1. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition ISBN 0137144547 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Learning Sciences and Constructivism Cluster 9 Modules 24 – 26

2. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2 Focus Questions What are the assumptions of the learning sciences? What are three constructivist perspectives on learning? How could you incorporate inquiry, problem-based learning, cooperative learning, and cognitive apprenticeships in your teaching? What dilemmas do constructivist teachers face? How can service learning encourage student engagement and academic learning? How can technology rich learning environments scaffold student learning and motivation?

3. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3 Overview of Cluster 9 The Learning Sciences Cognitive and Social Constructivism Applying Constructivist Perspectives Service Learning Learning in a Digital World Diversity and Convergences

4. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4 What would you do? Review “What would you do?” on p. 369 How would you adapt your lesson plans for this group? What will you do tomorrow? What teaching approaches do you think will work with this class? How will you work with the three students who are more advanced and the students who are just learning English?

5. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5 The Learning Sciences What are the learning sciences? Fields that study learning: Psychology Anthropology Sociology Computer science Neuroscience Philosophy

6. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6 The Learning Sciences Basic Assumptions: Experts have deep conceptual knowledge. Learning comes from the learner. Schools must create effective learning environments. Prior knowledge is key. Reflection is necessary to develop deep conceptual knowledge.

7. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7 The Learning Sciences Neuroscience Learning leads to changes in brain structure and function. Type of instruction can influence the part of the brain used by an activity. Scientists can follow brain activity during stimulation using an fMRI.

8. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8 MRI The original Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) could provide only limited information about physiological changes in the brain. A PET (positron emission tomography) scan provides more information than an MRI.

9. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9 Neuroscience: Implications Different parts of the brain are activated by different activities. Children may develop preferences for learning (visual or verbal). Enriched environments can help develop new pathways and stimulate a variety of areas in the brain. Some learning disorders may be neurologic; neuro testing may provide some clues about how to teach students with learning disorders.

10. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10 Constructivism Two central ideas of constructivism: Learners are active in constructing their own knowledge. Social interactions are important in this knowledge construction process.

11. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11 Constructivism The learner is key to the knowledge-building process (active construction vs. passive reception) How do Piagetian and Vygotskian models fit with constructivism? How can we be certain learners construct the ‘right’ information and arrive at the ‘correct’ conclusions?

12. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12 Cognitive and Social Constructivism Cognitive constructivism: Individuals build develop cognitive and emotional functionality. Social constructivism: Social environs, cultural tools and other group-based phenomena impact the cognitive and emotional functionality.

13. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13 Constructionism Social Constructionism: Concerned with ways social information is passed on through cultural mechanisms. Suggests things only acquire meaning based upon cultural context. Questions what education should include, and ways information may be culturally biased.

14. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14 Knowledge Construction Three explanations: Truth is in the external world. Internal processes dictate knowledge. Both the external world and internal processes dictate knowledge construction.

15. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15 Constructed Knowledge Is knowledge internal, general and transferable (e.g. absolute) or limited to value only in the context in which it is constructed?

16. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16 Constructed Knowledge Community of Practice Social context in which ideas are useful and true Situated Learning Skills and knowledge are tied to the situation in which they were learned and non-transferable (or at least not easily transferable)

17. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17 Constructivist Teaching Five recommendations: Embed learning in complex environments. Provide social negotiation and shared responsibility for learning. Support multiple perspectives of content. Nurture self-awareness and an understanding that knowledge is constructed. Encourage ownership in learning.

18. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18 Constructivist Teaching Complex learning environments and authentic tasks. Problems should not be simplified for learning purposes. Not all answers in nature are self-evident or simple; they should not be made simple for classroom purposes. Where possible, students should solve problems that occur in reality and nature.

19. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19 Constructivist Teaching Social negotiation Collaborate with more experienced experts. Articulate and defend problem solving strategies. Build shared meaning among members of a group.

20. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20 Constructivist Teaching Multiple Representations of Content Helps develop a thorough understanding of content and its complexity Provides a variety of ways of looking at problems and information Enables refining of understanding

21. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 21 Constructivist Teaching Inquiry-Based Learning Follow a scientific procedure to find an answer to a problem. Problem-Based Learning Students identify a problem and seek to solve it given the restrictions of the classroom and resources.

22. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 22 Constructivist Teaching Cognitive Apprenticeship Students work with an expert to learn the skills and approaches experts use. Helps students develop a thorough understanding of ways to think about and approach tasks.

23. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 23 Constructivist Teaching Reciprocal Teaching Students teach each other and critique each others’ understanding of new material

24. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 24 Social Processes in Learning Influences on Students Peers According to Steinberg … About 40% of students are not engaged learners About 90% of students have copied someone else’s homework About 66% of students have cheated on a test

25. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 25 Social Processes in Learning Influences on Students Students DO NOT want to be considered “too smart” Children tend to select like-minded peers as friends in elementary school There appear to exist cultural differences in value of learning (or there are differences in the ways in which value is expressed …)

26. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 26 Social Processes in Learning Influences on Students (cont.) Parents and Teachers Play a significant role in the absence of peers Involved parents play a role in students’ desire to avoid high-risk behavior and Parents and teachers who are supportive often have students who are more motivated to learn

27. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 27 Collaboration & Cooperation Students learn more than just what’s in the curricula! Collaboration: philosophy about how to deal with people that respects differences, shares authority and develops everyone’s knowledge

28. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 28 Collaboration & Cooperation Cooperation: working together towards a common goal Cooperative learning: mixed-ability groups of students collaborate and are rewarded based upon collective achievement

29. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 29 Collaboration & Cooperation Common problems with cooperative learning Process over Purpose Group Think Socializing over Problem-Solving Dependency on “brain” in group Social Loafing

30. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 30 Collaboration & Cooperation Tasks to provide cooperative groups Highly structured tasks Ill-structured tasks Social skills and communication tasks

31. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 31 Collaboration & Cooperation Grouping for Success Groups should include 4-6 students Everyone should be assigned a role (by group or teacher) Everyone should give and receive explanations

32. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 32 Types of Cooperation Reciprocal questioning Students ask and answer each others’ questions after expert (teacher or other) presents a lesson See Table 25.6 on p. 399 Scripted cooperation Students pair to summarize material and critique each others’ summaries Jigsaw Students each receive a piece of a “puzzle” to interpret and then teach everyone else in the group

33. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 33 Classroom Community Three C’s of Safe Communities Cooperative community, constructive conflict resolution, civic values Example Conflict Peer harassment Example Solution Peer mediation Civic Values How should students relate to others in their communities? What are their rights? Responsibilities?

34. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 34 Service Learning Key Attributes: Organized to meet actual community needs Integrated into curriculum Apply newly learned skills and knowledge Enhance academic learning and create sense of caring for others

35. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 35 Service Learning Service learning is the combination of academic learning with personal and social development. Can provide students opportunities to give back to their communities and understand what it means to fulfill civic duty.

36. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 36 Learning in a Digital World Many new technologies are part of students’ everyday lives and can be used in learning settings. Television – about 99% of families have them and about 36% of children have them in their bedrooms. Computers – 86% of children 8-18 have them in their homes; 30% have used one before age 6.

37. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 37 Learning in a Digital World Digital Divide Home computers appear to be positively correlated with math and science achievement. Students who have computer experience tend to come from higher SES backgrounds.

38. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 38 Learning in a Digital World Digital Literacy New technologies emerge quickly and are often adopted very quickly. Students should be taught how to find and consume digital media.

39. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 39 Diversity Constructivism expects diversity; it accounts for individual differences in knowledge construction

40. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 40 Convergences Experts have deep conceptual knowledge. Learning comes form the learner. Schools must create effective learning environments. Prior knowledge is key. Reflection is necessary to develop conceptual knowledge.

41. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 41 Summary Constructivism centers on social learning and active construction of knowledge as opposed to passive reception of information. Information is only given meaning by those who interpret and experience it.

42. Educational Psychology, ALE, 11 th Edition Anita Woolfolk 0135094100 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 42 Summary Information can thus have differing meanings for various people Teaching through a constructivist paradigm challenges teachers to present information in such a way that students are able to progress in foundational knowledge while also developing their own conceptualizations of the world