PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION

- HMEF5043
ASSIGNMENT 45%


Abstract
This coursework tries to elaborate in detail the three theories of Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism.
A brief explanation about learning as a a whole and simple definitions pertaining and preliminary note or explanation pertaining each of the three learning theoretical perspectives are written concisely as an introduction to the essay.
This essay also discusses and explains in detail on theories of learning under each theoretical perspectives as well as the detailed account on how one theory or perspective differs from the other, with adequate coverage of the perspectives.

1. Introduction

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, a common definition of learning is a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one's knowledge, skills, values, and world views (Illeris,2000; Ormorod, 1995). Learning as a process focuses on what happens when the learning takes place. Explanations of what happens constitute learning theories. A learning theory is an attempt to describe how people and animals learn, thereby helping us understand the inherently complex process of learning. Learning theories have two chief values according to Hill(2002). One is in providing us with vocabulary and a conceptual framework for interpreting the examples of learning that we observe. The other is in suggesting where to look for solutions to practical problems. The theories do not give us solutions, but they do direct our attention to those variables that are crucial in finding solutions.
There are three main categories or philosophical frameworks under which learning theories fall: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Behaviorism focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning. And constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts.
Below are some of the definitions for behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism which can be accessible in the web:-
Definitions for behaviorism
i. A school of psychology that confines itself to the study of observable and quantifiable aspects of behavior and excludes subjective phenomena, such as emotions or motives. Also called behavioral psychology.
ii. Theory of learning that stresses the importance of having a particular form of behavior reinforced by someone, other than the student, to shape or control what is learned.
Definitions for constructivism
i. Contructivism is a theory where the emphasis is placed on the learner than the educator. It views the learners as an active creator of knowledge, who learn by observing, manipulating and interpreting the world around him/herself. Learning is viewed as the result of mental construction.

ii. Teaching philosophy based on the concept that learning (cognition) is the result of 'mental construction' students constructs their own understanding by reflecting on their personal experiences, and by relating the new knowledge with what they already know. Each student creates his or her own 'schemas' or mental-models to make sense of the world, and accommodates the new knowledge (learns) by adjusting them. One of its main principles is that learning is search for meaning, therefore, to be effective, a teacher must help the student in discovering his or her own meaning. Although based on cognitive psychology research, its history goes back to the ancient Greece, the Socratic method.

Definitions for cognitivism
i. The psychology of learning which emphasizes human cognition or intelligence as a special endowment enabling mean to form hypotheses and develop intellectually.
www.culi.chula.ac.th/etest/definition.html

A theory of learning. The idea of cognitivism is that learning is a conscious, rational process. People learn by making models, maps and frameworks in their mind. Cognitivism is the opposite of Behaviorism.


2. My understanding about Behaviorism, Cognitivism AND Constructivism
A. Behaviorism is also called the learning perspective (where any physical action is a behavior) is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things which organisms do — including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors. The school of psychology maintains that behaviors as such can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as the mind. Behaviorism comprises the position that all theories should have observational correlates but that there are no philosophical differences between publicly observable processes (such as actions) and privately observable processes (such as thinking and feeling).
From early psychology in the 19th century, the behaviorist school of thought ran concurrently and shared commonalities with the psychoanalytic and Gestalt movements in psychology into the 20th century; but also differed from the mental philosophy of the Gestalt psychologists in critical ways. Its main influences were Ivan Pavlov, who investigated classical conditioning, Edward Lee Thorndike, John B. Watson who rejected introspective methods and sought to restrict psychology to experimental methods, and B.F. Skinner who conducted research on operant conditioning. In the second half of the twentieth century, behaviorism was largely eclipsed as a result of the cognitive revolution

