Education Studies

Session Three

Key Learning Theories 2:

•Constructivism•Social-Constructivism

How do children learn?

Today we are thinking about…..Key theories of learning

Last time:

Behaviourism

Social Learning Theory

This time: Constructivism Social constructivism

How theories of learning relate to practice

Reading FeedbackFocus: Key Learning Theories 2: Constructivist and Social Constructivist perspectives

Questions:

1. “Piaget believed that infants are born predisposed to adapt and learn from their environment” (Rodd, 1996, p.31). What does this mean?

2. What is the zone of proximal development?

3. How do the constructivist (Piaget) and social constructivist (Vygotsky/Bruner) perspectives differ?

Your answer to the question

How might this impact on my teaching

Additional information from larger group

Additional information

Theories of learning

ConstructivismSocial constructivism

Big questions:How do children acquire

knowledge?What is the adult’s role?What is the child’s role?

Children as co-constructors of knowledge

Children as competent and confident learners with their own theories about the world and how it works

Children and adults will bring their own ideas, theories and experience and knowledge and seek to make meaning as they explore and investigate together

Adult needs to acknowledge children’s skills and knowledge and realise that they do not have control over the final outcome of the experience.

Constructivism Key Ideas

• The child constructs meaning of the world through exploration and experimentation. Learning is active

• The child evolves & refines schemas with experience and practice.

• Child as scientist

Key IndividualsJean Piaget

Key ConceptsSchema, Stages of Development

ImplicationsIndividual experiencesAge appropriate curriculum

Piaget’s stages of development

Constructivism (Piaget)

How do children acquire

knowledge?

What is the adult’s role?

What is the child’s role?

Social Constructivism

Key Ideas Learning is a social processLearning is dependent upon social relationships themselves situated within a cultural context

Key IndividualsLev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner

Key ConceptsZone of Proximal Development, Scaffolding

ImplicationsOrganisation of opportunities for collaborative workLearning = interpersonal then intrapersonal

Vygotsky video/or activity

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development

Zone of Proximal Development

How do we support learning?

Learning happens as the child adapts to the environment. The ’little scientist’.

Learning happens as a more able other supports the child in understanding their environment through social interaction.

Piagetian perspective

Vygotskian perspective

assessment

Students assessed against norms; summative and diagnostic testing

Individual assessments, student in consultation with teacher; emphasis on formative assessment

organisation

Setting by ability levels No clear reason to set

planning Establishment of whole class targets with some individual targeting

Individual target-setting

teaching Whole-class teaching with individual tuition-not necessarily transmissive

Individual and small-group work;Whole class teaching not excluded

Key Ideas

• ‘Readiness’ for learning

• The spiral curriculum

• The learning context –social/cultural implications

• The role of language in thinking & reasoning: a ‘tool of thought’

Jerome Bruner (1915- )

Scaffolding• Creating a supportive environment• Importance of social interaction

(scaffolding occurs all the time – parents, other children...)

• Challenge

Bruner; Key ideas

Development:• Enactive representation – doing• Iconic representation – pictures and patterns• Symbolic representation – language

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)

Social Constructivism

How do children acquire

knowledge?

What is the adult’s role?

What is the child’s role?

Consider the questions:

What does play look like?Why is play considered to be important for learning?

For Next Time….Parker-Rees, R. (2010) ‘Active playing and learning’ in Parker-Rees, R. and Leeson, C. (eds) Early Childhood Studies: An introduction to the study of children’s worlds and children’s lives (3rdEd), Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd