LEARNING THEORIES AND PROCESSES (PART 3) The humanistic approach and constructivist point of views on learning, and their application in the classroom

CONTENTS # What is Humanistic approach? # Objectives of T.H.A # Principles of T.H.A # Applications in the classroom # Contributors to the growth of humanistic education # Constructivists # Constructivist point of view on learning # What is constructivism? # Constructivist theories CONTENTS

DEFINITION HUMANISM - a method of beliefs concerned with the needs of people and not with the religious ideas APPROACH - a method of doing something or dealing with the problem HUMANISTIC APPROACH – A method of doing something that concerned with the needs of people

Objectives of T.H.A The basic objectives of humanistic approach in education are to encourage students to : Be self-directed and independent Take responsibility for their learning Be creative and interested in the arts Be curious about the world around them

Principles of T.H.A There are 5 principles of Humanistic Approach in education : Self-direction Wanting and knowing how to learn Self –evaluation The importance of feelings Freedom from threat

SELF-DIRECTION # Students can choose what they want to learn # The teachers should not interfere or determining students’ decision # Let the students to initiate the activity they want and then ask teachers simply to provide information and equipments for them to use in their activity.

Wanting & Knowing how to learn # Learning how to learn is more important than acquiring factual knowledge # Teachers can play their role by helping the students learn how to learn # Should emphasize more on thinking process rather than teaching determination

Self-evaluation # Humanistic educators believe that grading systems are irrelevant # The students will not achieve their personal satisfaction # According to Holt (1964), “Comparisons and grades are seen as humiliating the child”

The importance of feelings # Humanistic educators believe that both feelings and knowledge are important to the learning process # As teachers, we should concern about our students’ feelings

Freedom from threat # The learning can be easiest and meaningful if it takes place in a non-threatening situation # Non-threatening situation is when the students feel unstressed and able to overcome their pressure

APPLICATION in the classroom Teacher as a facilitator # teacher guides the activity which has been done by the students (2) Enhance critical thinking # the whole class will take part in the activity by having critical thinking process # by practicing critical thinking system, we’ll produce students who are able to express their views and able to think deep beyond (3) Establish privacy files # privacy files so that the students will know their level # can only be opened by the individual itself

(4) Fair learning # teachers should apply a fair learning process which every student is given chance to show their ability and free to express their view # everything being taught by us must be explain to all and not to particular person only (5) Provide non-threatening environment # instead of giving the task individuality, the teacher can set the task in group but evaluate individually

Contributors To the growth of Humanistic Education CARL ROGERS 5 learning theories  (i) Personal experience (ii) Perfect self-esteem (iii) The reality of self-esteem (iv) Build one-self (v) The choice of behaviour that not against one’s belief ABRAHAM MASLOW  Hierarchy of human needs

CARL ROGERS There are 5 learning theories by Carl Rogers : (1) Personal Experience # Each individual has their own experience which depends on one’s surrounding # One’s experience and thought can’t be perceived by others (2) Perfect Self-Esteem # Every person has desired to be successful and happy # ‘Intrinsic motivation’ is important in order to encourage students to excel

(3) Realization of Self-Esteem # as teachers, we must try to understand the students’ behaviour # the best way to understand a person is through communication (4) Self-development # we know ourselves based on our experience, ability and strength # if the experience that have been faced is negative, so his individual concept will be negative too (5) The choice of behaviour that is not against one’s belief # we should show behaviour that based on our belief

HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS ABRAHAM MASLOW To achieve / compete To be with others To feel secure and safe Hunger / thirst

CONSTRUCTIVIST POINT OF VIEW ON LEARNING CONSTRUCTIVISM WHAT IS CONSTRUCTIVISM? FORMS THE CONSTRUCTIVIST CLASSROOM THEORIES COGNITIVE SOCIAL PIAGET’S VYGOTSKY’S APPLICATION

What is constructivism What is constructivism? - a view of learning based on the belief that knowledge is not a thing that can be simply given by teacher. - knowledge is constructed by learners through an active, mental process of development - learners are the builders and the creators of meaning and knowledge.

CONSTRUCTIVISM is important….. - as the educational curricula are changing TRANSACTIONAL CURRICULUM TRANSMISSION CURRICULUM Students are actively involve - to reach new information Traditional curriculum - students are passively listen, acquire facts

CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORIES Students do not simply memorise or take on other’s conceptions of reality – students create their own meaning and understanding. Learning as the result of mental construction; fitting new information + present information = construct own understanding Learning affected by the context and beliefs and attitudes of the leaner – is encouraged to invent own solutions, hypotheses, and try out ideas.

CONSTRUCTIVISM VYGOTSKY PIAGET Learning occurs by an active construction of meaning, rather than by passive recipience. Personal construct- which propose about the look at around the world through patterns which we create. Students make sense of the new information Students create their own ways of seeing the world in which they live

COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISM & SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM i) COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISM: It is based on Piaget’s work Focus on individual, internal constructions of knowledge Emphasizes on individual’s search for meaning as they interact with the environment E.g: the learner’s background knowledge, where more knowledge provided by parents, thus - better understanding for learners.

ii) SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM It is influenced by Vygotsky’s work It suggests that knowledge is 1st constructed in a social context Emphasizes the process of sharing individual perspectives; collaborative elaboration – learners constructed understanding wouldn’t be alone Emphasizes on teacher’s role – in encouraging collaborative work among students Social interaction – students-teacher, students-students – both will gain benefits

CONSTRUCTIVIST CLASSROOM STUDENT-CENTERED More focus on students learning than a teachers teaching LEARNERS TEACHERS Active, independent learners Researchers/ supporters only Focus on speaking and listening

Provide students with experiences Interactive nature LEARNERS STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHERS Provide students with experiences Interactive nature In a central position Sharing responsibility among teachers and students Are perceived as meaning-maker Promotes communication Demonstrate mutual respect Creates flexibility Active/meaningful learning

The Teachers should: Listening to students’ ideas and encouraging them Encouraging students to actively participate in doing, discussing and creating Providing more than one source of information so students can see different perspectives and have many inputs Encouraging students to compare and contrast ideas Including writing, so that students can think through their ideas

APPLICATION IN THE CLASSROOM 1) Inquiry and Problem-based Learning Problem launches students’ inquiry The problem presented – has ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. 2) Group Work and Cooperation in learning Several students working together All members in group must be cooperative Evolving constructivist perspectives on learning

3) Making Cooperatives Learning Work 5 elements that define true cooperative learning group (David & Johnson, 1999) : i) face-t-face interaction ii) positive interdependence iii) individual accountability iv) collaborative skills v) Group processing e.g.: Jigsaw – an early format for cooperative learning that emphasizes high interdependence

4) Dialogue and Instructional Conversations instructional conversations because they are designed to promote learning but it includes conversations not lectures Teacher’s goal – to keep everyone cognitively engaged in a substantive discussion