Constructivism Theory of Learning - Research Paper Example

Learning Theory Research Paper Constructivism Theory of Learning Constructivism The term constructivism alludes to the thought that learners build learning for themselves and every learner independently (and socially) develop meaning -as he or she learns. Constructing meaning and knowledge, is all about adapting; there is no other kind. This type of learning is non-directed where students or learners are allowed to learn in accordance with their own critical and intellectual skills (Fosnot, 2005). Teachers are just guiding the students in the right direction because the theory is learner oriented and is emphasizing on the unique individual experiences of a learner. Compared to other learning theories, this theory is more holistic in approach, is focused on group work and cognitive operations. Constructivism, in a broad sense is non-positivist and accordingly it remains on the totally new ground, usually in immediate opposition to both behaviorism and maturationism. Instead of practicing or aptitudes as the objective of instructions, cognitive advancement and profound understanding is its goal. Moreover, the theory is descriptive in nature (the way through which people learn) and is not prescriptive in nature (the way through which people should learn) (Richardson, 1997). Under the theory of Constructivism, the teacher is acting as a facilitator whose responsibility is to facilitate his/her students by offering a strong and effective environment. It is important for the teacher to design an effective instruction plan to design an appropriate learning environment. The part of instructors is extremely essential in the theory of constructivism learning. As opposed to giving a lecture the instructors in this theory work as facilitator whose part is to help the learner regarding the matter of their own comprehension. The lessons and resources, arrange that must be started for this learning theory take a different methodology toward traditional learning. As opposed to telling, the instructor must start asking. As opposed to noting questions that just adjust to their educational program, the facilitator for this situation must make discussions so that the learner reaches the conclusions on their own instead of being told. Likewise, teachers are constantly in discussion with the student, making the learning environment that is open to new directions, relying on the needs of the student with the advancement of learning processes. As a planner, the instructor must consider different classroom activities supported by homework for their students to understand different understanding levels and learning styles of students. Ask questions from almost all students for which it is good to list the names of students and mark their names after asking questions about them. On the first day of the course, the teacher must ask the learners to write an autobiography regarding their preferred study skills, leaning styles and class environment. This will help the teacher in understanding that how many students are open to constructivism. Motivate students to ask questions of each other. Assign group tasks to students to check their interpersonal skills. Students who have expertise in a particular subject should teach other students in the presence of teacher. For producing an effective environment in classroom one should properly implement planning. As it is 21st century and students are mostly technology oriented, therefore, the instructor must have a proper understanding of new technology. In this regard, teachers must consider different sources of information additional to textbooks such as internet, journals, TV, print media and videos. To implement planned strategies in the class effectively, instructors must pose different issues including local, national and global to groups and pairs in the class and should try to get their points and views about a single issue (Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2011). To improve their critical skills, the teacher must ask different questions about the issue as well as should add his/her own views to the discussion. Ask students to create a story according to their own skills from a particular topic. Such an activity will help the teacher in understanding the approach of students and their mindsets. For every different task, it is good to utilize different sources of information. This will reduce the dependency of students on one or two typical sources and will help them in learning the utilization of different sources. The teacher must prefer text based knowledge to share with their students as well as should encourage them to make discussion by giving references of textbooks. Textbooks are the most authentic sources of information compared to websites, TV and newspapers etc. The success of a teacher in constructivism approach is through the utilization of proper media for instructions. In this type of learning, the teacher cannot specify a single medium to use in the learning of students because the theory emphasizing on individual learning through group participation and collaboration (Duffy & Jonassen, 1992). A teacher needs to use raw data, primary sources of data, secondary data and other sorts of interactive materials to encourage students to broaden up their learning. The teacher has to consider the student’s knowledge and point of views about a particular topic prior to sharing his/her own knowledge. It is the responsibility of the teacher to choose a media for instructions while taking information from different sources. The media should be flexible, diverse and attractive so that students could learn effectively. Compared to other types of learning theories, designing instruction environment for constructivism is very complicated task because is a facilitator the teacher needed to present facts and figures in the form of a case to students while assessing the performance of students, giving feedbacks, help group members to stay on task, developing tolerance, improving coordination and collaboration among group members (Wilson, 1996). After thoroughly analyzing different levels of the constructivism theory of learning from the perspective of learner and teacher, it became evident that the teacher must use an appropriate media according to the type of instructional environments. A single media cannot be used in all types of environments and for all types of constructivism learners. However, text based media is the only media that can be used widely for constructivism learners in different ways i-e, traditional and technological advance methods. In this regard, SQ3R method is perfect because in this method, learners are surveyed by teacher through different questions after reading, reciting and reviewing a particular topic and issue. The teacher should design the instructional environment visually attractive just like the Objectivist design because visual attractiveness has been found effective in students learning regardless of learning theory. This will help the teacher to encourage cognitive and behavioral learners to participate in the class. References Duffy, T., & Jonassen, D. (1992). Constructivism and the technology of instruction (1st ed.). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Fosnot, C. (2005). Constructivism (1st ed.). New York: Teachers College Press. Richardson, V. (1997). Constructivist teacher education (1st ed.). London [u.a.]: Falmer. Smaldino, S., Lowther, D., & Russell, J. (2011). Instructional technology and media for learning (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. Wilson, B. (1996). Constructivist learning environments (1st ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Educational Technology Publications. Read More