Post by Learn Shack Team on Jan 10, 2014 12:28:51 GMT
Constructivism is a theory or philosophy of learning “based on the idea that knowledge is constructed by the knower based on mental activity” (Skaalid, no date). It can be defined as “meaning making… rooted in the context of the situation… whereby individuals construct their knowledge of, and give meaning to, the external world” (Babb et al., no date). As an educational philosophy it came to prominence in the early 1990s.
The place of constructivism can be located within the overall history of the field. A quick sketch might portray the decades in the following terms:
1960s and 70s
The birth of instructional theory and active research on instructional strategies. Consistent with stimulus-response psychology, we thought that instructional strategies – what instruction did to the learner – best accounted for learning.
1980s
Shift to cognitive learning theory and related instructional theories. What goes on in people’s heads was seen as an important mediator in learning. So instructional strategies were designed to change how people processed and structured information – which led to learning. Related advances included expert systems, intelligent tutors, expert-novice research, mental models, cognitive task analysis, and cognitive load theory.
1990s
Shift to constructivism and situated learning. The qualitative side of cognition rose in prominence, complementing the prior work on information Constructivism processing and memory structures.Constructivism was more about authentic practice and community participation and less about acquisition of declarative and procedural knowledge. Researchers became more aware of different theories of knowledge (epistemology) and postmodern critiques of theory and practice.
2000s
More attention to practice, engagement, and experience. Situated practice rose in prominence, for learners but also for instructors and designers. Guided by the growth of educational games, media, and the Web, old models of
motivation gave way to models of interest, engagement, participation, and the learning experience.
carbon.ucdenver.edu/~bwilson/Constructivism.pdf
The place of constructivism can be located within the overall history of the field. A quick sketch might portray the decades in the following terms:
1960s and 70s
The birth of instructional theory and active research on instructional strategies. Consistent with stimulus-response psychology, we thought that instructional strategies – what instruction did to the learner – best accounted for learning.
1980s
Shift to cognitive learning theory and related instructional theories. What goes on in people’s heads was seen as an important mediator in learning. So instructional strategies were designed to change how people processed and structured information – which led to learning. Related advances included expert systems, intelligent tutors, expert-novice research, mental models, cognitive task analysis, and cognitive load theory.
1990s
Shift to constructivism and situated learning. The qualitative side of cognition rose in prominence, complementing the prior work on information Constructivism processing and memory structures.Constructivism was more about authentic practice and community participation and less about acquisition of declarative and procedural knowledge. Researchers became more aware of different theories of knowledge (epistemology) and postmodern critiques of theory and practice.
2000s
More attention to practice, engagement, and experience. Situated practice rose in prominence, for learners but also for instructors and designers. Guided by the growth of educational games, media, and the Web, old models of
motivation gave way to models of interest, engagement, participation, and the learning experience.
carbon.ucdenver.edu/~bwilson/Constructivism.pdf
