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Social Constructivist Perspectives on Teaching & Learning
Social Constructivism: The acquisition of intellectual skills through social interaction (Think: Vygotsky, Socially Distributed Cognition) Social Constructivist Perspectives on Teaching & Learning Research context of social constructivism Mechanisms accounting for learning Sociocognitive conflict theory of Piaget Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky Analyses of social constructivism Institutional analyses Interpersonal analyses Discursive analyses Application to contemporary education Acquiring expertise across domains Assessment Providing meaningful education for all children Educational reform
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Social Constructivist Perspectives on Teaching & Learning
Research context of social constructivism Mechanisms accounting for learning Sociocognitive conflict theory of Piaget Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky Analyses of social constructivism Institutional analyses Interpersonal analyses Discursive analyses Application to contemporary education Acquiring expertise across domains Assessment Providing meaningful education for all children Educational reform
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Situating Sociocultural Theory
Behaviorism Learning. Differential strengthening of bonds between situations and actions (S R) Teaching. Shaping the responses of the learner (e.g. demonstration, reinforcement) Task Analysis. Determine component parts, drill on prerequisite skills before advanced materials Direct Instruction. Teacher controls pace, sequence, and content of lesson Problems with Behaviorism Works for teaching facts, not higher order cognitive skills Does not result in the flexibility necessary for transfer of skills to occur Offers no explanation of the mechanisms that account for learning
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Situating Sociocultural Theory
Computational Theory of Mind Meaning-making. Cognitive structures (e.g., schemata, proposition networks) represent knowledge in memory & underlie problem-solving & transfer. Constructivism. Cognitive structures seen as individually constructed in the process of interpreting (representing) experiences. Notion of “Constructivism” Minimal constructivism Radical constructivism Individual constructs knowledge via mental representations; issue is whether or not they are accurate Knowledge develops via dialogue w/others; hence, no such thing as objective knowledge
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Situating Sociocultural Theory
Why social constructivism? Modeling the mental processing of a given task (i.e. think-aloud activities) improves students’ performance. Success of reciprocal teaching – students engage in reading comprehension strategies (predicting, questioning, summarizing, clarifying) in groups Provided evidence of relationship between quality of social interaction & nature of learning that occurred Research on collaboration – collective knowledge, multiple understandings (representations), distributed cognitive work Awareness of role of language production in promoting learning (explaining ones thinking leads to deeper processing) What is social constructivism? The idea that thought, language, and knowledge are ‘not just influenced by social factors but are social phenomena’ Cognition is a collaborative process Thought is internalized discourse Development is internalization of socially shared activities/ processes Social Constructivism = Socially Distributed Cognition
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Social Constructivist Perspectives on Teaching & Learning
Research context of social constructivism Mechanisms accounting for learning Sociocognitive conflict theory of Piaget Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky Analyses of social constructivism Institutional analyses Interpersonal analyses Discursive analyses Application to contemporary education Acquiring expertise across domains Assessment Providing meaningful education for all children Educational reform
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Mechanisms for Learning
Sociocognitive Conflict Theory of Piaget Cognitive conflict created by social interaction drives intellectual development Contradiction between the learner’s existing understanding & current experiences leads to disequilibration Disequilibration “forces the subject to go beyond his current state and strike out in new directions” (Paiget) Among peers, there is mutual control over the interaction, therefore… Social interaction between equals is more likely to lead to cognitive development Caveats: verbal interaction is key to the co-construction of meaning May be unproductive if interaction is sparse May be unproductive if social structure allows passive compliance Social status strongly shapes what cognitive change happens.
