Constructivism:

Knowledge Construction/Concept
Learning
WHAT IS CONSTRUCTIVISM?
 It is a theory on how humans generate knowledge and
meaning from an interaction between their experiences and
their ideas.
 Based on observation and scientific study about how people
learn
 It says that people construct their own understanding and
knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and
reflecting on those experiences
 Constructivism is a view of learning based on the belief that
knowledge isn't a thing that can be simply given by the teacher
at the front of the room to students in their desks. Rather,
knowledge is constructed by learners through an active,
mental process of development; learners are the builders and
creators of meaning and knowledge.
 In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point
towards a number of different teaching practices. In the most
general sense, it usually means encouraging students to use
active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to
create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about
what they are doing and how their understanding is changing.
The teacher makes sure she understands the students'
preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address
them and then build on them.
 Constructivism
Views of Characteristics of Organizing
Constructivism Constructivism Knowledge

Individual
Constructivism

Social
Constructivism
How did constructivism come
about?
 Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky
November 17, 1896 – June 11, 1934
Vygotsky believed that learning needs to
be engaging. Vygotsky believed that
learning takes place as children are
interacting with each other and exploring
their environment. He believed that
learning is simultaneous to social
interaction and exploration. In other words,
he did not feel as though one was more
important than the other.
Jean Piaget
9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980
Piaget believed that children learn through
organization and schemas. He believed that
by organizing concepts and ideas, children
place them into schemas. He believed that
children are in control of the knowledge that
they are provided and move forward in
construct their own learning by taking part in
social activities and exploration
Jean Piaget - The learner is advanced through three
mechanisms

According to Jean Piaget the three mechanisms used are:

1. Assimilation - fitting a new experience into an existing mental

structure(schema).

2. Accommodation - revising an existing schema because of new

experience.

3. Equilibrium - seeking cognitive stability through assimilation

and accommodation
Lev Vygotsky - associated with the social constructivist theory
1. Making meaning - the community places a central role, and
the people around the student greatly affect the way he or she
sees the world.

2. Tools for cognitive development - the type and quality of

these tools (culture, language, important adults to the student)
determine the pattern and rate of development.

3. The Zone of Proximal Development - problem solving skills

of tasks can be placed into three categories:
1. Those performed independently by the learner.
2. Those that cannot be performed even with help.
3. Those that fall between the two extremes, the tasks that can
be performed with help from others.
Two Views of Constructivism
Individual Constructivism – this is called cognitive
constructivism. It emphasizes individual, internal
construction of knowledge.

Social Constructivism – this view emphasizes that

knowledge exists in a social context and is initially
shared with others instead of being represented
solely in the mind of an individual
Constructivism is a learning
theory
 Learningis an active process in which the learner uses
sensory input and constructs meaning out of it.

 People learn to learn as they learn.

 The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental.

 Learning involves language.

 Learning is a social activity.

 Learning is contextual.

 One needs knowledge to learn.

 It takes time to learn.

 Motivation is a key component in learning.

Characteristics of Constructivism
1. Learners construct understanding
 Learners as active thinkers who interpret new information based on
what they already know.
2. New learning depends on current understanding
3. Learning is facilitated by social interaction
 Believes in creating a community of learners within classrooms
4. Meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning task
 Involves constructing knowledge and understanding that is so
akin to the knowledge and understanding needed when applied
in the real world
Organizing Knowledge
Concept – A concept is a way of grouping or
categorizing objects or events in our mind. It
includes a group of tasks such as model,
discuss, illustrate, explain, assist, etc.
Concepts as Feature Lists
 A defining feature is a characteristic present in ALL instances.
EX: A triangle has 3 sides. Having 3 sides is a defining
feature of a triangle since ALL triangles have 3 sides.
 A correlation feature is one that is present in many positive
instances but not essential for concept membership
EX: A mother is loving. being loving is a common
feature present in the concept. But a mother may not be
loving.
Concepts as Prototypes
 A prototypeis an idea or a visual image of a “typical” example.
EX: Thinking of a fruit that has a red colour. Usually
people would think of an apple instead of a cherry.
Concepts as Exemplars
 Represents a variety of examples. It allows learners to know
that an example under a concept may have variability.
EX: A learner’s concept of vegetable may include a
wide variety of diferent examples like cauliflower,
kangkong, string beans, etc. When he encounters a new
type of vegetable like “bistuelas”, he would search from the
exemplars he knows and looks for one that is similar, like
string beans.
Examples of Concepts
 Concrete concepts have aspects or dimensions that are
easily seen, heard, or touched. Fruit would be an example of a
concrete concept due to its tangible characteristics of being
seed-associated, fleshy, and plant-derived.
 Semi-concrete concepts have some combination of concrete
and non-concrete characteristics. Take the semi-concrete
concept of a politician, for instance. Some characteristics of a
politician could be concrete, such as a holder or candidate for
an elected office. However, other characteristics may not be as
concrete, such as one who serves the public.
 Abstract concepts do not have many (if any) absolute
characteristics that are easy to comprehend with the senses.
Unlike concrete and semi-concrete concepts, abstract
concepts are not explained by a list of well-defined rules or
characteristics. More often, they are understood by mental
images or beliefs about its characteristics. Love would be a
good example of an abstract concept, as the characteristics of
love might differ from one person to the next.
CONCEPTS vs. TOPICS
 Fruit – Apple, Banana, Tomato
 Transportation – Car, Train, Bicycle
 Politician – President, Mayor, Bob Dole
 Love – Mother & Child, Patriotism, Forgiveness
 Change – Weather, The Civil War, Growing Older
 Culture – Native Americans, Christmas, The Glass Ceiling
Making Concept-learning Effective
 Provide clear definitions of the concept
 Make the defining features very concrete and prominent
 Give a variety of positive instances
 Cite a “best example” or a prototype
 Provide opportunity for learners to identify positive and
negative instances
 Ask learners to think of their own example of the concept
 Point out how concepts can be related to each other
Schemas and Scripts
 A schema is an organized body of knowledge about
something. It is like a file of information you hold in
your mind about something.
 A script is a schema that includes a series of
predictable events about a specific activity
Applying Constructivism in Facilitating
Learning
 Aim to make learners understand a few key ideas in an in-
depth manner, rather than taking up so many topics
specifically.
 Give varied examples.
 Provide opportunities for experimentation
 Provide lots of opportunities for quality interaction.
 Have lots of hands-on activities
 Relate your topic to real life situations
 Do not depend on the explanation method all the time
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING~!