PowerPoint Presentation

CI 512: Teaching and LearningTuesday, 8/2/2011: Week 3

ConstructivismClass Outline: ConstructivismNote Taker: Teale Iacolucci Observer: Westie FreemanLogistics (9:00-9:05) Piaget TheoryStages of Cognitive Development (9:05-9:15)Small Group Discussion (9:15-9:50)Whole Class (9:50-10:30)Break (10:30-10:40)A Private UniverseVideo (10:40-11:05)Whole Class (11:05-11:30)Other types of constructivismObserver Observations (11:40-11:45)Conclusions and Exit Cards (11:45-11:50)Class PacingAllow more time for discussion and individual reflectionCalendarTuesdayThursday8/2Snapshot Draft 2 Due8/48/9Synthesis Paper Draft8/11Snapshots of Learning8/16Presentations and Presentation Papers8/18PresentationsPresentation PapersSynthesis PaperSynthesis Paper Draft3-6 pages (final paper is 6-8 pages) Due Tuesday, 8/9 (10 points)

Synthesis Paper DraftShould contain the following:

1. A summary of AT LEAST 2 of the most relevant theories of teaching and learning, mainly from the history of 20th century U.S. educational learning theory; (final paper will include 3 or more).Synthesis Paper DraftShould contain the following:2. A clear description of the theory or theories that you view as most closely aligned with your own educational philosophy. Articulates an educational philosophy that includes at least one theory of teaching and learning.Synthesis Paper DraftShould contain the following:

3. A description of how you imagine this perspective to manifest in your classroom with respect to your teaching and your students learning. Applies age-appropriate application of teaching and learning theory within a cultural and community context.Uses knowledge of teaching and learning theories to depict respectful, supportive and challenging learning environments

Synthesis Paper DraftAdvice: Be sure to read Phillips and Soltiss chapter on Social Learning Theory before writing your synthesis paper.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)Born in SwitzerlandDoctorate at 21 in Natural SciencesProgressed from biology to philosophy to psychologyPioneer of clinical examination methodology

PiagetStages of Cognitive Development Theory of knowledge construction (Accommodation and Assimilation) Piagetian Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentSensorimotor

Preoperational

Concrete Operational

Formal OperationalPiagetian Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentSensori-motor (0-2 years)Differentiates self from objectsGoal-directed actions: Recognizes self as agent of action and begins to act intentionallyAchieves object permanence

Piagetian Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentPreoperational (2-7 years)Learns to use language and to represent objects by images and wordsThinking is still egocentric: has difficulty taking the viewpoint of othersDecentering: Classifies objects by a single featureReversible Thinking: child can think backwards

Piagetian Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentConcrete Operational (7-12 years)Thinking tied to concrete objectsConservation: properties (such as volume) can be maintained despite changes in appearanceSeriation: ordering objects in series along a single dimension such as size.Classification: can group objects into categoriesCompensation: change in one dimension can be offset by changes in another Piagetian Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentFormal Operational (11 to adulthood)Ability to transform interiorized objects through abstract reasoning Can apply deductive reasoning and account for all logical possibilitiesBecomes concerned with the hypothetical, the future, and ideological problemsThe Bending Rods Experiment

Small Group DiscussionHow might you apply Piagets theory of stages of cognitive development to the classroom?What are some strengths of this theory?What are some limitations of this theory?Critiques of Piagets Theory of Cognitive StagesStages of development might not be fixedSome can reason abstractly in certain contexts, but not in othersSome might understand conservation of number, but not conservation of volumeCritiques of Piagets Theory of Cognitive StagesLimits the scope of childrens potentialChildren develop at different rates dependent on individual ability and social contextCritiques of Piagets Theory of Cognitive StagesIf we accept the fact that there are stages of development, another question arises which I call the American question, and I am asked it ever time I come here. If there are stages that children reach at given norms of ages, can we accelerate the stages? Do we have to go through each one of these stages, or can we speed it up a bit?Critiques of Piagets Theory of Cognitive StagesIt is probably possible to accelerate, but maximal acceleration is not desirable. There seems to be an optimal time. What this optimal time is will surely depend on each individual and on the subject matter. We still need further research to know what the optimal time would be.- Piaget, 1970, New York Lecture(Resnick & Ford, 1981, p.178)Critiques of Piagets Theory of Cognitive StagesResearch indicates that children can improve types of reasoning with persistent, directed instruction.Case (1978) indicates improvement on volume conservation tasks is associated with the simplification of schemasBearison (1969) showed transfer across a number of different conservation tasks over long periods of time

The question still remains, does acceleration of stage development result in better thinkers over the long term?BreakPiaget Theory of LearningOrganization: tendency to organize thinking into psychological schemasEquilibrium: a balance between cognitive schemas and the information of the environmentDisequilibrium: cognitive schemas and environmental information are out of balanceAssimilation: new pieces of information are incorporated into current cognitive structuresAccommodation: current cognitive structures are altered to make sense of new informationA Private UniverseProduced in 1987 in association with the National Science Foundationhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KUQbeKJTNY

A Private UniverseQuestions:How does this documentary relate to constructivist theory?What implications does this documentary have for your future teaching?ObservationsExit Card ReflectionsRate your level of participation today (0-3)Name one aspect of todays class that was beneficial for youName one aspect of todays class that could be improvedConstructivist Theories(Ernst, 1996)A plurality of theories: occasionally in opposition with one anotherBasic premise that learning is a constructive processWeak ConstructivismAll individual human knowledge is individually constructedThe mind is a data-processing computer, however all data is self constructedThere exists a realm of objective knowledge Local paradigm: only accounts for the knowledge representations of individuals

Radical Constructivismvon Glasersfeld developed theoryCognition is adaptiveOnly concerned with the experiential world and not an ontological realityExperiencers of the world construct understanding based upon perception as opposed to inaccessible realityNeutral in ontology: not concerned with the existence of objective worldSocial ConstructivismIndividuals are the realm of the social as inextricably interconnectedNo metaphor for the isolated individual mind: must be viewed in terms of its interactionsMeaning is socially constructed and constrained by the shared experiences of the underlying physical realitySocially constructed meaning seeks to represent the ontological reality, which will never be fully attainedModified relativist ontology: There is a world out there supporting the appearances we have shared access to, but we have no certain knowledge of it (pg. 343)