(Working on my comprehensive exam, and this section on Constructionism is an unfortunate casualty of editing.  I guess I’ll have to lose a few sections if I’m to stay within the 7000 word limit!  Anyway, I thought I’d post it here so that my work isn’t a complete “waste”.)

Seymour Papert, a student of Jean Piaget’s, expanded Piaget’s theory of constructivism, into pedagogical principles (Kafai, 2006).  Like constructivism, Papert’s constructionism views learning as “building knowledge structures” (Harel & Papert, 1991), and extends the constructivist view that learning is the active process of knowledge construction, to a view of instruction where learning and teaching are themselves constructed through teacher-student interactions while they are engaged in “design and discussion of learning artifacts” (Kafai, 2006; p. 36).  In addition to school settings, Papert acknowledged the importance of informal learning environments by asserting that such interactions could occur in community centres and within families (Kafai, 2006).  Building on Piaget’s mechanisms of assimilation and accommodation, that children use to make sense of the world and incorporate new knowledge with prior knowledge; constructionism extends both these mechanisms and focuses on helping learners make connections with their prior knowledge.  Papert’s notion of “objects-to-think-with” referred to both physical and digital objects becoming objects in the mind that facilitate the construction, examination, and revision of connections between prior and new knowledge (Harel & Papert, 1991; Kafai, 2006).  While Piaget saw formal abstraction as the fourth stage and the ultimate goal of cognitive development, constructionism sees the potential for both concrete and abstract thought to become advanced (Turkle & Papert, 1990).

Like social constructivism, constructionism also values the importance of learning cultures.  While social constructivists focus more on the social dynamics of these, constructionists focus on the social context and how it fosters learners’ connection-making to what is being learned (Kafai, 2006).  Papert reasoned that learning should be facilitated by “improving the connectivity in the learning environment, by actions on cultures rather than on individuals” (Papert, 1993; p. 105).

References
Harel, I., & Papert, S. (1991). Constructionism. Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Kafai, Y. B. (2006). Constructionism. In K. R. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 35–46). Cambridge University Press New York.

Papert, S. (1993). The children’s machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer. Basic Books.

Turkle, S., & Papert, S. (1990). Epistemological pluralism: Styles and voices within the computer culture. Signs, 16(1), 128–157.

This learning journal is part of an assignment for my CTL1608 graduate course, “Constructive Learning & Design of Online Environments”, with Dr. Clare Brett at OISE/UT.  Although I’ve taken courses about constructivist learning and computer-mediated learning, I have yet to take a course about the design of online environments (presumably for the enhancement of learning).

The course began a week ago, and I’m already 1 week behind due to my mad scramble to compile my Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship application – a futile exercise, I know (since the odds are so low), but still a worthwhile learning experience in my opinion.  Next on my list are the SSHRC and OGS scholarship applications.

I’m intentionally beginning this learning journal before I’ve done any of the course readings because I’m curious to see how my perspectives will change as I progress through this course for the next 3 months!

What I know…
…about learning…
Constructivist learning is an active and social process by which learners engage with new concepts and with co-learners, to actively construct knowledge and understanding of the topic of study.  This is achieved through the active collaboration of learners during tasks and discussions to arrive at a shared understanding of the concept/topic of study.  Learners must have access to prior learning as they also engage in a continuous cycle of new knowledge creation and reflection.  Reflection not only informs new knowledge creation, but also helps learners to develop awareness of their own metacognition.  Learners must be able to personally connect with the material, and I believe that learning is enhanced if the learner also develops an emotional connection with the material, or with the learning process itself in their interactions with their co-learners.  Thus the learning must occur in an authentic and relevant context.  This aligns with my personal philosophy of learning, in large part because I am heavily influenced by Marlene Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter’s work on constructivist knowledge building.

…about the role of the teacher…
As for the role of the teacher in all this?  The teacher is seen more as a facilitator than the gatekeeper of knowledge, as in more traditional school settings.  My favourite metaphor for this is that the teacher is no longer the “sage on the stage”, but rather, the “guide on the side”.  I wish I knew where this metaphor came from, but it is so widely used in education and training, that it’s now been incorporated into the common rhetoric of both fields.  Personally, I think that there are still situations in which direct teacher instruction is warranted, but let it be only 50% (preferably much less) of instructional time!  As the facilitator of a constructivist learning environment, the teacher guides students gently to keep them from straying too far off their focus, and to prompt/question them when necessary to nudge them towards deeper inquiry and understanding.  The teacher is teaching students how to learn, rather than teaching them what to learn (i.e. the content).

…about online learning environments…
From a constructivist standpoint, an online learning environment should have the following functionality:

• asynchronous threaded discussion:  so that learners may use this forum to exchange, share, analyze, and build upon each other’s ideas, and information gleaned form external resources.  This also allows learners to access these vital discussions at anytime from anywhere, thus the learning never has to stop.
• synchronous chat:  so that learners can collaborate in real time to discuss ideas, share/analyze data/information, and perhaps work with each other to plan how they will complete their collaborative learning tasks
• permanent record of prior learning:  so that learners may revisit their prior learning and reflect upon “where they’ve been”, compare/contrast this with “where they’re at”, which may inform them about “where they’re going”