MANGALA MACDONALD

STUDENT NUMBER: 45611343

UNIQUE NUMBER: 736666

APRIL 18, 2023

EDS3701
ASSIGNMENT 1
 TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENT PAGE NUMBER

SITUATED LEARNING THEORY………………………………. 2-3

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY…………………………. 3-4

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY………………………… 4-5

REFERENCES………………………………………………………... 6

1
 SITUATED LEARNING THEORY (Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger 1991)

This theory is helping me to understand that learners do not forget what they are learning if
they have already have experienced what they are learning.
According to Situated Learning Theory, learning is most effective when it occurs in the
context in which it is used. Students should function as apprentices in communities of
practice where learning possibilities present themselves on a case-by-case basis. Students’
progress from an apprenticeship role to full members in their community of practice as they
gain experience and competence.
Situated learning is a type of learning that allows individual learners to learn through
socializing with other people, or with knowledgeable people or through observing and
imitating real activities in real life situations. The above mentioned practice builds on
participation and observation in activity. Situated learning is based on practical activities
whereby learners gain beneficial knowledge that they ought to get from schools. In the past
years, learners were taught things that were not really useful to them in their everyday life.
Learners need to learn or acquire skills or knowledge that are relevant to their lives, and that
might be related to the career that they are going to choose in the near future. Situated
learning declared that thinking, learning and doings cannot be separated from the practical
and social situations in which they occur. They work in harmony When the teacher allows
learners to have an opportunity to participate, demonstrate and interact their own thoughts,
this will build their cognition abilities. Learners will acquire specific skills by observing,
visualize, hear and listen by having someone to imitate or follow. In situated learning,
learner’s works through participating in a particular activity of a certain community.

Example of situated learning theory

If a learner wants to know to design clothes or wants to become a fashion designer, he/she
will probably join a group of people who design different types of clothes. In this way a
learner will gain his/her designing experience through doing and from there, he/she will be
able to become productive in his/her life after mastering the designing skills.

Shortcomings of Situated Learning Theory

The most evident restriction of Situated Learning is its use within the confines of today's
traditional school system. Teachers are frequently constrained by a number of constraints
when they are required to fulfil specific defined learning outcomes by the end of a course.

2
 Correcting shortcomings

The way that I can correct the above mentioned critic is by strategically using learners past
knowledge so that I would be able to fulfil the specific defined outcomes by the end of a
lesson.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY (David Kolb 1976)

The experiential learning theory has assisted me to understand that students have the capacity
to learn successfully when the information is associated with values and feelings.
Experiential learning is the belief that our continual interactions and engagement with the
world around us generate experiences, and that learning is an unavoidable by-product of
experience. Deep learning is preferred above surface learning according to the experiential
learning theory. Kolb's experiential theory provides a more holistic approach to learning,
emphasizing how experiences, such as cognition, contextual circumstances, and emotions,
affect the learning process.
Kolb has identified four different forms of learning that correlate to each of these periods.
The models highlight instances in which students perform better.
Perception and processing are two of Kolb's learning modes. Learners receive and process
information in a continuum, according to Kolb, ranging from tangible experience to reflective
observation to abstract conceptualization to active experimentation.
Kolb created four learning styles based on this continuum: Diverger, Assimilator, Converger,
and Accommodator.
Example of Experiential Learning Theory

Field trips, Art projects, Science experiments, Role-playing exercises, Reflection and
journaling, Opportunities for internship and Interactive classroom games

Short comings of Experiential Learning Theory

Experiential learning necessitates patience and direction; students must attempt and
experiment with a variety of ways, which takes time and patience, but the effects last longer.

3
 Correcting the shortcomings

To correct the above mentioned critic one needs to have patience and try to give more hands
on activities that will trigger the learners understanding and learners need to be given the
opportunity to try different ways to do the activity so that they can the way that will work for
them.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY

Constructivist theories of one type or another are regularly cited as a way of explaining the
complex act of human learning. The idea of constructivist learning can be explained as a
continuous building and amending of previous structures or schemata, as new experience,
actions and knowledge are assimilated and accommodated by the learner.

According to the theory of constructivism, when a person encounters a new experience or

idea they must reconcile that new experience or idea with previous experiences and ideas.
This act of reconciliation will result in either a change of the original belief or a discarding of
the new information. Therefore, we as humans create or construct our own knowledge by
asking questions exploring and assessing what we know.

Constructivism is the theory that says learners construct knowledge rather than just passively
take in information. As people experience the world and reflect upon those experiences, they
build their own representations and incorporate new information into their pre-existing
knowledge (schemas).

As an inspiring teacher, constructivism in the classroom can make me focus more on learning
through activity, rather than learning from textbooks, meaning the textbook is the pre-existing
knowledge that a learner/s can gain base knowledge of the subject matter and then reconcile
leaners with new information/experience as to how to navigate and digest the previous
information. As a teacher to be, it will make me make an effort to understand their leaners
pre-existing conceptions and use active techniques such as real world problem solving and
experiments and address the learner’s conceptions and build on them. In a constructivist
classroom, teachers encourage students to question themselves their strategies and assess how
the various activities are enriching their understanding. Learners become expert learners in
actively constructing knowledge instead of reproducing a series of facts.

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 Examples of Social Constructivism Theory

Collaborative, or cooperative learning involves students sharing background knowledge and

participating in a reciprocal nature in order to negotiate and settle on a shared constructed
meaning.

Short comings of Social Constructivism Theory

The training necessary for constructive teaching is extensive and often requires costly long-
term professional development. This may be unreasonable for school budgets as well as
disruptive to the learners learning. With an average number of students in one classroom,
teachers are unable to customize the curriculum to each student, as their prior knowledge will
vary. I’ll bypass the shortcoming by incorporating the training via textbook activities.

Correcting the shortcomings

This method of teaching is effective for students who learn better in a hands on environment
and helps students to better relate the information learned in the classroom to their lives. The
constructivism curriculum also caters to the students’ prior knowledge, encourages teachers
to spend more time on the students’ favourite topics and allows teachers to focus on
important and relevant information. In a constructivism classroom student often work in
groups. This helps student learn social skills, support each other’s learning process and value
each other’s opinion and input.

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 REFERENCES

https://www.growthengineering.co.uk/kolb-experiential-learning-theory/
https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-transformative-learning-theory2007.html
Habermas, J. (1971). Knowledge and human interests. Boston: Beacon Press. Google Scholar
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0001848189039002004
https://www.buffalo.edu/catt/develop/theory/constructivism.html#:~:text=Constructivism%2
0is%20the%20theory%20that,%2Dexisting%20knowledge%20
https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html
https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-
guide/situated learning.shtml#:~:text=Situated%20learning%20.%20.%20.,and%20often%2
0unintended%20contextual%20learning.
https://opentext.wsu.edu/theoreticalmodelsforteachingandresearch/chapter/situated learning-
theory/