B. Cognitivism
Cognition means the study of the human mind (not brain), while, cognitivism is the psychology of learning which emphasizes human cognition or intelligence as a special endowment enabling mean to form hypotheses and develop intellectually.The cognitivist revolution replaced behaviorism in 1960s as the dominant paradigm. Cognitivism focuses on the inner mental activities – opening the “black box” of the human mind is valuable and necessary for understanding how people learn. Mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving need to be explored. Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental constructions. Learning is defined as change in a learner’s schemata.
A response to behaviorism, people are not “programmed animals” that merely respond to environmental stimuli; people are rational beings that require active participation in order to learn, and whose actions are a consequence of thinking. Changes in behavior are observed, but only as an indication of what is occurring in the learner’s head. Cognitivism uses the metaphor of the mind as computer: information comes in, is being processed, and leads to certain outcomes.
C. Contructivism
Constructivism as a paradigm or worldview posits that learning is an active, constructive process. The learner is an information constructor. People actively construct or create their own subjective representations of objective reality. New information is linked to to prior knowledge, thus mental representations are subjective.
Teaching philosophy based on the concept that learning(cognition) is the result of 'mental construction' students constructs their own understanding by reflecting on their personal experiences, and by relating the new knowledge with what they already know. Each student creates his or her own 'schemas' or mental-models to make sense of the world, and accommodates the new knowledge (learns) by adjusting them. One of its main principles is that learning is search for meaning, therefore, to be effective, a teacher must help the student in discovering his or her own meaning. Although based on cognitive psychology research, its history goes back to the ancient Greece, the Socratic method.

Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.



3. BEHAVIOURISM THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF LEARNING
Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior. In defining behavior, behaviorist learning theories emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner. Behavior is directed by stimuli. An individual selects one response instead of another because of prior conditioning and psychological drives existing at the moment of the action (Parkay & Hass, 2000).
Behaviorists assert that the only behaviors worthy of study are those that can be directly observed; thus, it is actions, rather than thoughts or emotions, which are the legitimate object of study. Behaviorist theory does not explain abnormal behavior in terms of the brain or its inner workings. Rather, it posits that all behavior is learned habits, and attempts to account for how these habits are formed.
In assuming that human behavior is learned, behaviorists also hold that all behaviors can also be unlearned, and replaced by new behaviors; that is, when a behavior becomes unacceptable, it can be replaced by an acceptable one. A key element to this theory of learning is the rewarded response. The desired response must be rewarded in order for learning to take place (Parkay & Hass, 2000).
In education, advocates of behaviorism have effectively adopted this system of rewards and punishments in their classrooms by rewarding desired behaviors and punishing inappropriate ones. Rewards vary, but must be important to the learner in some way. For example, if a teacher wishes to teach the behavior of remaining seated during the class period, the successful student's reward might be checking the teacher's mailbox, running an errand, or being allowed to go to the library to do
homework at the end of the class period. As with all teaching methods, success depends on each student's stimulus and response, and on associations made by each learner.
John B. Watson (1878-1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) are the two principal originators of behaviorist approaches to learning. Watson believed that human behavior resulted from specific stimuli that elicited certain responses. Watson's basic premise was that conclusions about human development should be based on observation of overt behavior rather than speculation about subconscious motives or latent cognitive processes. (Shaffer, 2000). Watson's view of learning was based in part on the studies of Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936). Pavlov was studying the digestive process and the interaction of salivation and stomach function when he realized that reflexes in the autonomic nervous system closely linked these phenomena. To determine whether external stimuli had an affect on this process, Pavlov rang a bell when he gave food to the experimental dogs. He noticed that the dogs salivated shortly before they were given food. He discovered that when the bell was rung at repeated feedings, the sound of the bell alone (a conditioned stimulus) would cause the dogs to salivate (a conditioned response). Pavlov also found that the conditioned reflex was repressed if the stimulus proved "wrong" too frequently; if the bell rang and no food appeared, the dog eventually ceased to salivate at the sound of the bell.

