Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Educational Technology Constructivism, Social Constructivism and Technology Shaun Bass Boise State University
Abstract
One of the main stays of education used to be drill and practice. These methods fit nicely with Pavlovs idea of positive reinforcement. However, the ideas of constructivism and social constructivism have changed the view as to how students learn best. These ideas propose that the students take greater control of their learning. In this new environment, the teacher moves out of center stage to a support role. As the view of how students learn has evolved, so have the tools used to teach them. The debate of whether technology should be integrated into education has shifted to how the technology should be implemented. If used properly, the evolving technological tools could help students construct their own framework of knowledge.
Introduction As we discover more about how the mind learns, we are moving beyond the idea of passive assimilation to active learning. In this form of learning, the learner forms hypotheses and tests them. The learner must adapt to what he or she is discovering. The mind is truly engaged. There is a strong Level I or basic research base that supports these ideas, and the research has direct implications for how children should best be taught. Collectively, the research has been called the new science of learning (Fouts, 2000, p.10). With this new philosophy, comes a challenge for how to best facilitate the new mode of learning. Many claim technology is the answer. The use of technology has in fact evolved along with the idea that students must become more than passive vessels into which knowledge is dumped. When computers first came out they were used for simple drill and practice (Fouts, 2000). Today, many educational institutions have gone beyond this to integrated technology systems that interact with the students and change direction based upon learner input and needs. New social networking capabilities are making the social constructivism available over a broader range of society. According to a report from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and authored by J.T. Fouts, this changing use of technology coincides with our changing ideas of how the mind works. The question seems to no longer be should technology be used, but what is the best way to use technology in implementing the new theories that are arising in education. Constructivism Out of the new science of learning has come the constructivist view of education. In this view, students do not simply memorize or take on the views of others,
but create their own meaning and understanding. Jean Piaget is credited with the development of the idea of constructivism. The basis of the theory is Piagets idea of learning by constructing your knowledge base; by putting it into a context with past experiences. Piagets idea is that we build a framework of knowledge (Chieu 2007). Piaget who was heavily influenced by Darwin and his ideas on adaptation, stated that we have latent tendencies for developing intelligence built in us that are brought out by interactions with our environment. He believed two processes are involved in learning: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is where the learner interacts with the environment and takes in information. Accomodation involves transforming ones intellectual framework in response to the environment (Berg 2008). Social Constructivism-Adding to Constructivism The social sciences have put forth the idea that there is a reality that we become aware of as we develop our own personal mind or identity (Cunliffe 2008). These constructivist theorists hypothesize about and investigate how human beings create a framework for putting meaning to their worlds and experiences (Raskin 2002). The theory of social constructivism or activist theory attempts to explain how this happens. This theory is predicated on the epistemological belief that the nature of knowledge is constantly changing (Raskin 2002). The theory, as put forth by John Dewey and Lev Vygotsky, states that we all construct our own knowledge through our surroundings. The basis of the theory is Piagets idea of learning by constructing your knowledge base; putting it into a context with past experiences. The social constructionist theory however states that society plays a substantial role in how you construct these ideas. In other words, your mind is created from social interaction with others. Vygotsky believed that
Piaget had it backwards, that you do not build your individual identity and then these individual identities build society. He believed that society shaped the individual consciousness through our relationships with others (Berg 2008). George Mead who was another major contributor to this theory believed that the most important thing about people was not what they contained within them, but what happened between them (Smith, 1996, 2001). The learning theory that has risen from the constructivist theory is cooperative learning. This makes sense. If Mead was right, that the most important thing people do happens between them, then you need to get these people together to learn. This is exactly what cooperative learning does. Vivien Burr in her book (1995) describes four principals of the social constructionist position: 1. Taken-for-granted knowledge - The world does not present itself objectively to the observer, but is created through human experience. She believed language played a vital role here as you can see in the next three principals. 2. Historical and cultural specificity - The categories in language used to classify things emerge from the social interaction within a group. Since these groups occur at particular times and places, any category of understanding is based on the event or situation. 3. Knowledge is sustained by social process Reality is transmitted from person to person, so how this reality is transmitted will affect how the reality is understood. So if we have stable and consistent ways of communicating our knowledge, our social life and knowledge base are longer lasting and more stable. 4. Knowledge and social action go together - Reality is socially constructed by interconnected patterns of communication behavior. Within a social group or culture,
reality is defined not so much by individual acts, but by complex and organized patterns of ongoing actions. How Technology Can Help In his article, Luppicini gives us McGinns definition of technology as a valueladen human activity connected to socio-cultural and environmental influences in its conceptualization(Luppicini 2005, p.104). This fits nicely with the idea of social constructivism. Technology if used properly, can be used to help move the student to a more central, active role in his or her education. There is a vast array of tools today provided through technology. Some examples include the Internet, simulations, games, and a wide array of social networking tools. These tools act to broaden our environment as well as to make sharing our experience much easier. It also gives us more access to information that we can find on our own or in a group, so that we can use this information to build our intellectual framework. Social Constructionism Can Help Teachers Implement the Technology H.J. Becker (2000) found there were several factors that set apart teachers who were very effective at implementing technology. These factors included a social network of computer-using teachers at the same school and organized support for computer-using teachers. The most ambitious and successful technology-supported projects typically were planned and executed by teacher teams, rather than a teacher working alone (Means, B., & Olson, K. 1995, p.5). It is difficult for one teacher to have all of the expertise that a group of teachers has. Also, if the goal is to integrate technology across the curriculum, it is going to take a team effort.
