Constructionism (learning theory)

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Seymour Papert

Constructionist learning is the creation by learners of mental models to understand the world around them. Constructionism advocates student-centered, discovery learning where students use what they already know, to acquire more knowledge. [1] Students learn through participation in project-based learning where they make connections between different ideas and areas of knowledge facilitated by the teacher through coaching rather than using lectures or step-by-step guidance. [1] Further, constructionism holds that learning can happen most effectively when people are active in making tangible objects in the real world. In this sense, constructionism is connected with experiential learning and builds on Jean Piaget's epistemological theory of constructivism. [2]

Contents

Seymour Papert defined constructionism in a proposal to the National Science Foundation titled Constructionism: A New Opportunity for Elementary Science Education as follows:

The word constructionism is a mnemonic for two aspects of the theory of science education underlying this project. From constructivist theories of psychology we take a view of learning as a reconstruction rather than as a transmission of knowledge. Then we extend the idea of manipulative materials to the idea that learning is most effective when part of an activity the learner experiences as constructing a meaningful product. [3]

Some scholars have tried to describe constructionism as a "learning-by-making" formula but, as Seymour Papert and Idit Harel say at the start of Situating Constructionism, it should be considered "much richer and more multifaceted, and very much deeper in its implications than could be conveyed by any such formula." [4]

Papert's ideas became well known through the publication of his seminal book Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas (Basic Books, 1980). Papert described children creating programs in the Logo educational programming language. He likened their learning to living in a "mathland" where learning mathematical ideas is as natural as learning French while living in France. [4]

Instructional principles

Constructionist learning involves students drawing their own conclusions through creative experimentation and the making of social objects. The constructionist teacher takes on a mediational role rather than adopting an instructional role. Teaching "at" students is replaced by assisting them to understand—and help one another to understand—problems in a hands-on way. [4] The teacher's role is not to be a lecturer but a facilitator who coaches students to attaining their own goals. [1]

Problem-based learning

Problem-based learning is a constructionist method which allows students to learn about a subject by exposing them to multiple problems and asking them to construct their understanding of the subject through these problems. This kind of learning can be very effective in mathematics classes because students try to solve the problems in many different ways, stimulating their minds. [5]

The following five strategies make problem-based learning more effective:

  1. The learning activities should be related to a larger task. The larger task is important because it allows students to see that the activities can be applied to many aspects of life and, as a result, students are more likely to find the activities they are doing useful. [6]
  2. The learner needs to be supported to feel that they are beginning to have ownership of the overall problem. [6]
  3. An authentic task should be designed for the learner. This means that the task and the learner's cognitive ability have to match the problems to make learning valuable. [6]
  4. Reflection on the content being learned should occur so that learners can think through the process of what they have learned. [6]
  5. Allow and encourage the learners to test ideas against different views in different contexts. [6]

Constructionism in social sciences

Not only can constructionism be applied to mathematics but to the social sciences as well. For example, instead of having students memorize geography facts, a teacher could give students blank maps that show unlabeled rivers, lakes, and mountains, and then ask the students to decipher where major cities might be located without the help of books or maps. This would require students to locate these areas without using prepared resources, but their prior knowledge and reasoning ability instead. [7]

Digital storytelling is another application of constructionism to the social sciences. Students can visit institutions in the local community, to understand and document their histories, develop local maps using tools like OpenStreetMap to enrich digital maps and debate the purpose and activities of local public institutions to build an understanding of political science (civics). Digital storytelling has been used by government schools in Bengaluru to develop students understanding in the social sciences.

Constructionism and technology

Papert was a huge proponent of bringing technology to classrooms, beginning with his early uses of the Logo language to teach mathematics to children. While constructionism has, due to its impetus, been primarily used in science and mathematics teaching (in the form of inquiry-based science), it is arguable that it developed in a different form in the field of media studies in which students often engage with media theory and practice simultaneously in a complementary praxis. More recently it has gained a foothold in applied linguistics in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). One such application has been the use of the popular game SimCity as a means of teaching English using constructionist techniques. [8]

Beginning in the 1980s, The LEGO Group funded research of Papert's research group at the MIT Media Laboratory, which at the time was known as the "Epistemology and Learning Group." When LEGO launched its LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System in 1998, which was based on the work of his group, it received permission to use the moniker "Mindstorms" from Seymour's 1980 book title. In The LEGO Group's LEGO Serious Play project, business people learn to express corporate issues and identity through the medium of plastic bricks. [4]

From 2005 to 2014, there was the One Laptop Per Child initiative to put constructionist learning into practice in the developing world. The aim was to provide $100 laptops to every child in the developing world. [4]

Computer programming languages

A number of programming languages have been created, wholly or in part, for educational use, to support the constructionist approach to learning. These languages are dynamically typed, and are reflective. They include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logo (programming language)</span> Computer programming language

Logo is an educational programming language, designed in 1967 by Wally Feurzeig, Seymour Papert, and Cynthia Solomon. Logo is not an acronym: the name was coined by Feurzeig while he was at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, and derives from the Greek logos, meaning word or thought.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seymour Papert</span> MIT mathematician, computer scientist, and educator

Seymour Aubrey Papert was a South African-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at MIT. He was one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, and of the constructionist movement in education. He was co-inventor, with Wally Feurzeig and Cynthia Solomon, of the Logo programming language.

Lego Mindstorms Hardware and software platform by Lego

Lego Mindstorms is a hardware and software structure which develops programmable robots based on Lego building blocks. Each version includes computer Lego bricks, a set of modular sensors and motors, and Lego parts from the Technic line to create the mechanical systems. The system is controlled by the Lego bricks.

Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others.

Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student; this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning, which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than many other common teaching strategies.

Constructivism (philosophy of education) Philosophical viewpoint about the nature of knowledge; theory of knowledge

Constructivism is a theory in education which posits that individuals or learners do not acquire knowledge and understanding by passively perceiving it within a direct process of knowledge transmission, rather they construct new understandings and knowledge through experience and social discourse, integrating new information with what they already know. For children, this includes knowledge gained prior to entering school. It is associated with various philosophical positions, particularly in epistemology as well as ontology, politics, and ethics. The origin of the theory is also linked to Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchel Resnick</span> American academic and programmer

Mitchel Resnick is Lego Papert Professor of Learning Research, Director of the Okawa Center, and Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. As of 2019, Resnick serves as head of the Media Arts and Sciences academic program, which program grants master's degrees and Ph.D.s at the MIT Media Lab.

Idit Harel Israeli-American entrepreneur

Idit R. Harel is an Israeli-American entrepreneur and CEO of Globaloria. She is a learning sciences researcher and pioneer of Constructionist learning-based EdTech interventions.

Constructivist teaching is based on constructivist learning theory. Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information.

Etoys is a child-friendly computer environment and object-oriented prototype-based programming language for use in education.

MicroWorlds is a program that uses the Logo programming language to teach language, mathematics, programing, and robotics concepts in primary and secondary education. It features an object in the shape of a turtle that can be given commands to move around the screen drawing shapes, creating animations, and playing games. The program's use of Logo is part of a large set of dialects and implementations created by Seymour Papert aimed at triggering the development of abstract ideas by children through experimentation. MicroWorlds is developed by Logo Computer Systems Inc. (LCSI) and released for Windows and Mac computers.

Discovery learning Technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education

Discovery learning is a technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education. It is also referred to as problem-based learning, experiential learning and 21st century learning. It is supported by the work of learning theorists and psychologists Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seymour Papert.

