Constructivist+Learning+Environments

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© Paweł

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 How would you answer if you were asked to name something that you are well acknowledged with. You would say maths, musics, human anatomy or whatever is of interest to you, any subject you liked the most at school. But try to think of your own neighbourhood when you were a kid. You learned where things were – the nearby playground, all the shops where you could buy whatever you wanted or the park opposite. You learned how to get there and back, how to move around and simply what they had to offer: swinging, names of candies or kinds of trees or different plants in the park. You knew who was where, where other people go and how to hang out with them. Simply speaking, your neighbourhood was what most of school subject matters are not: an environment. The dimensions of an environment are length and breadth, living and non-living parts, constancy and changes, simplicity and complexity. And that is what an environment is about – you can walk around, observe places, parts and changes. Sometimes it is simple, sometimes it is not. Now think of how much you learned from your own environment! Thus, in order to teach a language (or any subject) it is very important to create a peaceful and friendly ENVIRONMENT. ======

METAPHORS FOR INSTRUCTION

Consider different assumptions underlying some well known metaphors for instruction: • **Classroom metaphor** – suggests that instruction is what happens in a classroom during 45-minute intervals. So much school-based instruction is centered on a teacher. • **Product delivery metaphor** – suggests a model of instruction in which information processing and transmission occur. In this metaphor instruction is treated as a package from one site to another, from production to delivery. • **Systems and process definitions** – emphasize the stages, interlocking mechanisms and control of flow.

The constructivism movement in instructional design has shown the correspondence between our underlying views of knowledge and how we think about instruction. (B.G.Wilson)
The table below shows how different conceptions can have an impact on our perception of instruction:

When we think of instruction as an environment, we give emphasis to the ‘space’ where learning occurs. Then, a learning environment contains: -the learners -“the space” in which the learner moves around, using different tools, gathering data, interacting with peers etc.

This way of perceiving ‘instruction’ is very promising as intstructional designers confirm that student **initiative and choice** are required in effective instruction. Students who get **an acces to various tools**, like books, videos, computer programs etc. can learn a lot if they are given **proper guidance and support** at the same time. According to this idea, learning is **fostered but not controlled** in any rigid way. That is why we hear more about environments which are described as ‘learning’ and less about ‘instructional’ ones.

Unfortunately, very often when a learner can make various choices, choosing his/her own pace or direction, activities s/he likes the control (for a teacher) over the process may be very hindered. As learning environments **seems fuzzy and ill-defined** teacher must be very careful and attentive. Sometimes, even if huge attention is paid and teacher care is at the highest level, the system will **appear chaotic** to observers and it may become chaotic for participants as well.

Thus, we can summarise – **a learning environment**:

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B.G.Willson (1996) advocates the definition of a learning environment as “a place where learners may work together and support each other as they use a variety of tools and information resources in their guided pursuit of learning goals and problem-solving activities” =====

DESIGNING CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

D.Jonassen sees constructivism as //a differen perspective on learning process from objectivism and also as a complementary learning tool with objectivism. Since knowledge cannot be transmitted, instruction shold consist of experiences that facilitate knowledge construction.//

Jonassen describes the essential components in designing CLEs:



1. **Question/Case/Problem/Project** – these are the focus of any CLE. It drives the learning process by constituting a learning goal to be adapted by learners. In designing a problem, the designer should try to include:

• __Problem/project context__: physical, organizational, and sociocultural contexts in which problems occur have to be set as clearly as if it was real life problem.

• __Problem/project representation__: the rule of making a problem representation is to make it as interesting and engaging as possible. It has to be authentic as if it was in the real world, the same cognitive challenges have to be applied. All the task assigned should copy the actual activity structure, and the same advantages and disadvantages should be present in the physical setting as the ones from the real world (including the tools).

• __Problem/project manipulation space__: A mindful activity is important. Learners must manipulate tools, products or environment around them (prepare a product, make decisions). A physical object is not essetial in creating problem manipulation spaces. It may be enough for them to create a hypothesis and then test it.

2. **Related cases** – It is very often the case for a novice students that they do not have enough experience. Thus, it is important to acknoledge them with a set of related experience. Related cases help students by enhancing their cognitive flexibility and by scaffolding their memory.

3. **Information resources** – it is crucial to supply your learners with rich resources of information which will help them to comprehend and solve the problem (by constructing mental models or hypotheses making).

4. **Cognitive (Knowledge-Construction) Tools** – it refers to learning WITH (not through) technology. Jonassen claims that “//technologies, from the ecological perspective of Gibson (1979) afford the most meaningful thinking when used as tools//”. (Jonassen, 1999)

These tools are computer tools that serve as means to engage and make cognitive learning easier. They scaffold the learners’ abilities to perform given tasks. There are four major tools types:

• //Problem/Task Representation Tools// – helps to visualise and construct the mental model E.g. Concpet maps (on the right) • //Static and Dynamic Knowledge Modeling Tools// – serve as a clarification of an understanding of the problem E.g. Questions “What do I know” and “What does it mean” • //Performance support Tools// – by sharing the cognitive load these help to perform routine task. E.g. Calculator tool • //Information Gathering Tools// – these tools saves the student from distraction by searching for information. Students’ focus stays on problem solving only. E.g. Google

5. **Conversation and Collaborative Tools** - give students acces to other learners or experts. Learning is thus facilitated by the support of communities of learners etc.

An example is VoiceThread (on the right)

6. **Social/Contextual Support** – for a succesful implementation it is important to accomodate environmental and contextual factors (e.g. video implementations used to fail because physical environment couldn’t be darkened sufficiently, adequate equipment wasn’t available or the content of the video was culturally intensive to the audience).

SUPPORTING LEARNING IN CLEs

In the Constructivist Learning Environments students need to: ‘//explore; articulate what they know and have learned; speculate (conjecture, hypothesize, test); manipulate the environment in order to construct and test their theories and models; and reflect on what they did, why it did or didn’t work, and what they learned from the activities//' (Jonassen, 1999) When learners do not have enough knowledge to start building new knowledge, they can be supported in three ways: modelling, coaching and scaffolding.



- **Modelling** – (focus on the teacher’s performance) – presenting to the learner how and why to perform the activities needed to perform a given task - “HOW TO DO IT” - **Coaching** – (focus on the learner’s performance) – it involes intervening in critical points in the instruction //“A good coach motivates learners, analyzes their performances, provides feedback and advice on the performances and how to learn about how to perform, and provokes reflection on and articulation of what was learned”// (Jonassen, 1999) - **Scaffolding** – the role of a scaffolding is to adapt the task to the student’s abilities and capabilities. Eventually all scaffolding will be removed.

TECHNOLOGY IN CLE

Modern CLEs are technology based. As previously quoted: //“technologies, from the ecological perspective of Gibson (1979) afford the most meaningful thinking when used as tools”// (Jonassen, 1999). Thus, many tools have been developed to support the construction of knowledge.

For more information about Constructivist Computer Programming Languages Constructivist Web Learning Environments and Other Constructivist Tools click the hyperlinks higligthened. (will be displayed in a new window)

// “ Technological tools such as spreadsheets, databases, expert systems, video conferencing and others can be used by students to analyze subject matter, develop representative mental models, and then transcribe them into knowledge bases” (Jonassen, 1999)  //

References

1. Jonassen, D. H. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), //Instructional design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory, Volume II//, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 2. Wilson, B.G. (1996). //Constructivist learning environments: case studies in instructional design//, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology. 3. Collins, A., Brown, J.S., & Newman, S.E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.) //Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser//. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 4. Perkins, D. N. (1996). Preface: Minds in the 'Hood. In Wilson, B.G. (1996). //Constructivist learning environments: case studies in instructional design//, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology.

When we think of instruction as an environment, we give emphasis to the ‘space’ where learning occurs. Then, a learning environment contains: - the learners - “the space” in which the learner moves around, using different tools, gathering data, interacting with peers etc.