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Mechanisms for Learning
Sociocultural Theory of Vygotsky “The social dimension of consciousness is primary in time and in fact. The individual dimension of consciousness is derivative and secondary.” (Vygotsky) Higher mental functioning has its origins in social interaction An individual’s cognitive structures & processes emerge from their interactions with others (not just information passed around) Focus typically on interaction between people of varying levels of expertise (zone of proximal development) Development seen as the result of learning, not its precondition (*cough cough Piaget cough*) There is no generic development that is independent of communities & their practices (*cough cough Piaget cough*) Human action, on both the social and individual planes, is mediated by tools & signs (semiotics) These tools & signs (a) facilitate co-construction of knowledge, and (b) are internalized to aid future independent activity Learning (& Development) – result from a complex interplay of mediational tools, the individual, and the social world
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Summing Up Social Constructivism
The individual is thoroughly social – Separating the individual from social influences is not possible Learning is culturally & contextually specific – the sociocultural contexts in which teaching & learning occur are critical to learning itself Cognition is not separate from social, motivational, emotional, and identity processes The study of generalization (transfer) is the study of processes not personal/situational attributes
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Social Constructivist Perspectives on Teaching & Learning
Research context of social constructivism Mechanisms accounting for learning Sociocognitive conflict theory of Piaget Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky Analyses of social constructivism Institutional analyses Interpersonal analyses Discursive analyses Application to contemporary education Acquiring expertise across domains Assessment Providing meaningful education for all children Educational reform
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Institutional Analysis of Social Constructivist Perspective
What does this theory mean for the culture of schooling? Schools must be reconsidered in terms of… different teaching methods (yes, of course) different cultural systems, representing different educational, social, & communicative norms & priorities EXAMPLE: The value placed on co-construction of meaning CHALLENGE: Difficulty of creating a context in Western European schools where an intersubjective attitude prevails (rather than privileging of individual success, knowledge display, competition)
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Interpersonal Analysis of Social Constructivist Perspective
What does this theory mean for classroom culture? Learning as a Social Enterprise Emphasis on collaborative student work Teacher as scaffold (guide on the side) Shared ownership of the learning – negotiation of shared meaning (rather than division of labor) through: All members of group work on same part of the problem at the same time Members externalize their thinking, both right & wrong Members negotiate to agreement before moving forward As instruction moves forward, regulative activity is transferred from teacher to students (e.g. revoicing) Caveats: social relations drastically impact collaboration (hence, learning) teachers must socialize students into new ways of treating peers as intellectual partners
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Discursive Analysis of Social Constructivist Perspective
What does this theory mean for student interaction? Discourse is the primary symbolic, mediational tool for cognitive development Research demonstrates that discourse/interaction is conducive to learning; however, the benefits depend on the type of talk Talk that is interpretive (generated in the service of analysis or explanations) is better than than talk that is merely descriptive Teachers need to seed the conversation with new and/or alternatives for students to consider – to push students’ individual & joint thinking The structure of the group activity matters: Responsibility should be shared Expertise should be distributed Needs an ethos for building on preceding ideas
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We stopped here & will continue with the rest tomorrow.
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Social Constructivist Perspectives on Teaching & Learning
Research context of social constructivism Mechanisms accounting for learning Sociocognitive conflict theory of Piaget Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky Analyses of social constructivism Institutional analyses Interpersonal analyses Discursive analyses Application to contemporary education Acquiring expertise across domains Assessment Providing meaningful education for all children Educational reform
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Application of Social Constructivism to Education
Acquiring Expertise Expertise construed as facility in practices valued within a particular community of practice (rather than merely the construction of knowledge structures in memory) Hence, classroom are designed to capture important practices valued in the relevant domain community, not just domain ‘facts’ Assessment = Dynamic Assessment Performance of the learner is mediated/guided by the teacher to determine the learner’s potential to profit from assistance or instruction. A prospective measure of performance, revealing developing abilities not just already matured ones & predicting future independent success
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Application of Social Constructivism to Education
Providing Meaningful Education for All children Why schools have failed to serve all children: Discontinuities between home culture & school culture Mismatched communicative practices between non-mainstream children & mainstream teachers, resulting in miscommunication Internalization of negative stereotypes by minority students who may find schools to be a site for opposition & resistance Relational issues, such as failure to attain mutual trust or shared sense of identity between teachers & students These explanations are both descriptive of current state of schools & prescriptive for teaching. X
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Take a close look at Dotty Herd’s classroom in the film.
Activity Take a close look at Dotty Herd’s classroom in the film. Briefly analyze her classroom from a social constructivist perspective. What does/not work? Explain. X
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Interpersonal Analysis of Social Constructivist Perspective
Interpersonal Analysis What does this theory mean for classroom culture? Emphasis on collaborative student work Activity Social constructivist classroom Traditional classroom Student-centered activity Independent Seat Work 0% 40% Student presentations 15% Pair/small-group work 55% 1% Teacher-centered activity Directive 29% Facilitative
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Structuring Collaborative Learning Activities
Several different forms but all share some common features Students work in small groups or teams Students are responsible not only for their own learning but for one another’s learning as well Example Models of Cooperative Learning Student Team Learning Jigsaw
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Student Team Learning Team Rewards Individual Accountability
Students in team receive rewards if they meet some designated learning goal Teams are not in competition with one another All teams can earn reward Individual Accountability Team’s success depends on the individual learning of all team members Team members explain concepts to one another Ensure that each member of group is up to speed Equal Opportunities Students contribute to their teams by improving over their own past performances Ensures that all skill levels are equally challenged and equally valued
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Jigsaw Method Usually used in courses where text is central
Class is divided into teams of 6-10 Whole class reads the target text (entirely) Each student chooses a topic to become expert on Students who choose the same topic meet to form an expert group Expert groups research topic & collaborate to develop a shared understanding Students return to their teams to teach what they learned to their teammates Students can only learn topics other than the one they chose via listening to peers, so teammates are motivated to support one another’s work.
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Research Shows… Compared to traditional (individual desk work) instruction, cooperative learning wins out 61% of the time Effects vary depending on particular methods used Group goals & individual accountability are crucial! Equal benefits to students of all ability levels Students express greater liking for their peers in general as a result – important when classroom is ethnically diverse Increases students’ self esteem & self-concept Other general outcomes: liking school, development of peer norms in favor of doing well academically, feelings of self-efficacy, cooperativeness, & altruism ..
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