Classical Conditioning

Figure 1. This illustration shows the steps of classical conditioning.
1. Food= salivation
2. Food + Stimulus = salivation (conditioned stimulus)
3. Bell alone produces salivation (conditioned response)
Expanding on Watson's basic stimulus-response model, Skinner developed a more comprehensive view of conditioning, known as operant conditioning. His model was based on the premise that satisfying responses are conditioned, while unsatisfying ones are not. Operant conditioning is the rewarding of part of a desired behavior or a random act that approaches it. Skinner remarked that "the things we call pleasant have an energizing or strengthening effect on our behavior" (Skinner, 1972, p. 74). Through Skinner's research on animals, he concluded that both animals and humans would repeat acts that led to favorable outcomes, and suppress those that produced unfavorable results (Shaffer, 2000). If a rat presses a bar and receives a food pellet, he will be likely to press it again. Skinner defined the bar-pressing response as operant, and the food pellet as a reinforcer. Punishers, on the other hand, are consequences that suppress a response and decrease the likelihood that it will occur in the future. If the rat had been shocked every time it pressed the bar that behavior would cease. Skinner believed the habits that each of us develops result from our unique operant learning experiences (Shaffer, 2000).



Operant Conditioning

Figure 2. This illustration illustrates operant conditioning. The mouse pushes the lever and receives a food reward. Therefore, he will push the lever repeatedly in order to get the treat.

Educational implication
Behaviorist techniques have long been employed in education to promote behavior that is desirable and discourage that which is not. Among the methods derived from behaviorist theory for practical classroom application are contracts, consequences, reinforcement, extinction, and behavior modification.

Contracts, Consequences, Reinforcement, and Extinction
Simple contracts can be effective in helping children focus on behavior change. The relevant behavior should be identified, and the child and counselor should decide the terms of the contract. Behavioral contracts can be used in school as well as at home. It is helpful if teachers and parents work together with the student to ensure that the contract is being fulfilled. Two examples of behavior contracts are listed below:
A student is not completing homework assignments. The teacher and the student design a contract providing that the student will stay for extra help, ask parents for help, and complete assigned work on time. Teacher will be available after school, and during free periods for additional assistance.
A student is misbehaving in class. The teacher and student devise a behavioral contract to minimize distractions. Provisions include that the student will be punctual, will sit in front of the teacher, will raise hand with questions/comments, and will not leave his seat without permission.
Consequences occur immediately after a behavior. Consequences may be positive or negative, expected or unexpected, immediate or long-term, extrinsic or intrinsic, material or symbolic (a failing grade), emotional/interpersonal or even unconscious. Consequences occur after the "target" behavior occurs, when either positive or negative reinforcement may be given. Positive reinforcement is presentation of a stimulus that increases the probability of a response. This type of reinforcement occurs frequently in the classroom. Teachers may provide positive reinforcement by:
 Smiling at students after a correct response.
 Commending students for their work.
 Selecting them for a special project.
 Praising students' ability to parents.
Negative reinforcement increases the probability of a response that removes or prevents an adverse condition. Many classroom teachers mistakenly believe that negative reinforcement is punishment administered to suppress behavior; however, negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior, as does positive reinforcement. Negative implies removing a consequence that a student finds unpleasant. Negative reinforcement might include:
 Obtaining a score of 80% or higher makes the final exam optional.
 Submitting all assignments on time results in the lowest grade being dropped.
 Perfect attendance is rewarded with a "homework pass."
Punishment involves presenting a strong stimulus that decreases the frequency of a particular response. Punishment is effective in quickly eliminating undesirable behaviors. Examples of punishment include:
 Students who fight are immediately referred to the principal.
 Late assignments are given a grade of "0".
 Three tardies to class results in a call to the parents.
 Failure to do homework results in after-school detention (privilege of going home is removed).
Extinction decreases the probability of a response by contingent withdrawal of a previously reinforced stimulus. Examples of extinction are:
 A student has developed the habit of saying the punctuation marks when reading aloud. Classmates reinforce the behavior by laughing when he does so. The teacher tells the students not to laugh, thus extinguishing the behavior.
 A teacher gives partial credit for late assignments; other teachers think this is unfair; the teacher decides to then give zeros for the late work.
 Students are frequently late for class, and the teacher does not require a late pass, contrary to school policy. The rule is subsequently enforced, and the students arrive on time.

