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February 08, 2005
Constructivist Instruction and Structure - An Oxymoron?
I've very happy today. I've finally found a paper on how structure (or lack of structure) relates to constructivist instruction.
Luppicini, R. (2000). The Paradox of Constructivist Instruction: A Communicative Constructivist Perspective. Annual Proceedings of Selected Research and Development Papers presented at the National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 23, 298-311.
"Constructivism is not a type of learning, nor is it a teaching methodology" (p. 300). The author thens goes on to confirm my belief that constructivism is a way of thinking that relates to how everyone learns all the time. "individuals constantly construct their learning, whether they are actively pursuring some form of discovery learning or sitting in a classroom taking notes" (p. 300).
The author then presents the paradox, which he describes as the conflict in how instructional content is designed, both for group and individual settings. My own conflict lies in the amount of structure that should (or should not) exist. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that it really depends on the learning environment itself.
The author presents Communicative Constructivist Perspective (CCP) and expands upon this as it relates to designing education.
"When designing education, it is important to recognize that what constitutes individual learners extends beyond psycho-social processes and our sense of self...educational design requires theoretically grounded proscriptive and prescriptive necessary conditions" (p. 306). He goes on to say that CCP can address the differences in learning styles, self-efficacy, etc.
His key postulates of the CCP perspective include (pp. 306-307):
- Critical Orientation
- Not all subjectively constructed mearning will be equally accurate and it is an asset to be able to critically evaluate learning constructions.
- Process & Identity Orientation
- Because this real world is subjectively experienced by each individual within a social realm, there is a dual need to develop one's own learning processes and personal/social identity.
- Multiple Perspectives
- Many viewpoints or perspectives contribute to a more complete understanding which more closely approaches the truth.
- Communicative Orientations
- Constructivist learning often involves students, parents, teachers, and all other stakeholders.
More research to come on this ....
Posted by Marj at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)