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Shelby Vogel

Dr. Hawkes

ESPY302

5 April 2016

Constructivism Learning Theory and Involvement in the Classroom

Constructivism is a learning theory based on observation and study.

The theory was created by Jean Piaget, but was also heavily influence by Lev

Vygotsky; it is the idea that learners or students are able to construct

knowledge on their own through adaptation. A student is able to produce

ideas based on existing knowledge and schemas. Being able to recall and

reconsider previous events or experiences, and being able to change beliefs,

or getting rid previous thoughts and ideas all together. As educators we want

to implement constructivism into the classroom. There are many ways to

introduce the constructivist way of learning and thinking into the classroom.

Constructivism starts with the educator knowing and understanding the

students prior knowledge about a specific subject or skill. Without knowing,

the educator is not able to help guide and accommodate ideas with new

incoming knowledge. This essay will talk about what constructivism is, how it

guides learning compared to traditional teaching methods, and how to

approach it in the classroom.

Jean Piagets job was to develop questions for English intelligence

tests. He was interested in figuring out why children gave wrong answers to

questions that required logic. Piaget thought he could understand the

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difference in thought of children versus adults. To Piaget, cognitive

development was a progressive reorganization of the mental process. As a

result of biological maturation and environmental experience. Children

construct an understanding of the world around them, then experience

differences between what they know and what they discover in their

environment.

There are three components of Piagets constructivism theory which

involve schemes, adaptations, and the stages of development. All three of

these play a role helping understand the way a children learn. Assimilation is

using an existing schema to deal with a new object or situation. An example

of assimilation is when a child sees an animal and immediately shouts

Cow! when its actually a horse. A childs equilibrium is when their schema

deals with the newest information they have received, but when this schema

is interrupted then accommodation occurs. The child is told the animal is not

a cow but actually a horse and now has a different view and realizes the new

animal is not a cow but in reality is a different animal. Adaptation is used

throughout life but there are stages everyone has to go through to be able to

adapt and construct ways of learning.

Piaget has four stages of cognitive development; the first stage is

sensorimotor it happens from birth to the age of two. During this stage the

infants are aware of what is immediately in front of them, and is only

necessary to them at that moment. The second stage is preoperational

which occurs from ages two to seven. During this stage children learns
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through pretending, but they have a hard time putting themselves in other

peoples shoes. Stage three is the concrete-operational and occurs from

ages seven to eleven. These children are able to think logically but still

struggle with abstract ideas. During stage four, which is formal operations,

children, ages eleven and up, are thinking critically and finding multiple

solutions to one problem; as well as seeing other peoples view points, and

abstract concepts. Knowing these stages and Piagets work allows educators

to understand what their students are thinking and what they are capable of

learning.

Constructivism is often seen as a way of teaching more than it is a

theory. This is based on that even though constructivism is seen as the

individual doing most of the learning, they are being supported into the right

direction. Lev Vygotsky was another psychologist who provided a major

impact to this learning theory. Vygotsky had three primary themes, he

believed that social interaction is an integral role on the cognitive process,

the more knowledgeable other, and zone of proximal development.

Social learning precedes development, Vygotsky believed Every

function in a childs cultural development happens twice: first, on the social

level, and later, on the individual level. First, between people, then inside

the child. (Vygotsky) The more knowledgeable other is the next theme in

Vygotskys foundation. It represents anything that can be learned from with

what has a greater ability or higher knowledge. This is a teacher, parent, or

coach who is the expert on the subject, but it could also be a computer or a
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book. The more knowledgeable other is a one of the most fundamental

building blocks of constructivism without this there is no way to increase a

learners knowledge. The next thing is that he believed most of learning went

on in the zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal is the distance

between the ability of a student to perform a task with support and the

students ability to perform it on their own. As a future teacher it would be

easy to think that when focusing on teaching, the student should be

reflecting and constructing new ideas, but its the teacher job to support and

lead the ideas and methods of a subject to have the student create their own

understanding of the lesson and content.

Traditional schooling has been the norm for a while, but constructivism

is a new building block to education. In constructivism learning theory the

students are more likely to remember information for long periods of time by

association of past experiences with new ones. Even though many schools

use traditional teaching methods, such like direct instruction, where the

teacher lectures and sends direct messages at the students. Constructivism

encourages almost the exact opposite where the student plays a more active

role in the learning process. The teacher is a guide and the student uses the

teacher as a safety net. Students are encouraged to use collaborative

learning to find a solution. Using other students allows them to receive

different viewpoints on the assignment and different ways to do the

assignment. It can also help create new ideas someone may not have known

before. In traditional learning the student succeeds or fails usually on their

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own and the information becomes a process of memorization for course tests

and assignments. Then the information memorized is lost in the next few

days after starting the next chapter.

There are multiple methods to incorporate this theory into the

classroom. When teaching students the teacher should allow the students to

create their own questions, this is known as inquiry based learning. Students

using inquiry based learning are to investigate and experiment, and find

multiple ways to find solutions to any problem. The main function for a

constructivist classroom is solving problems and asking questions. Teachers

are also encouraged to help reference students learning to their personal

interests. Students all learn differently through multiple intelligences, as said

by Dr. Howard Gardner. There are eight different intelligences that account

for how all students learn, they are linguistic intelligence, logical-

mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic

intelligence, Musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal

intelligence, naturalist intelligence.

Knowing the history of the constructivism learning theory and what

way it affects the learning process affects more than just the classroom.

When educators can teach students to think, analyze, socialize, and critically

ask question they will be able to learn outside the classroom and apply it to

real world problems and situations as well. Students will find a larger

understanding of what is going on in the environment around them and how

others see whats going on. Constructivism gives the greatest possibly of
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learning to everyone, simply put because the learning is on the individual

and how they themselves need to be built up rather than pushed aside.

Work Cited

"Concept to Classroom: Tapping into Multiple Intelligences - Explanation."

Concept to Classroom: Tapping into Multiple Intelligences - Explanation.

Thirteen.org.ed, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

"Constructivism | Learning Theories." Learning Theories. Learning-

Theories.com, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

"Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning." Constructivism as

a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
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"Social Development Theory (Vygotsky) | Learning Theories." Learning

Theories. Learning-Theories.com, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

McLeod, Saul. "Jean Piaget." Simply Psychology. Simplypsychology.org, 17

Sept. 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.