before I began using the mind maps, it was frustrating for a few students as they tried to keep all of the information organized and were experiencing some difficulty in doing so.  I have seen great improvements in the students work simply by requiring the use of a mind map.  According to cognitive theorists, people forget things because they have lost a connection to that piece of information and that if they could create a network of ideas that could strengthen that connection, they would remember (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  This visual method of taking notes also taps into dual coding theory because students visually see lines connecting certain ideas and the size of various shapes on the concept map establishing ideas that are more dominant or important than others (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).




Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program five. Cognitive learning theory [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Behaviorist Learning Theory

A behaviorist perspective requires rewards or reinforcing responses for learning to take place (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008).  Homework must be returned promptly to the students or it will be considered a wasted teaching opportunity.  This puts a bit of pressure on teachers that assign a lot of homework as it needs to be graded and returned as soon as possible.  Displaying grades online via moodle or blackboard has really helped the teachers in this area. Using BrainPop can create practice opportunities that a student can use anywhere that have internet access. Reflecting upon the assignments in class is also a great way to further the learning of the material.

Behaviorist Theory is based on repetition and feedback. The example presented by Dr. Orey (Laureate Education Inc. 2010) of tutorials fit the Behaviorist model through the use of feedback supporting a behavior.  Keep in mind, the behavior can be positive or negative.  A user is asked to respond after a small set of instructions is given.  If the user responds correctly, they are allowed to move on to the next set of instructions.  If an incorrect answer is give, the same set of instructions are repeated and a response is requested again.  This demonstrates the method to mold the user’s behavior.  The Examples from Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn (Pitler 2007) are similar.  Behaviorism is used through charting.  This type of visual evidence is crucial as it allows the students to see the correlation between effort an performance.  Typically, the better the effort is, the better the feedback will be.  Conversely, the negative feedback shows a lack of effort.

I feel the behaviorism theories definitely have a place in the classroom if used properly by the teacher.  Used in conjunction with other teaching strategies, behaviorism can be extremely helpful.

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Program Number 4: Behaviorist Learning Theory [Webcast]. Baltimore: Author.

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Teaching and learning with technology (3rd ed. pp. 2–35). Boston: Pearson Education.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.