[Session 9] Three Major Trends of Learning Psychology: Constructivism:
Legitimate peripheral participation and scaffolding
- Introduction -
Constructivism may be considered an epistemology which argues "knowing is to construct meaning within oneself." Based on the revalued theory of Piaget, a psychologist, learning is recognized as the process where human knowledge is integrated into schemas or it forms schemas. In line with Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, there is social constructivism where people construct knowledge in social contexts by exchanging views with others. While behaviorism and cognitivism recognize learning as a process of obtaining objective knowledge which looks the same to everyone (Objectivism), constructivism argues that learning is a process where each learner constructs meaning which differs from person to person (Suzuki, 2005a)
In Constructivism, knowledge and learning are regarded as follows (Kubota, 1995). (1) Learning is a process where a learner constructs knowledge. Obtaining knowledge is not obtaining something created by someone else, but obtaining what a learner gets by participating in learning activities after checking for him/herself. Knowledge cannot be separated from experiences. (2) Knowledge depends on circumstances. Knowledge is not segmentalized to be structured into a package. It cannot be separated from the scene which requires knowledge. (3) Learning is carried out in a community by interaction. Learning is not achieved in a situation where a learner is isolated individually, but where he/she always interacts with other learners in a communal way. In contrast with so called traditional learning philosophy (Objectivism = Behaviorism + Cognitivism), another theory, Constructivism is explained in an introductory guidebook, How People Learn. I recommend you to read it.
In this Session, major concepts of Constructivism are to be introduced. "The Adventure of Jasper Woodbury," an example of instruction based on Constructivism is also to be introduced.
References
Committee on Developments in Science of Learning, Bransford, J.D., Brown, A., & Cocking,
R.R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded Ed.). National Research Council.
[Available online] http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853#toc
