Constructivism

Constructivism

1. Description and Key Components

   • Tony Bates: Chapter 5 Facts
     • Vitality of free will, social influences, and consciousness on learning
     • Individuals exist at the focal point of a constantly transforming world
     • Knowledge is subjective
       • We construct our intelligence from our experiences
         • Personal reflection and analysis
         • Gradually build layers of information through continuous consciousness and mental processing
       • The outside world is conceived in the context of our private, internal world
       • We construct new knowledge by relating to our existing intelligence
     • Constructivists
       • Make meaning by relating to their environment of past experiences and current position in life
       • Discussion and social interaction
         • Reflection, seminars, discussion forms, small group work, projects
     • Memorization is not as effective as constructing knowledge
   • Class Wiki Discussion Posts
     • Social impact on learning
     • Collaboration
     • Access to more information, but this does not always mean it is correct
     • Acquire knowledge through interactions, not memorization
     • Everyone's knowledge will be difference because of individual experiences, interactions, and perceptions
     • Communication between teachers and learners is vital

2. How does it apply to my learning?

   • In EM203
     • This course is an online, collaborative learning environment
     • We participate in online discussions, reflect on others' posts, combine information we learn from readings, class lessons, and interactions to construct an overall understanding of course concepts
     • There is a designated teacher assigned to the course, but we as students also take on a teaching role by sharing our knowledge and contributing to class lessons
     • We learn through participation rather than memorization and studying
   • How I learn
     • I am a visual learner, I need to see things in order to understand
     • Mindmaps allow me to see how my brain works, where I make connections and where different ideas stem from
       • My brain works very fast, I do not always realize how I got to a certain point which is why I map it out
     • When researching, I look several sources to compare information. I reflect on certain facts, connect to other resources, and then come to a final conclusion
       • I will go through a source's sources to find out more information. I like to understand the basis of a source and why they wrote the way they did. They used collaboration to produce their product and I do the same

3. Some Other Learning Theories

   • Connectivism
     • Why not use it
       • Very new theory, still controversial
       • I think new knowledge is constructed and not natural
     • What it is
       • Similar to Constructivism
         • BUT - meaning is not "constructed", connections are formed "naturally"
       • Collective connections within a network resulting in new information
       • Always shifting
   • Cognitivism
     • The identification of mental processes that are essential for learning
       • Using rules, principles and relationships to process information
       • Search for meaning and consistency
     • Why not apply it?
       • I do not like to be told how to learn. I think we all learn by different approaches
       • Cognitivism does not allow for individual learning styles

4. Communication Medium

   • Mindmapping
     • What is it?
       • EM203 Lesson Notes
         • Concept mapping is a learning and organizational tool
           • Concept mapping embraces the cognitive processes of the mind: imagery, key terms, connections, and emphasis
         • Tony Buzan coined term "Mind Mapping"
           • Learning requires "association and imagination"
           • "A graphical representation of information"
           • Recall, understand, explain
           • Put information INTO and take information OUT OF the brain
           • Map your thoughts
           • 7 Steps to Mind Map:
             • Start in the centre of page
               • Use an image for central idea
                 • Use colours
                   • Connect main branches to central image and associate the rest
                     • Make curved branches, not straight
                       • Use Key Words
                         • Use images throughout
     • Relation to Constructivism
       • "Knowledge develops as learners try to make sense of their experiences
       • Constructivism requires a constant building of information, just as mind maps allow you to add more branches that relate to numerous nodes
       • We make meaning from mind maps by relating to different information from research, our past experiences and our current states
       • Can be utilized individually or shared amongst multiple contributors to build off of one another's thoughts and collaborate
   • Google Docs.
     • What is it?
       • Google Docs. is an online communication tool that allows you to edit documents and add other contributors/editors to have access to the same document
         • Share with anyone, edit in real-time, chat and comment to communicate while in use
       • Access documents anywhere and anytime through the internet
     • Relation to Constructivism
       • Collaboration is key
       • It is a site of discussion, great for group work, interactions
       • Gradually build information by working off of each other's contributions
   • GoConqr Site
     • Is a site of discussion and connection. Can be used as a discussion forum because the documents (such as this mind map, are all public and accessible

Images and files in the map