Modeling, Shaping, and Cueing
Modeling is also known as observational learning. Albert Bandura has suggested that modeling is the basis for a variety of child behavior. Children acquire many favorable and unfavorable responses by observing those around them. A child who kicks another child after seeing this on the playground, or a student who is always late for class because his friends are late is displaying the results of observational learning.
Shaping is the process of gradually changing the quality of a response. The desired behavior is broken down into discrete, concrete units, or positive movements, each of which is reinforced as it progresses towards the overall behavioral goal. In the following scenario, the classroom teacher employs shaping to change student behavior: the class enters the room and sits down, but continue to talk after the bell rings. The teacher gives the class one point for improvement, in that all students are seated. Subsequently, the students must be seated and quiet to earn points, which may be accumulated and redeemed for rewards.

Cueing may be as simple as providing a child with a verbal or non-verbal cue as to the appropriateness of a behavior. For example, to teach a child to remember to perform an action at a specific time, the teacher might arrange for him to receive a cue immediately before the action is expected rather than after it has been performed incorrectly. For example, if the teacher is working with a student that habitually answers aloud instead of raising his hand, the teacher should discuss a cue such as hand-raising at the end of a question posed to the class.

Behavior Modification
Behavior modification is a method of eliciting better classroom performance from reluctant students. It has six basic components:
1. Specification of the desired outcome (What must be changed and how it will be evaluated?) One example of a desired outcome is increased student participation in class discussions.
2. Development of a positive, nurturing environment (by removing negative stimuli from the learning environment). In the above example, this would involve a student-teacher conference with a review of the relevant material, and calling on the student when it is evident that she knows the answer to the question posed.
3. Identification and use of appropriate reinforcer (intrinsic and extrinsic rewards). A student receives an intrinsic reinforcer by correctly answering in the presence of peers, thus increasing self-esteem and confidence.
4. Reinforcement of behavior patterns develop until the student has established a pattern of success in engaging in class discussions.
5. Reduction in the frequency of rewards--a gradual decrease the amount of one-on-one review with the student before class discussion.
6. Evaluation and assessment of the effectiveness of the approach based on teacher expectations and student results. Compare the frequency of student responses in class discussions to the amount of support provided, and determine whether the student is independently engaging in class discussions (Brewer, Campbell, & Petty, 2000).

Classroom importance - Using behaviorist theory in the classroom can be rewarding for both students and teachers. Behavioral change occurs for a reason; students work for things that bring them positive feelings, and for approval from people they admire. They change behaviors to satisfy the desires they have learned to value. They generally avoid behaviors they associate with unpleasantness and develop habitual behaviors from those that are repeated often (Parkay & Hass, 2000). The entire rationale of behavior modification is that most behavior is learned. If behaviors can be learned, then they can also be unlearned or relearned.
In my own teaching, I have found that a behavior that goes unrewarded will be extinguished. Consistently ignoring an undesirable behavior will go far toward eliminating it. When the teacher does not respond angrily, the problem is forced back to its source--the student. Other classroom strategies I have found successful are contracts, consequences, punishment and others that have been described in detail earlier in this chapter. Behaviorist learning theory is not only important in achieving desired behavior in mainstream education; special education teachers have classroom behavior modification plans to implement for their students. These plans assure success for these students in and out of school.


4. Cognitivism.
During the 1960s, discontent with the inadequacies of behaviourism another school of thought was developing besides the behavioural thinking, the cognitive aspects. The

