Unlike Behaviorism, where students are passive recipients of knowledge, Constructivism maintains that students must be active participants in the construction of their own learning. Knowledge is constructed by experience and learning takes place when connections are made to a student’s prior knowledge. Behaviorists view the motivation to learn as extrinsic, or a reaction to positive or negative reinforcements. Social constructivists see motivation as both extrinsic and intrinsic in that learners are motivated by rewards from a social community and by their own internal drive to learn.

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Psychologist Jean Piaget, who developed the learning theory of Cognitivism, maintained that certain underlying cognitive patterns which correspond to stages of child development must precede learning. Piaget saw knowledge derived from these stages as key to build upon to form new ideas.

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Social Constructivism is a type of cognitive constructivism that emphasizes collaborative learning and requires social interaction or collaboration between student and teacher or peer. Social constructivism was developed by Soviet cognitivist psychologist Lev Vygotsky who believed that all cognitive functions originate in, and are products of, social interaction and emphasized the role of language and culture in cognitive development. Vygotsky rejected Piaget's assumption that universal stages of child development must precede learning and asserted that learning is derived from collaborative social interaction.

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Vygotsky developed the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), or level of potential development, which he defines as the difference between the problem-solving level of a learner without assistance and the potential that can be achieved with the guidance of teachers or in collaboration with peers. He maintained that when appropriate assistance is provided to the learner, it would boost, or enable her or him to achieve a task that she or he could not accomplish without additional help.

 

To support the student within the (ZPD), Vygotsky uses the concept of Scaffolding. Although he never used the term in his writings, it has become synonymous with the ZDP. Vygotsky calls this the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO), a teacher or peer who has a higher comprehension or ability in a particular task or concept. The MKO can be an individual or a knowledge community. Support is withdrawn as it becomes unnecessary or when the student is able to perform a task alone.

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Constructivist Jerome Bruner was first to use the term scaffolding in his writings and described it as the assistance provided by others to help a child develop skills. Unlike Vygotsky, Bruner sought to reduce the degree of freedom learners have in carrying out tasks so that they can concentrate on the difficult skills they are learning.

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Seymore Papert developed the theory of Constructionism, which differs from constructivism in that knowledge is built by the learner, not by the teacher.

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Collaboration is the key component of social constructivism. Students work together to solve problems and find answers, leading them to develop their own unique knowledge when working in a collaborative environment. Learners are motivated by rewards from the knowledge community or by their own internal drive to understand and promote the learning process.

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In the classroom, collaborative learning, or reciprocal teaching, shifts the focus from teacher to student, who are encouraged to be actively involved in their own learning process and accept responsibility for their own learning. Students are required to develop teamwork skills that are related to the success of the learning group by engaging in problem-solving processes of questioning, summarizing, clarifying, and predicting.

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Learning scenario: Constructivism

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Course 2: Applying Methods to a Relational Database

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The second course in this series is based on Social Constructivism as the learning method and builds upon the basic understanding of the SQL basics presented through a Behavioral learning method in Course 1. It introduces a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) in the form of an electronic performance support system as a tutor. The MKO facilitates and guides students through the learning process and is programmed to be more knowledgeable about applying database construction methods using Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure SQL Database program. The program includes a built-in intelligence (the MKO) which learns patterns and applies them to a proprietary system, in this case, the asynchronous online training course. The course is based on social constructionist Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and is supported by both scaffolding and social constructivist strategies through collaboration with classmates from satellite offices enrolled in the same program. Students engage in discussion through a collaborative section in the training program to ask questions and learn from classmates. Access to inquiry- and discovery-based sites are also provided through the section. The MKO encourages student interaction through discussion segments. The role of the MKO is gradually withdrawn from interaction as students collaborate to construct a sample database together.

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Zone of Proximal Development Skills:

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The ZPD builds upon the central core, the student’s knowledge of the basic database components from the first course. The ZPD represents the skills that students can learn through the course’s database program with the assistance from the MKO and later from their classmates. The surrounding layer represents the skills that are beyond the students’ knowledge, which are addressed and supported by fellow classmates.

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Scaffolding Strategy:

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Jerome Bruner’s scaffolding theory is the strategy used with guidance from the MKO that supports the ZDP. As student knowledge increases, the guidance of the MKO decreases to where students learn enough to master the course material themselves. Examples of scaffolding used the program are hints, explanations, and encouragement by the MKO and by fellow students through question and answer discussions. MKO interaction is gradually withdrawn as students collaborate among themselves.

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Social Constructivism Strategy:

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The course allows collaboration with classmates from satellite offices enrolled in the same program. Students are encouraged to engage in discussion to ask questions and learn from classmates through inquiry- and discovery-based sites provided through the section. Students collaborate to build a sample database using the cloud-based Azure SQL program. MKO support is gradually withdrawn as students collaborate to construct a sample database themselves.

 

References

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GSI Teaching & Resource Center Berkeley Graduate Division UC Berkeley. n.d. Social Constructivism. https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/social-constructivism

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krist2366. (2015). Learner-centered design. https://www.learning-theories.com/learner-centered-design.html

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McLeod, S. A. (2018, August 05). Lev Vygotsky. https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

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McLeod, S. A. (2019). The zone of proximal development. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html

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McLeod, S. A. (2019, July 11). Bruner - learning theory in education. https://www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html

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Open Educational Resources of UCD Teaching and Learning, University College Dublin. n.d. Constructivism and social

constructivism in the classroom.

http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Education_Theory/Constructivism_and_Social_Constructivism_in_the_Classroom