UNIT 3.3 COGNITIVE PROCESSESConstructivism: Knowledge Construction/Concept learning

CONSTRUCTIVISM: KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION/CONCEPT LEARNING

In the quotation above, “filling up the pail” is more linked to rote learning and behaviorism. It connotes that teaching is dominated by the teacher and the learners are passive

TWO VIEWS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM Individual Constructivism. This is also

called cognitive constructivism. It emphasizes individual, internal construction of knowledge. It is largely based on Piaget’s theory.

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”.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM1. Learners construct understanding. As

discussed earlier, constructivists do not view learners as just empty vessels waiting to be filled up. They see learners as active thinkers who interpret new information based on what they already know. They construct knowledge in a way that makes sense to them.

2. New learning depends on current understanding. Background information is very important. It is through the present views or scheme that the learner has, that new information will be interpreted.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM3. Learning is facilitated by social

interaction. Constructivists believe in creating a “community of learners” within classrooms. Learning communities help learners take responsibility for their own learning.

4. Meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning tasks. An authentic task is one that involves a learning activity that involves constructing knowledge and understanding that is so akin to the knowledge and understanding needed when applied in the real world.

ORGANIZING KNOWLEDGEConcepts. A concept is a way of grouping or

categorizing objects or events in our mind. A concept of teach, includes a group of tasks such as model, discuss, illustrate, explain, assist, etc.

Concepts as Feature Lists. Learning a concept involves learning specific features that characterize positive instances of the concept. Included here are defining features and correlational feature. A defining feature is a characteristic present in ALL instances.

A correlational feature is one that is present in many positive instances but not essential for concept membership. For example, a mother is loving.

ORGANIZING KNOWLEDGEConcepts as Prototypes. A prototype is an idea

or a visual image of a “typical example. It is usually formed based on the positive instances that learners encounter most often.

Concepts as Exemplars. Exemplars represent a variety of examples. It allows learners to know that an example under a concept may have variability.

MAKING CONCEPT-LEARNING EFFECTIVE. As a future teacher, you can help students learn

concepts by doing the following: Provide a clear definition 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 SCRIPTSA schema is on organized body of knowledge about something. It is like a file information you hold in your mind about something. Like a schema of what a teacher is. 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 superficially.

Give varied examples. Provide opportunities for experimentations. 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

TRANSFER OF LEARNINGTransfer of learning happens when learning in one context or with one set of materials affects performance in another context or with other related materials. Simply put, it is applying to another situation what was previously learned.

TRANSFER OF LEARNINGPositive transfer. Positive transfer

occurs when learning in one context improves performance in some other context.

Negative transfer. Negative transfer occurs when learning in one context impacts negatively on performance in another.

TRANSFER OF LEARNINGNear transfer. Near transfer refers to

transfer between very similar contexts. This is also referred to as specific transfer, for example, when students answer types of algebra word problem in an exam which are similar to had in their seatworks.

Far transfer. Far transfer refers to transfer between contexts that, on appearance, seem remote and alien to one another. This is also called general transfer.

CONDITION AND PRINCIPLES OF TRANSFER

These principles are based on the factors that affect transfer of learning. These factors are similar to what Perkins termed as “condition of transfer”.

Conditions/Factors affecting transfer of

learningPrinciple of transfer Implication

Similarly between two learning situations

The more similar the two situations are, the greater the chances that learning from one situation will be transferred to the other situation.

Involve students in learning situations and tasks that are similar as possible to the situations where they would apply the tasks.

Degree of meaningfulness/relevance of learning

Meaningful learning leads to greater transfer that rote learning

Remember to provide opportunities for learners to link new material to what they learned in the past.

Length of instructional time

The longer the time spent in instruction, the greater the probability of transfer

To ensure transfer, teach a few topics in depth rather than many topics tackled in a shallow manner.

Conditions/Factors affecting transfer of

learningPrinciple of transfer Implication

Variety of learning experiences

Exposure to many and varied examples and opportunities for practice to encourage transfer

Illustrate new concepts and principles with a variety of examples. Plan activities that allow your learners to practice their newly learned skills.

Context for learner’s experiences

Transfer of learning is most likely to happen when learners discover that what they learned is applicable to various contexts

Relate topic in one subject to topics in other subjects or discipline. Relate it also to real life situations

Focus on principle rather that tasks

Principles transfer easier than facts

Zero in on principles related to each topic together with strategies based on those principles.