Conclusion In their report to congress, the OTA (1995) states, that while technology is not a panacea for all educational ills todays technologies are essential tools of the teaching trade (p.1). One thing discovered while reviewing the data is that there are far more opinions about the way things are in education than there is imperical data. While there is data out there, it is dated and deals more with drill and practice and computer assisted instruction. More up to date information dealing with the constructivist view of education is needed. The target education is trying to hit continues to move. What was relevant in the 90s may not be today. Due to the fact that the debate has changed from should we use technology, to how it should be implemented, I think there have been great strides in technology infrastructure in the past ten years. Studies are needed that go back and revisit some of the study schools to see which ones have met with the most success in terms of implementing technology using this infrastructure. Once these schools have been singled out, research should be done to see what factors, aside from monetary, are different between successful schools and those that have met with limited success.
References Becker, H.J. (2000). How exemplary computer-using teachers differ from other teachers: Implications for realizing the potential of computer in schools. Retrieved July 20, 2008 from http://www.citejournal.org/vol1/iss2/seminal/article1.htm Berg, Gary A. (2008). Educational technology and learning theory. Encyclopedia of distance learning. Retrieved June 14, 2009 from http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr Brand, Glenn A. (1997) What research says: Training teachers for using technology. Journal of staff development, (19)(1). Retrieved July 25, 2008 from the staff development library of the National Staff Development Council. Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press. Burr, Vivien (1995) . An introduction to constructionism. London: Routelidge Byrom, E., and Bingham, M. (2001). Factors influencing the effective use of technology in teaching and learning. Retrieved July 23 2008, from http://www.seirtec.org/publications/lessons.pdf Chieu, V.M. (2007). An operational approach for building learning environments supporting cognitive flexibility. Educational yechnology & society, 10(3). Retrieved June 30. 2009 from http://www.ifets.info/ Cunliffe, Ann L. (2008) Orientation to social constructionism: Relationally responsive social constructionism and its implications for knowledge and learning. Sage journals online. Retrieved June 14, 2009 from http://mlq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/2/123 Fouts, J.T. (2000). Research on computers and education: Past, present and future. Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Retrieved July 1, 2009 from
http://www.porticall.org/fouts.pdf Luppicini, R. A systems definition of educational technology in society. Educational technology & society, 8(3). Retrieved July 1, 2009 from http://www.ifets.info Means, B., & Olson, K. (1995). Technology's role in education reform: Findings from a national study of education reform. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved July 23, 2008 from: http://www.ed.gov/PDFDocs/techrole.pdf Smith, M.K. (1996, 2001) Selfhood. The encyclopaedia of informal education. Retrieved June 16, 2009 from www.infed.org/biblio/b-self.htm. Raskin, Jonathan D. Constructivism in psychology: Personal construct psychology, radical constructivism, and social constructionism. American communication journal. 5(3). Retrieved June 16, 2009 from http://www.acjournal.org/holdings/vol5/iss3/special/raskin.htm Smith, M.K. (1996, 2001) Selfhood. The encyclopaedia of informal education. Retrieved June 16, 2009 from www.infed.org/biblio/b-self.htm. U.S. Congress, Office Of Technology Assessment. (1995). Teachers and technology: Making the connection. OTA-EHR-616 (database online). Retrieved July 25, 2008 from http://www.princeton.edu/~ota/ns20/year_f.html.
Dr. Rice, I cannot access the original article by McGinn for his quote, but I really want to use it. Any suggestions? Also, I think I need more about the technology portion of this synthesis and am currently doing more research.