Ian Barker

Espy-302
3-30-15
Dr. Mark Hawkes

Constructivism Learning Theory and Involvement in the Classroom

Constructivism, is a learning theory based on observation and study. The theory is

formally accredited to Jean Piaget, but was also heavily influence by Lev Vygotsky. The idea that
learners or students are able to construct knowledge on their own through adaptation. A
students or a learner is able to produce new ideas based on existing knowledge and schemas.
Being able to recall and reconsidered previous events or experiences, and being able to change
beliefs, or discarding previous thoughts. To produce this process of constructivism a student or
learner must engage in new activities, and ask questions, while analyzing previous knowledge.
As educators we wonder where constructivism can be introduced in the classroom. There are
many ways to introduce the constructivist way of learning/thinking into the classroom. It all
starts with the educator knowing and understanding the students knowledge base and thoughts
on a subject area or skill. Without knowing, the educator, isnt able to help guide assimilation
and accommodation of new information to preexisting ideas. The ability to construct new
schema is not limited, everyone is able expand or ignore new knowledge. This paper will discuss
what constructivism is, and how it guides learning compared to traditional teaching methods, and
approaches in the classroom.

Jean Piaget had a job where he was to develop French questions for English intelligence
tests. He was into figuring out why children gave wrong answers to questions that required logic.
Piaget began to believe he could understand the difference in thought of children and adults. To
Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of
biological maturation and environmental experience. Children construct an understanding of the
world around them, then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what
they discover in their environment.
There are three components of Piagets constructivist theory, they include schemes,
adaptations (equilibrium, assimilation, and accommodation), and the stages of development. All
three of these play a role together to help understand the way a child learns. Assimilation is using
an existing schema to deal with a new object or situation. An example of assimilation is when a
child see an animal and immediately shouts Dog! when its actually a cat. A childs equilibrium
is when their schema can deal with the most new information, but when this schema is
interrupted (disequilibrium) for example the child is told the animal is not a dog but actually a
cat. Then accommodation occurs when the existing schema needs to be refocused or changed, as
how the child has now changed his view and now realizes the new animal is different. Adaptation
is used all the way throughout life but there are stages everyone has to go through to be able to
adapt and construct to ways of learning. Piaget has four stages of cognitive development; the
first, Sensorimotor it happens from ages birth to 2. During this stage the infants are aware of
what is immediately in front of them, and is only necessary to them at that moment. The second
stage, Preoperational which is ages two seven. During this stage children learn through
pretending, but have a hard time putting themselves in other peoples shoes. Stage three is the
concrete-operational and is ages 7-11, these children are able to think logically but still struggle

with abstract ideas. During stage four, formal operation, (ages 11+) children are thinking
critically and finding multiple solutions to one problem, as well as seeing others view points, and
abstract concepts. Knowing these stages and Piagets work allows educators to understand what
their students are thinking and are capable of learning.
Constructivism is sometimes seen as a new way of teaching rather than a theory of
learning. This belief is based on that even though constructivism is seen as the individual doing
most of the learning, they are more accurately being supported or pushed along into the right
direction by a knowing guide.
Lev Vygotsky was another psychologist that provided a crucial foundation to
constructivist learning theory. Vygotsky had three primary themes, he believed that social
interaction is an integral role on the cognitive process, the more knowledgeable other, and zone
of proximal development. Social learning precedes development, Vygotsky believed Every
function in a childs cultural development happens twice: first, on the social level, and later, on
the individual level; first, between people, then inside the child.(Vygotsky). The (MKO) or more
knowledgeable other is the next theme in Vygotskys foundation, it represents the anything that
can be learned from with that has a greater ability or higher knowledge. This is most commonly a
teacher, parent, or coach who can be seen as the person who is the expert on the subject at hand,
but can be even a computer or a book. The MKO is a one of the most fundamental building
blocks of constructivism without the MKO there is no chance of heightening a learners
knowledge. Vygotsky believed that the majority of learning happened in the zone of proximal
development. The ZPD is the distance between the ability of a student to perform a task with
support and the students ability to perform it alone. As a future educator it would be easy to
think that when focusing on teaching, the student should be reflecting and constructing new ideas

with every message sent their way; but its up to the educator to not specifically drill ideas but
support, direct, and lead the ideas and methods of a subject to have the student construct their
own understanding of the content.
Traditional schooling has been the norm for quite some time, but constructivism is a new
building block to education. Even though many schools use traditional teaching methods, such as
direct instruction, where the teacher lectures and send direct message at the students.
Constructivism encourages almost the exact opposite where the student plays a more active role
in the learning process. The teacher is a guiding force and allows the student to use the teacher as
a safety net, and students are encouraged to work together to find solutions (collaborative
learning). Using others allows students to learn how everyone views the assignments and can
help construct new ideas someone may not have known before. In traditional based learning the
student succeeds or fails usually on their own and the information becomes a repetitive process
of memorization for course tests and work. Then the information memorized is soon after lost in
the process of learning the next chapter. In belief of the constructivism learning theory the
students are more likely to remember information for long periods of time by association of past
experiences with new ones. This is how constructivism allows students to believe in their own
abilities and make the learning process more desirable.
There are many methods to implement this theory into the classroom. When guiding
students the teacher can allow the students to formulate their own questions, this is considered
inquiry based learning. Students using the inquiry based learning strategy are to investigate and
experiment, and find many different ways to find solutions. The main function for a
constructivist classroom is solving problems and asking questions. Educators are also
encouraged to help reference students learning to their interests. Students all learn differently

through multiple intelligences, as declared by Dr. Howard Gardner. There are eight different
intelligences that account for how all students learn, they are linguistic intelligence (word smart),
logical-mathematical intelligence (number smart), spatial intelligence (picture smart), bodilykinesthetic intelligence (body smart), Musical intelligence (music smart), interpersonal
intelligence (people smart), intrapersonal intelligence (self-smart), naturalist intelligence (nature
smart). Students are all able to learn lessons each day in different ways, and in whatever way
makes more sense to them personally. The educators must take into consideration that each
student is different, and not one learns the same way as another. The last way to help students
learn through constructivism is through scaffolding. Allowing a student to learn through
scaffolding, which refers to teachers modeling or demonstrating, then stepping back to offer
support when needed. Allowing the student to be confident in the skill. Having a student excel in
what they learn best at builds confidence, and self-esteem. Using these constructivism learning
strategies leads to a wide based learning environment.
Knowing the history of the constructivism learning theory and what way it affects the
learning process affects more than just the classroom. When educators can teach students to
think, analyze, socialize, and critically ask question they will be able to learn outside the
classroom and apply it to real world applications as well. Students will find a greater
understanding of what is going on in the environment around them and how others themselves
see whats going on. Constructivism gives the greatest possibly of learning to everyone, simply
put because the learning is on the individual and how they themselves need to be built up rather
than pushed aside.

Work Cited

"Concept to Classroom: Tapping into Multiple Intelligences - Explanation." Concept to

Classroom: Tapping into Multiple Intelligences - Explanation. Thirteen.org.ed, n.d. Web. 30 Mar.
2015.

"Constructivism | Learning Theories." Learning Theories. Learning-Theories.com, n.d. Web. 30

Mar. 2015.

"Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning." Constructivism as a Paradigm for

Teaching and Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

McLeod, Saul. "Jean Piaget." Simply Psychology. Simplypsychology.org, 17 Sept. 2009. Web.
30 Mar. 2015.

"Social Development Theory (Vygotsky) | Learning Theories." Learning Theories. LearningTheories.com, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.