behaviourist perspective could not easily explain why people attempt to organise and make sense of the information they learn. One example includes remembering general meanings rather than word for word information. Among learning psychologists there emerged a growing realisation that mental events or cognition could no longer be ignored
Cognitive psychologists share with behaviourists the belief that the study of learning should be objective and that learning theories should be developed from the results of empirical research. However, cognitivists disagree with the behaviourists in one critical aspect. By observing the responses that individuals make to different stimulus conditions, cognitivists believe that they can draw inferences about the nature of the internal cognitive processes that produce those responses.
Many ideas and assumptions of cognitivism can be traced back to the early decades of the twentieth century. Of all theories, the theories of Jean Piaget of Switzerland are the ones that have provided psychology with very elaborated account of developmental changes in cognitive abilities.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980).
Jean Piaget was one of the most influential cognitive psychologist. He was a student of biology and zoology and learnt that survival requires adaptation. Therefore he viewed the development of human cognition, or intelligence, as the continual struggle of a very complex organism trying to adapt to a very complex environment. According to Piaget´s theory, human development can be outlined in terms of functions and cognitive structures. The functions are inborn biological processes that are identical for every one and stay unchanged throughout our lives. The purpose of these functions is to construct internal cognitive structures. The structures, in contrast, changes repeatedly as the child grows (Vasa, R., Haith, M.M., Miller,S.A.,1995, p.,33).
Piaget emphasises on two main functions; one is organisation (or equilibrium). Organisation refers to the fact that all cognitive structures are interrelated and that any new knowledge must be fitted into the existing system. It is the need to integrate the new information, rather than adding them on, that force our cognitive structure to become more elaborate.
The second general function is adaptation. Adaptation refers to the tendency of the organism to fit with its environment in ways that promote survival. It is composed of two terms; assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation is the tendency to understand new experience in terms of existing knowledge. Whenever we come across something new, we try to make sense of it, built upon our existing cognitive structures.
Accommodation occurs when the new information is too complex to be integrated into the existing structure - this means that, cognitive structures change in response to new experiences (Spencer, K., 1991,p.,175).
Piaget did many experiments on children’s way of thinking and concluded that human beings go through several distinct stages of cognitive development. Each stage involves the acquisition of new skills and rest upon the successful completion of the preceding one.
The first stage is the sensorimotor, (0-2year). Until about four months of age, the infant can not differentiate itself from the environment. Gradually the child learns to distinguish people from objects and that both have an existence independent of their immediate perception. This stage draws it name, sensorimotor, from that the child learns mainly by touching objects, manipulating them and physically exploring the environment. By the end of this stage the child understands that its environment has distinctive and stable properties.

The next stage is called the pre-operational (2years-7years). This is the stage when the child acquires a mastery of a language and becomes able to use words to represent objects and images in a symbolic fashion. Piaget terms this stage pre-operational because children are not yet able to use their developing mental capabilities systematically. At this stage children are egocentric, which means that the child has the tendency to interpret the world exclusively with its own position. The child does not understand, for an example, that others see things and objects from a different perspective from their own. During this phase of development the children have no general understanding of categories of thought that adults take for granted, ideas such as causality, speed, weight or number.

The third stage is the concrete operational period (7years-11years). During this period children master abstract, logical notions. They are able to handle ideas such as causality without much difficulty, and they are fit to carry out the mathematical operations of multiplying, dividing and subtracting. By this stage children are much less egocentric.

The fourth stage is called the formal operational period (11+). During adolescence, the developing child becomes able to comprehend highly abstract and hypothetical concepts. When faced with a problem, children at this stage should be able to review all possible ways of solving it and go through them theoretically in order to reach a solution.

According to Piaget, the first three stages of development are general, but not all adults come to the formal operational stage. The development of formal operational thought relies in part on the process of schooling. Adults of limited educational achievement tend to remain to think in more concrete terms and retain large traces of egocentrism (Giddens, 1994).

