Instructional Design and Technology:

Instructional Design Learning Theories - IDT100x:

 Constructivism 

Constructivism is a learning theory found in psychology which explains how people might acquire knowledge and learn. It therefore has direct application to education. The theory suggests that humans construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences. Constructivism is not a specific pedagogy. Piaget's theory of Constructivist learning has had wide ranging impact on learning theories and teaching methods in education and is an underlying theme of many education reform movements. Research support for constructivist teaching techniques has been mixed, with some research supporting these techniques and other research contradicting those results.

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Reference:

The University of Sydney School

https://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/learning_teaching/ict/theory/constructivism.shtml

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WEEK 3 - What will you learn this week?

Submitted: 28.10.19

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By the end of Week 3, you will be able to:

• differentiate between behaviorism and Constructivism,

• identify and describe Bruner’s work and Vygotsky’s work, and

• discuss examples of Constructivism in learning environments
  (zone of proximal development and scaffolding).

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Learning Theories -  Constructivism 

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Discussion 3: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Scaffolding

One characteristic of Constructivism is the notion that our minds are not completely blank slates - even when we are children. Instead, we have experiences and language we use to make connections with new information we are learning.  

 

Discussion:

Based on what you have learned this week about constructivism, format your discussion as follows:

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1. First, review your learning scenario from last week that applies behaviorism and add to it additional learning objective(s) in which constructivism is the primary learning theory that drives the activity. Don’t use something you have experienced firsthand, but instead apply the theory to create additional learning that complements or adds to your initial behaviorist scenario. Remember, constructivism is focused on learners taking an active role in learning and developing new knowledge related to their existing knowledge, often through collaboration.  
    

2. Additionally, describe specifically what you believe would be the skills in the Zone of Proximal Development (based on the learners in your scenario).
    

3. Finally, discuss at least one scaffolding strategy and one social constructivist strategy you could use to help learners take an active role in constructing their own knowledge.

Again, in order to extend your understanding of this week's topic(s), it is expected that you conduct some outside research.  Please reference in your initial discussion post any useful resources you find and APA citations for these references.

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 Week 3 Discussion Response
(ZDP with Scaffolding + Constructivist Info-graphic) 

Following is the scenario developed in week 2 with the additional constructivist instructional components and "Zones of Proximal Development"(ZPD) with teacher guidance(Scaffolding).

Learning scenario from Week 2

Creating a digital collage (Photoshop image manipulation)

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1. Introduce the task and minimum requirements

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2. Demonstrate the task using the required skills

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3. Guide students through the skills application in completing the exercise
Teacher has an opportunity to observe engagement, encourage participation and skills acquisition.

Student have an opportunity to work on their own, learning by doing and practise their new skills.

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4. Provide an on-line forum for group discussions and practice exercises(Grade worth - %5)

(ZPD with Scaffolding)

Discussions are guided and mediated by teacher.
Students contribute to group discussion, collaborate and interact

Forum also provides a place of consensus in regards to approach and correct techniques application 
Negative outcome - they miss grades if they don't participate.

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5. Teacher provides feedback and guidance throughout the exercise and on-line forum.

(ZPD with Scaffolding)
Teacher provides immediate feedback, guidance and an opportunity for self reflection.

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6. Provide non-graded on-line self assessment 

(ZPD as self guided activity)
The activity provides measurement of involvement if exercise is completed.

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7. Grade the task in-line with assessment outcomes(Grade worth - %20)

(ZPD with Scaffolding)

*** Teacher provides guidance and posts relevant questions at each development point.***
Submit the work incrementally to an online portfolio for regular review(Scaffolding) and open to the class for open discussion through the on-line discussion forum (Interaction, collaboration opportunity)

Student have an opportunity to work on their own, learning by doing and practise their new skills.

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8. Provide a quiz at the end of the task (Grade worth - %10)
Test for acquired skills and knowledge

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Perhaps also make a higher grade the requirement for having a choice of the following
type of project available to the student(Stimulus and provides a negative reinforcement). ie. 70% pass required if they wish to work with video animation for the following project, otherwise can only tackle illustrated animation.

In the past the more popular option has been video animation and the minimum pass rate may encourage them to gain the required grade(Response).

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In designing this project, I'm encouraging students to be engaged in class and the on-line interactions, where they can collaborate with others to solve problems and accumulate grades as they progress through the exercises.

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This is a blended instructional approach as there are elements from behaviourist and constructivist learning theories in this process. 

The nature of the project is that it's not purely a “skill and drill” driven exercise, it also incorporates the "creative process", which includes and aesthetic component, that needs a blended educational approach. 

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References: 

1. The University of Sydney - The University of Sydney School of Education and Social Work
CONSTRUCTIVISM
https://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/learning_teaching/ict/theory/constructivism.shtml

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2. Engineering of Learning: Conceptualizing e-Didactics​

https://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214730.pdf

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 Response Portfolio Activity 2 - Constructivist Info-graphic

 

This weeks Requirement:

This week, add to your portfolio the characteristics of Constructivism via an info-graphic.  

Create an info-graphic to present an overview of Constructivism and describe a learning scenario that presents the learning theory in practice. 

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Please click on the pdf icon below to view the Constructivist info-graphic.

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References: 

 

The info-graphic has been created using Adobe Illustrator and a free downloaded template 

found at the following address: https://www.freepik.com/

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Developmental Approaches to Learning: Constructivism

The 6 core values have been referenced from Ref: Matthews, M. (1994). Science teaching: The role of history and philosophy of science. New York: Rutledge Publisher

https://blogs.ubc.ca/constructivism/application/

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