MicroWorlds JR is a computer program using a simplified version of the Logo programming language to teach non-readers or early readers to program in Logo. It was first launched in 2004 by Logo Computer Systems, Inc. (LCSI), and as in their original line of MicroWorlds programs, the object on the screen begins as a turtle and can be controlled with basic commands to make it move. Differing from the Logo syntax developed by Seymour Papert and teams at MIT, MicroWorlds JR uses images to replace the command names, which are selected by the child to create turtle graphics. The turtle object can be given a variety of shapes that act as a costume for the turtle, and therefore lends itself to a variety of animations and creative stories and projects for younger students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">App Inventor for Android</span> Web application development environment

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Cynthia Solomon Computer scientist

Cynthia Solomon is an American computer scientist known for her work in artificial intelligence (AI) and popularizing computer science for students. She is a pioneer in the fields of artificial intelligence, computer science, and educational computing. While working as a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dr. Solomon took it upon herself to understand and program in the programming language Lisp. As she began learning this language, she realized the need for a programming language that was more accessible and understandable for children. Throughout her research studies in education, Dr. Solomon worked full-time as a computer teacher in elementary and secondary schools. Her work has mainly focused on research on human-computer interaction and children as designers. While working at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, she worked with Wally Feurzeig and Seymour Papert, to create the first programming language for children, named Logo. The language was created to teach concepts of programming related to Lisp. Dr. Solomon has attained many accomplishments in her life such as being the vice president of R&D for Logo Computer Systems, Inc., when Apple Logo was developed and was the Director of the Atari Cambridge Research Laboratory. Dr. Solomon worked on the program committee of Constructing Modern Knowledge and the Marvin Minsky Institute for Artificial Intelligence in 2016. Further, she has published many writings based on research in the field of child education and technology in the classroom. Dr. Solomon has conducted workshops in elementary schools, high schools, and colleges regarding academic research and writing. She continues to contribute to the field by speaking at conferences and working with the One Laptop per Child Foundation.

Physical Etoys is a free open-source extension of Etoys developed by Gonzalo Zabala, Ricardo Moran, Sebastián Blanco and Matías Teragni at the Universidad Abierta Interamericana. Etoys is an object-oriented and prototype-based visual programming language created by Alan Kay for the use in education. Physical Etoys contains the majority of Etoys characteristics. Its philosophy is "help kids model and program the real world in order to learn more about it". Physical Etoys lets different electronic devices such as Lego NXT, Arduino boards, Sphero, Kinect, Wiimote joystick, among others, be easily programmed and interact between themselves due to its block scripting system.
In 2010, Physical Etoys won the first innovation technology award given at the ESUG conference.

Constructivism has been considered as a dominant paradigm, or research programme, in the field of science education since the 1980s. The term constructivism is widely used in many fields, and not always with quite the same intention. This entry offers an account of how constructivism is most commonly understood in science education.

Darunsikkhalai School for Innovative Learning is a bilingual school located in King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. DSIL is Thailand’s first school that follows the Constructionism Theory as the school curriculum. DSIL was founded in 1997 and has a variety of connections to educational institutions, such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), etc. to keep the school innovative and moving forward.

Edith Ackermann American psychologist

Edith K. Ackermann was a Swiss-born American psychologist who explored the interactions between developmental psychology, play, learning and design. A graduate of the University of Geneva, and a protege to Jean Piaget, she held permanent and visiting positions at several institutions in the United States and Europe, including the MIT Media Lab.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Alesandrini, K. & Larson, L. (2002). Teachers bridge to constructivism. The Clearing House, 119–121.
  2. ↑ Cakir, M. (2008). Constructivist Approaches to Learning in Science and Their Implications for Science Pedagogy: A Literature Review. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 3(4), 193–206.
  3. ↑ Sabelli, N. (2008). Constructionism: A New Opportunity for Elementary Science Education. DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings. pp. 193–206. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Papert, S.; Harel, I (1991). "Constructionism". Ablex Publishing Corporation: 193–206. Retrieved September 20, 2017.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ↑ Hmelo-Silver, C. E. & Barrows, H. S. (2006). Goals and strategies of a problem-based learning facilitator. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 1. 21–39.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, B. (Ed.) Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in instrumental design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
  7. ↑ Biehler, R., Snowman, J., D'Amico, M., Schmid, R. (1999). The nature of meaningful learning. Psychology applied to teaching, 387–403.
  8. ↑ Gromik, N. (2004). Sim City and English Teaching.
  9. ↑ NSF's grant A Networked, Media-Rich Programming Environment to Enhance Informal Learning and Technological Fluency at Community Technology Centers, National Science Foundation, Sep 2003.
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