The educational interest of Piaget´s work lies firstly in this procedure he used to make educationists aware of the child’s thought processes and the conditions under which intellectual structures are established at different ages.
There are four principles that are most often cited in Piaget´s theory regarding to education. The first is the important of readiness. This principal follows from his emphasis on assimilation. Experience, educational or otherwise, does not simply happen to a child; rather it must always be assimilated to current cognitive structure. A new experience can only be of any value if the child can make sense of it. Teaching that is far away the child’s level is unlikely to be useful.
The second principle concerns the motivation for cognitive activity. Educational content that is either to advanced or too simple is unlikely to be interesting. The educational subject has to be slightly beyond the current level of the child so that it provides experience familiar enough to assimilate however challenging enough to provoke disequilibrium.
The third is the awareness of what level the child has reached and the information of what it can be expected at that level and what not. Piaget´s studies often identify steps and sequences through which particular content domains are mastered. It is therefor possible not only to determine were the child is but also to know the natural next steps for development.
The final principle is more functional. It concerns Piaget´s emphasis on intelligence as an action. In his view education should be build on the child’s natural curiosity and natural tendency to act on the world in order to understand it. Knowledge is most meaningful when children construct it themselves rather than having it imposed upon them (Vasa,R., Haith,M.M.,Miller,S.A.,1992).
The experience in acquiring a new knowledge through action allows two different kinds of knowledge to develop, the physical experience and the logico-mathematical experience. Physical experience produces knowledge of the properties of the objects acted upon. Logico-mathematical experience result in knowledge, not of the objects, but of the actions themselves and their results.
From physical experience, one would gain knowledge of the weight of objects; or the fact that, other things being equal, weight increases as volume increases, and so on. When speaking of logico-mathematical experience the point is that even the highest forms of abstract reasoning have their origin in action (Donaldson, 1987).
The aim for education, according to Piaget, is to make individuals who are critical, creative and inventive discoverers. So the major part of the child’s learning relies on active experimentation and discovery. The active classroom has been associated with the term progressive teaching, where pupils are in active role, learning predominantly by discovery techniques, with emphasis on creative expression. Subject matter tends to be combined, with the teacher performing as a guide to educational experiences and encouraging cooparitive work. External rewards and punishments are seen as being unimportant, and there is not so much concern with traditional academic standards and testing (Spencer, 1994).
As a biologist Piaget tended to look at development more from the physical change and the readiness for each stage to develop any further. Another perspective in the cognitive movement was from those who saw the connection between the environment and the child development in a constructive way, and Jerome Burner’s ideas are those that are well known.

5. Characteristics of Constructivist Learning & Teaching

Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge. In other words, "learning involves constructing one's own knowledge from one's own experiences." Constructivist learning, therefore, is a very personal endeavor, whereby internalized concepts, rules, and general principles may consequently be applied in a practical real-world context. This is also known as social constructivism Social constructivists posits that knowledge is constructed when individuals engage socially in talk and activity about shared problems or tasks. Learning is seen as the process by which individuals are introduced to a culture by more skilled members"(Driver et al., 1994)
Constructivism itself has many variations, such as Active learning, discovery learning, and knowledge building. Regardless of the variety, constructivism promotes a student's free exploration within a given framework or structure
The teacher acts as a facilitator who encourages students to discover principles for themselves and to construct knowledge by working to solve realistic problems. Aspects of constructivism can be found in self-directed learning, transformational
Learning,experiential learning, situated cognition, and reflective practice.
Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know.

In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different teaching practices. In the most general sense, it usually means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing. The teacher makes sure she understands the students' preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then build on them.

Constructivist teachers encourage students to constantly assess how the activity is helping them gain understanding. By questioning themselves and their strategies, students in the constructivist classroom ideally become "expert learners." This gives them ever-broadening tools to keep learning. With a well-planned classroom environment, the students learn HOW TO LEARN.

You might look at it as a spiral. When they continuously reflect on their experiences, students find their ideas gaining in complexity and power, and they develop increasingly strong abilities to integrate new information. One of the teacher's main roles becomes to encourage this learning and reflection process.

For example: Groups of students in a science class are discussing a problem in physics. Though the teacher knows the "answer" to the problem, she focuses on helping students restate their questions in useful ways. She prompts each student to reflect on and examine his or her current knowledge. When one of the students comes up with the relevant concept, the teacher seizes upon it, and indicates to the group that this might be a fruitful avenue for them to explore. They design and perform relevant experiments. Afterward, the students and teacher talk about what they have learned, and how their observations and experiments helped (or did not help) them to better understand the concept.

Contrary to criticisms by some (conservative/traditional) educators, constructivism does not dismiss the active role of the teacher or the value of expert knowledge. Constructivism modifies that role, so that teachers help students to construct knowledge rather than to reproduce a series of facts. The constructivist teacher provides tools such as problem-solving and inquiry-based learning activities with which students formulate and test their ideas, draw conclusions and inferences, and pool and convey their knowledge in a collaborative learning environment. Constructivism transforms the student from a passive recipient of information to an active participant in the learning process. Always guided by the teacher, students construct their knowledge actively rather than just mechanically ingesting knowledge from the teacher or the textbook.

Constructivism is also often misconstrued as a learning theory that compels students to "reinvent the wheel." In fact, constructivism taps into and triggers the student's innate curiosity about the world and how things work. Students do not reinvent the wheel but, rather, attempt to understand how it turns, how it functions. They become engaged by applying their existing knowledge and real-world experience, learning to hypothesize, testing their theories, and ultimately drawing conclusions from their findings.

The best way for you to really understand what constructivism is and what it means in your classroom is by seeing examples of it at work, speaking with others about it, and trying it yourself. As you progress through each segment of this workshop, keep in mind questions or ideas to share with your colleagues.

How does this theory of constructivismdiffer from traditional ideas about teaching and learning?
As with many of the methods addressed in this series of workshops, in the constructivist classroom, the focus tends to shift from the teacher to the students. The classroom is no longer a place where the teacher ("expert") pours knowledge into passive students, who wait like empty vessels to be filled. In the constructivist model, the students are urged to be actively involved in their own process of learning. The teacher functions more as a facilitator who coaches, mediates, prompts, and helps students develop and assess their understanding, and thereby their learning. One of the teacher's biggest jobs becomes ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS.
And, in the constructivist classroom, both teacher and students think of knowledge not as inert factoids to be memorized, but as a dynamic, ever-changing view of the world we live in and the ability to successfully stretch and explore that view.
The chart below compares the traditional classroom to the constructivist one. You can see significant differences in basic assumptions about knowledge, students, and learning. (It's important, however, to bear in mind that constructivists acknowledge that students are constructing knowledge in traditional classrooms, too. It's really a matter of the emphasis being on the student, not on the instructor.)
What are the benefits of constructivism?
i. Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners.
ii. Education works best when it concentrates on thinking and understanding, rather than on rote memorization. Constructivism concentrates on learning how to think and understand.
iii. Constructivist learning is transferable. In constructivist classrooms, students create organizing principles that they can take with them to other learning settings.
iv. Constructivism gives students ownership of what they learn, since learning is based on students' questions and explorations, and often the students have a hand in designing the assessments as well. Constructivist assessment engages the students' initiatives and personal investments in their journals, research reports, physical models, and artistic representations. Engaging the creative instincts develops students' abilities to express knowledge through a variety of ways. The students are also more likely to retain and transfer the new knowledge to real life.
v. By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-world context, constructivism stimulates and engages students. Students in constructivist classrooms learn to question things and to apply their natural curiousity to the world.
vi. Constructivism promotes social and communication skills by creating a classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas. Students must learn how to articulate their ideas clearly as well as to collaborate on tasks effectively by sharing in group projects. Students must therefore exchange ideas and so must learn to "negotiate" with others and to evaluate their contributions in a socially acceptable manner. This is essential to success in the real world, since they will always be exposed to a variety of experiences in which they will have to cooperate and navigate among the ideas of others.

6. Conclusion
The way we define learning and what we believe about the way learning occurs has important implications for situations in which we want to facilitate changes in what people know and/ or do. Learning theories provide instructional designers with verified instructional strategies and techniques for facilitating learning as well as a foundation for intelligent strategy selection. Yet many designers are operating under the constraints of a limited theoretical background. Owing to the fact that an educator or teaches will only teach well when he can apply the different concept of learning theories, thus it is really important for a teachers and educators to understand what really is “learning” and at the same time to have a clear views of how to utilize and apply it in their real teaching activities so as to give the maximum benefits to their student .

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