CONSTRUCTIVISM
Constructivism is a new psychological
thought that sees learning as construction of knowledge. The main objectives of
constructivist teaching are, student empowerment and autonomy. It fosters critical thinking and creates
motivated and independent learners. In
this approach, knowledge is not given to the students directly. Students are involved in the process of
learning to reach new understanding.
Students form their own understanding and form their own knowledge.
The
advocates of constructivism are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Constructivism is divided into three broad
types – psychological, social and radical.
Constructivist
learning theory has its roots in Philosophy, Psychology and Anthropology. In constructivism, the learner’s autonomy and
initiative are accepted and also encouraged.
Here, learning is an active reconstruction and re-interpretation of
experience. Thus, the learner constructs
knowledge using his previous knowledge, newly assimilated experiences and newly
developed insights. In the contrived classroom, the students work in groups and are
interactive and dynamic. Social and
communication skills have greater emphasis in constructivism then in the
traditional approach where students mostly work alone and learning takes place
through repetition and subjects strictly adhere to text books. According to Andrew Gray, the characteristics
of a constructivist classroom are,
·
The learners are actively involved.
·
The learning environment is democratic.
·
The activities are interactive and
learner -centered.
·
The teacher facilitates learning in
which the learners are encouraged to be responsible and autonomous.
Features of Constructivism
1.
Learning involves invention of ideas
rather than accumulation of facts.
2.
Learning depends on what the learner
already knows.
3.
New ideas occur as we change our old
ideas.
4.
Performance is given importance.
5.
It encourages learning rather than
instruction.
6.
Interactions with learning environment
is stressed.
7.
Contextual learning
8.
Learning activities should centre on the
puzzling situations.
9.
Transactional curriculum is followed.
10.
Student centeredness
11.
Process-oriented
12.
Learner autonomy
13.
Well organized classroom
14.
Group activity is given importance.
15.
Continuous and comprehensive evaluation
is adopted.
16.
Emphasis on professional development of
teachers.
17.
Focus is on the process and not on the
products.
18.
Individual attention is given to
learners.
19.
Teacher is guide, facilitator and
diagnostician
20.
Stress on Multiple Intelligence theory.
21.
Encourages cooperative learning
22.
Encourages reflective thinking
23.
Support healthy competition
24.
Treats errors in a gentle way.
25.
Scholastic and co-scholastic aspects are
evaluated.
In
addition to the positive aspects, constructivism has some limitations also.
Limitation of Constructivism
1.
Difficult to create detailed lessons
plans with so much variation.
2.
Consumes more time.
3.
Requires highly competent teachers.
4.
It places higher demand on learners
5.
Starting the class from the knowledge
base of the learners is not possible in a class with students of multi-ability
levels.
Constructivist
theory
Constructivism is the name given to
a set of learning theories which fell somewhere between cognitive and
humanistic views. The team
constructivism refers to the construction of meanings and knowledge by learners
individually for themselves as they learn.
Constructivism emphasizes the building of meaning and knowledge that
occurs in people’s minds when they learn.
Principles
of constructivism
1.
Knowledge is socially constructed.
2.
Learning is an active process.
3.
Learning is an interpretive, recursive,
building process.
4.
Knowledge is not a fixed object.
5.
People learn to learn as they learn
6.
Reflective activities
7.
Learning involve language
8.
Learning is a social activity
9.
Learning is contextual
10.
One needs knowledge to learn.
COGNITIVE
CONSTRUCTIVISM OF PIAGET
According
to Piaget, knowledge is not merely transmitted verbally but must be constructed
end re-constructed by the learner.
Piaget asserted that, for a child to know construct knowledge of the
world, the child must act on objects it is this action which provides knowledge
of those objects, the mind organizer reality and acts upon it. He says that, the ability of children to
learn any cognitive content is always related to their stage of intellectual
development. Piaget discovered that,
children think and reason differently at different periods in their lives. The four stages of cognitive development
identified by Piaget are:
1.
Sensory –motor stage (Birth – 2 years)
2.
Pre operational stage (2-7 years)
3.
Concrete operational stage (7-11 yrs)
4.
Formal operational stage (12-15 years)
According
to Piaget, intellectual growth involves three fundamental process;
assimilation, accommodation & equilibration.
Assimilation:
Learner transforms incoming information so that
it fits within his existing schemes or thought patters.(incorporation of
new events into pre-existing cognitive
structures)
Accommodation:
Learner adapt his thought pattern to include incoming information (modification
of existing cognitive structures to hold the new information)
Equilibration:
Person strikes a balance between himself and the environment, between assimilation
and accommodation. (Experiencing new event and assimilating and accommodating
the new informations to attain equilibrium)
Implications
for Education
1.
Advocated active discovery learning environments
in schools. Children need to explore,
manipulate, experiment, questions and search out answers for
themselves-activity is essential.
2.
In order to promote growth of
intelligence, experiences should be planned to allow opportunities for
assimilation and accommodation.
3.
Ensure individualized instruction and
children should have opportunities to communicate with one another.
4.
Teachers as facilitators of knowledge-
to guide and stimulate students.
5.
Allow children to make mistakes and
learn from them. Learning, then will be meaningful as children are allowed to
discover new learning.
6.
Laboratories, workshops and technologies
that encourage interactivity (such as multimedia virtual classroom) fit in with
Piaget’s theory of cognitive construction.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM
OF VYGOTSKY
The
social constructivist theory proposed by Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist,
considers learning as a social and communicative process whereby knowledge is
shared and understandings are constructed in culturally formed social
settings. It emphasizes the importance
of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing
knowledge based on this understanding.
Vygotsky’s social constructivism is based on the following 4 basic
principles:
a)
Children construct their knowledge
b)
Development cannot be separated from its
social context.
c)
Learning can lead to development.
d)
Language plays a central role in mental
development.
The components of social constructivist
theory are discussed under different subheads:
1.
Construction of knowledge occurs only
when the learners interact in a social context:
Social interaction plays a fundamental role in learning which leads to
intellectual development. It will lead
to changes in a child’s thought and behavior.
2.
Learning occurs through the
international of a socially negotiated mental function: Internationalization is a process of learning
whereby the child incorporates a rich body of knowledge and tools of thought
that first exists outside the child, through social adaptation. Every mental function of child appears on
social level and on the individual level.
Once a mental function has been culturally and socially negotiated it
becomes internalized.
3.
Language is a tool for understanding
outer world and constructing knowledge: Language according to Vygotsky is the
framework through which individuals experience, communicate and understand reality. The advanced modes of thought are transmitted to the child by means
of words, and thus language is a powerful tool in learning how t think.
4.
Intentional learning is limited to the
zone of proximal development: The zone
of proximal development(ZPD) is the gap between what a given child can achieve
alone(level of independent performance) and what he can achieve through problem
solving under adult guidance (level of assisted performance). The range of skill that can be developed with
adult guidance exceeds what can be attained alone. The purpose of ZPD is to support intentional
learning.
Educational Implications
1.
Curricula should emphasize interaction
between learners and learning tasks.
2.
Role of teacher is to create social
situations for students that will faster the construction of knowledge.
3.
Educational process should be formed in
tune with the culture of the society.
4.
Teacher as co-learner: role for a given
of knowledge to a facilitator, organizer and mental of learning.
5.
Scaffolding is an effective form of
teaching. Teacher should continually adjust
the level of his help in response to the learner’s level of performance.
6.
Students must be guided by adults and
influenced by peer . Peer instruction,
guided instruction, co-operative learning, social negotiation & collaborative
learning should be promoted.
7.
The physical classroom would provide
work space for pear instruction, collaboration and small group instruction to
encourage student interaction.
CRITICAL PEDAGOGY
Critical
pedagogy is an approach that attempts to help students to question and
challenge the existing beliefs and practices.
It helps them active critical consciousness. This approach takes the
issue of power as its central concern is the context of teaching and
learning. It focuses on how and in whose
interests knowledge is produced and passed on and views the ideal aim of
education as emancipator. Critical
pedagogy is of central importance in
creating better and more fully realized individuals as well as a good
society. Critical philosophers of
education provides a radial critique of the existing models pedagogy and also
present alternative progressive models relevant to our contemporary situation.
Critical
pedagogy has its roots in the critical theory of the Frankfurt school, which
influenced the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, the most renowned critical
educator. His famous work ‘Pedogogy of the Oppressed’ inspired many educational
thinkers.
Critical
theory is a term which came to be used to describe the dialectival social
criticism of Frankfurt school. An
important tenet of the theory is that, the ideology critique can eliminate
false consciousness and allow individuals and groups to critique and resist
oppressive regimes of power.
Definition
critical pedagogy by famous Educational thinker Ira Shor includes, ‘Habits of
thought, reading, writing and speaking which go beneath the surface meaning,
first impressions, dominant myths, official pronouncements, traditional
clichés, received wisdom and mere opinions to understand the deep meaning, root
causes, social context, ideology and personal consequences of any action,
event, object, process, organization, experience, text, subject matter, policy,
mass media or discourse’(Empowering Edcuation-129).
According
to Shor, ’When pedagogy and curricular policy reflect egalitarian goals, they
do what education can do ‘. She
identifies the following principal goals of Critical Pedagogy.
1.
Oppose socialization with de-socialization.
2.
Choose critical consciousness over
commercial consciousness.
3.
Transformation of society over
reproduction of inequality.
4.
Promote democracy by practicing it and
by studying authoritarianism.
5.
Challenge student withdrawal through
participatory course.
6.
Illuminate the myths supporting
7.
Interfere with the scholastic disability
of students through a critical literacy programme.
8.
Raise awareness about thought and
language expressed in life.
9.
Distribute research skills and censored
information useful for investigating power and policy in society.