Conditions/Factors affecting transfer of

learningPrinciple of transfer Implication

Emphasis on metacognition

Student reflection improves transfer of learning

Encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning, and to reflect on what they learned

FACILITATING LEARNING AND BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF OBJECTSBloom’s taxonomy of objectives in the

cognitive domain comes in different levels- from knowledge or recall to evaluation. To facilitate learning, we begin teaching with facts, stating memorized rules, principles of definitions (knowledge) which must lead to formulating and understanding concepts, rules and principles (comprehension).

FACILITATING LEARNING AND BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF OBJECTSA proof of comprehension of concepts

and principles is the application of these learned concepts, rules, and principles in real life situations. For an in depth understanding and mastery of these applied concepts, rules, and principles, these are broken into parts which are subjected to a keen process of analysis.

KNOWLEDGERemembering;Memorizing;Recognizing;Recalling and identification and

Recall of information

COMPREHENSIONInterpreting;Translating from one medium to another;

Describing in one’s own words;

Organization and selection of facts and ideas

APPLICATIONProblem solving;Applying information to produce some result;

Use of facts, rules and principles

ANALYSISSubdividing something to show how it is put together;

Finding the underlying structure of a communication;

Identifying motives;Separation of a whole into component parts

SYNTHESISCreating a unique, original product that may be in verbal form or may be a physical object;

Combination of ideas to form a new whole

EVALUATIONMaking value decisions about issues;

Resolving controversies of differences of opinion;

EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES

Our questioning techniques can either facilitate or obstruct learning.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF QUESTIONING IN TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTIONS CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED BY A FEW BASIC TECHNIQUES:1. Pose a question first, before asking a

student to respond.2. Allow plenty of “think time” by

waiting at least 7-10 seconds before expecting student to respond.

3. Make sure you give all students the opportunity to respond rather than relying on volunteers.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF QUESTIONING IN TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTIONS CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED BY A FEW BASIC TECHNIQUES:4. Hold students accountable by

expecting, requiring, and facilitating their participation and contributions.

5. Establish a safe atmosphere for risk taking by guiding students in the process of learning from their mistakes.

PROBLEM SOLVING AND CREATIVITYTorrance Framework for Creative

ThinkingA common framework for creative

thinking processes is described by Torrance (1979). Each aspect is defined below, along with ways to facilitate and respective aspect by using key words and application activities.

FLUENCYDefinition Fluency refers to the production of a great

number of ideas or alternate solutions to a problem. Fluency implies understanding, not just remembering information that is learned.

Kew Words Compare, convert, count, define, describe,

explain, identify, label, list, match, name, outline, paraphrase, predict, summarize.

Application activities Trace a picture and label the parts. Outline an article you find on your topic

ELABORATIONDefinition Elaboration is the process of enhancing

ideas by providing more details. Additional detail and clarity improves interest in, and understanding of, the topic.

Key Words Appraise, critique, determine, evaluate,

grade, judge, measure, select, test.

ORIGINALITYDefinition Originality involves the production of ideas

that are unique or unusual. It involves synthesis or putting information about a topic back together in a new way.

Key Words Compose, create, design, generate,

integrate, modify, rearrange, reconstruct, recognize, and revise.

CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING – CPS

Osborn’s Checklist the origin of Classical Brainstorming is the root of creative problem solving (CPS). There are a variety of general structures: ‘define problem, generate possible solutions, select and implement the best’ which can be found extensively, in several academic traditions.

THE FOLLOWING, BASED ON VAN GUNDY (1988’S) DESCRIPTION, IS A VERY BRIEF SKELETON OF A VERY RICH PROCESS, SHOWING IT IN ITS FULL ‘6 X 2 STAGES’ FORM:

Stage 1. Mess finding: Sensitize yourself (scan, search) for issues (concerns, challenges, opportunities, etc.) that need to be tackled.

Stage 2. Data finding: Gather information about the problem.

THE FOLLOWING, BASED ON VAN GUNDY (1988’S) DESCRIPTION, IS A VERY BRIEF SKELETON OF A VERY RICH PROCESS, SHOWING IT IN ITS FULL ‘6 X 2 STAGES’ FORM:

Stage 3. Problem finding: convert a fuzzy statement of the problem into a broad statement more suitable for idea finding.

Stage 4. Idea finding: generate as many ideas as possible

Stage 5. Solution finding: