4. Constructivism

Constructivism is concerned with how knowledge is constructed. The main proponents of constructivism were Jean Piaget (1957) and Lev Vygotsky (1986). Piaget was interested in how knowledge is constructed by the individual. Vygotsky was more concerned with how the social construction of knowledge has an important role to play in this process. With respect to online teaching, one of the important notions to take from Vygotsky’s work is the ‘zone of proximal development’.

Constructivism contests the idea that the human mind is capable of mapping an absolute, objective external world one-to-one. Every learner's personal meanings are derived from actual real-world experiences, and knowledge is always generated in context (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Constructivism, as opposed to behaviourism and cognitivism, is a paradigm shift that emphasises how learners construct their knowledge via experience, reflection, and meaning-making.

Learning is a process in which students creatively and situationally interpret real events using existing information from a variety of sources to produce new and meaningful "schema" (Nathan & Sawyer, 2022). As suggested by behaviourism and cognitivism, learning is the outcome of active interactions with the outside world that include reflection, adaptation, and modification rather than the transfer of an intact knowledge structure from the outside world into memory (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). As a result, learners' schema are always subject to modification in light of their evolving and present understanding of the outside world.

   

Video 4: Constructivism [4:22]


Constructivism is typically categorised based on how learners interact with the external environment to create meaning and construct knowledge:

  • Cognitive constructivism: By seeking equilibrium in the cognitive conflict, knowledge is created during the assimilation and accommodation processes. Through experimental procedures and active reflection, like inquiry-based learning, the cognitive conflict is overcome. Learning is an individual process in which ideas come before words in order to make sense of what has been experienced in the real world and to integrate new information into existing knowledge. Learners' ability to make sense of new events and concepts is limited by their prior knowledge and cognitive capacity.

Assimilation refers to the process of brining in new knowledge to the existing schemas.

Accommodation refers to the process of modifying the existing schemas to accommodate the new information or knowledge.

Cognitive conflict refers to the differences between encountered experiences and presented information.

  • Social constructivism: Language use, meaning negotiation, and active reflection all play a role in the mediation of knowledge formation through social interaction. Thinking and language, especially inner speech, are essential components of learning and have an impact on the process of learning. More experienced people can scaffold learners' learning in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP) throughout social contact and culturally structured activities to help learners obtain cognitive progress that they could not attain on their own.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP) is a zone where learning could occur with learners’ individual efforts and the assistance of more knowledgeable others.