10.
Invite students to reflect socially in
their conditions and to consider overcoming limits.
As
conditions to overcome limits, Joe L Kircheloe, an educational thinker, lists
the basic concerns of critical pedagogy.
v All
education is inherently political and all pedagogy must be aware of this
condition.
v A
social educational vision of justice &equality should ground all education.
v Issues
of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion and physical ability are all
important dimensions of oppression and critical anti-hegemonic action.
v The
alleviation of oppression and human suffering is a key dimension of educational
purpose.
v Schools
must not hurt students good schools don’t blame students for their failure or
strip students of the knowledge they bring to classroom.
v All
position including critical pedagogy itself must be problamatised and
questioned.
v Professionalism
of teachers must be respected and part of the role of any educator involves
becoming a scholar and a researcher.
v Education
must both promote emancipator change and the cultivation of the intellect these
goals should never be in conflict. They
should be synergistic.
v Education
often reflects the interests and needs of new modes of colonization and
empire. Such dynamics must be exposed,
understood and acted upon as part of critical transformative praxis.
Critical
pedagogy provides an opportunity to reflect critically on issues in terms of
their political, social, economic and moral aspects. It entails acceptance democratic way of
interaction.
A critical
framework helps children to see social issues from different perspectives and
understand how such issues are connected to their lives. It facilitates collective decision making through
open distress ion and by encouraging multiple views.
The basic notion
of Critical pedagogy is an unequal social stratification in our society with
regard to caste, class, race and gender.
The shared environment of knowledge construction will certainly
acknowledge the basic concepts of critical pedagogy. It the students are confronted with a
critical approach to teaching, they are most likely to participate in the
learning process with a critical perspective of their own. If students are able to connect what they
learn in the classroom and what they face in the world outside, they will
gradually develop the power of challenging social dominating in their
society. An other way to promote
critical pedagogy in the classroom is issue based approach which sets a
classroom that promotes open dialogue, on which the students rely their options
about social issues, because, in critical pedagogy, the subjects for
educational programmer flow from learning own life situations the problems that
lie at the heart of their concern.
Critical
Pedagogy considers how education can provide individuals with tools to better themselves
and strengthen democracy to create a more equalitarian society and the
possibilities for social change through schools. It attempts to disrupt the effects of
oppressive regimes of power, both in the classroom and in the society at
large. It is particularly concerned with
reconfiguring the traditional teacher-student relationship where the teacher is
the active agent the one who knows-and the student is the passive recipient of
the teacher’s knowledge. Critical
pedagogy stresses on the importance of liberatory education. Democracy and freedom from oppression are the
corner stones of critical pedagogy.
According to critical pedagogue
Meharen, the fundamental commitment of critical educators is to empower the
powerless and transform those conditions which perpetuate human injustice and
inequality.
Critical Pedagogy of
Paulo Freire
According
to Paulo Freire, a major function of
critical pedagogy is to critique, expose and challenge the manner in which schools
impact upon the political and cultural life of students.
For
Freire, critical pedagogy is a tool that focuses on the development of critical
consciousness which enables learners to recognize connections between their
individual problems and experiences and the social contexts in which they are
embedded. That’s why critical educators
focused their attention on teaching and learning practices that are designed to
raise learners’ critical consciousness regarding oppressive social conditions.
The
post modern, feminist, antiracist and post colonial theories have played a role
in expanding the transforming Freirean critical pedagogy shifting its
predominant focus on class to include categories such as race, gender,
sexuality, ethnicity, nationality and age.
Critical pedagogy in
English Language education
With
regard to English language education, critical pedagogy has made its strong
pervasive influence from the very beginning when India came under the British
colonial rule in the 18th century.
Students can critically examine the impact of spread of English in
India in its varied aspects as mentioned
below:
v How
language like Sanskrit, Arabic & Persian which were the chief mediums of
education were pushed out and English held its way.
v How
English helped the Indian national lenders in the freedom struggle using it as
a lingua franca for communication and how the British made a rod for their own
back by spreading it all over the country.
v How
English became the Associate official language of India and how a three
language formula had to be evolved.
v What
is the status of English in India at present?
The
students should also critically understand the linguistic features of English
language.
1. English
is a non phonetic language.
2. English
has its own systems of syntax and semantics.
3. English
has its own spelling system which often has little oncenrd with pronunciation.
4. The
Grammar stress and intonation patterns and unique for English.
5. The
suprasegmental features of English make fantastic difference in the message
conveyed.
6. English
has a number of varieties and dialects.
7. The
Standard English which we follow in our schools is known as Received Pronunciation.
REFERENCE
1.
Effective Teaching of English - K.Jamaluddeen
2.
Methodology of Teaching and pedagogic
Analysis - Dr.K.Sivarajan
T.V.Remakrishan
& K.Mridula
3.
Contemporary English Teaching - M.Jesa
4.
Psychological bases of Education - Dr. N.K.Arjunan
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