Psychological Foundations of Education II

[Pages:42]Central University of Kashmir Nowgam, Srinagar, J&K- 190015

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EDU-C 203 Psychological Foundations of Education II

Unit I

Approaches to Learning-II

Constructivistic Approach; Jean Piaget

Social Constructivistic Approach; Lev Vygotsky

Humanistic Approach; Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Course Title: Psychological Foundations of Education II Course Code: EDU- C 203 Department: Education Year: 2016

Contributor's Name: Ismail Thamarasseri Email: ismailktkl@ Contact: Designation: Assistant Professor

CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF KASHMIR

Psychological Foundations of Education II

Unit I

Introduction

At the time of birth, every human baby has limited number of responses. As s/he grows and matures s/he becomes capable of making different type of responses ? such as identifying mother and father, how to eat food, learn to alphabet, to write and combine them in to words, observes others doing and imitate them. Similarly, learning of name for objects such as book, orange, mango, cow etc, drive a scooter, car, bus etc. These modes of behaviour or responses are the result of certain experiences, i.e., learning. Therefore learning refers to a spectrum of changes that takes place as result of one's experiences. In other words, it may be defined as any relatively permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential produced by an experience. Some Definitions of Learning are shown below;

Learning is the acquisition of new behaviour or strengthening of old behaviour

as result of experience - Kingsley and Garrey.

The term learning covers every modification in behaviour to meet environmental

requirements - Gardner Murphy.

Learning is the process by which behaviour is originated or changes through

practice or training - Kingsley and Garry.

Constructivism

What is meant by constructivism? The term refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves-each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaningas he or she learns. Constructing meaning is learning; there is no other kind. The dramatic consequences of this view are twofold;

we have to focus on the learner in thinking about learning (not on the

subject/lesson to be taught):

There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to experience (constructed) by the learner, or community of learners. Knowledge is dependent to the experiences/constructions of the learner.

However, constructivist theory requires that we turn our attention by 180 degrees we must turn our back on any idea of an all-encompassing machine which describes nature and instead look towards all those wonderful, individual living beings-the learners-each of whom creates his or her own model to explain nature. If we accept the constructivist position we are inevitably required to follow a pedagogy which argues that we must provide learners with the opportunity to:

a) interact with sensory data, and

b) construct their own world.

This second point is a little harder for us to swallow, and most of us constantly think twice between faith that our learners will indeed construct meaning which we will find acceptable (whatever we mean by that) and our need to construct meaning for them; that is, to structure situations that are not free for learners to carry out their own mental actions, but "learning" situations which channel them into our ideas about the meaning of experience.

Constructivist Principles of learning

What are some guiding principles of constructivist thinking that we must keep in mind when we consider our role as educators? Let us outline a few ideas, all predicated on the belief that learning consists of individuals' constructed meanings and then indicate how they influence education.

Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input and

constructs meaning out of it.

People learn to learn as they learn

The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental

Learning involves language

Learning is a social activity

Learning is contextual

One needs knowledge to learn

It takes time to learn

Motivation is a key component in learning

Constructivist Approach to Learning Constructivism is a new approach in education that claims humans are better able to understand the information they have constructed by themselves. According to constructivist theories, learning is a social advancement that involves language, real world situations, and interaction and collaboration among learners. The learners are considered to be central in the learning process. Learning is affected by our prejudices, experiences, the time in which we live, and both physical and mental maturity. When motivated, the learner exercises his will, determination, and action to gather selective information, convert it, formulate hypotheses, test these suppositions via applications, interactions or experiences, and to draw verifiable conclusions. Constructivism transforms today's classrooms into a knowledge-construction site where information is absorbed and knowledge is built by the learner. With the use of the web, the learner can now conduct research, interact with diverse populations, share ideas, and work on group projects. The assessment tool in a constructivist classroom is not a test or a quiz, rather it is the learner product; most of the time this is in a Portfolio format that has been designed by the learner. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are two eminent figures in the development of constructivist theories. They share the common belief that classrooms must be constructivist environments; however, there are differences in terms of their theories and variations as to how constructivism should be carried out in classrooms.

JEAN PIAGET (1896-1980)

Jean Piaget was born in Newchatel, Switzerland. At an early age he showed a keen interest in observing animals in their natural environment. At the age of 10 he published his first article, a description of an albino sparrow which he had observed in the park; before he was 18 years old, journals had accepted several of his papers on the subject of molluses (snail). During his

adolescent years a second major intellectual interest grew from his study of philosophy, in particular the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge - Epistemology. His undergraduate studies however were in the field of biology and his doctoral dissertation was on molluses.

Figure 4.a. Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget stressed the importance of biological maturation in the thinking process. He saw human being as an integrated whole and assumed that there must be some common denominators in biological and mental functioning. One of these, he suggested, is the concept of adaptation. Most living creatures are capable of adaptation when they compelled to do so. Adaptation is the act of changing your behaviour to make it suitable for a new purpose or situation. The human body adapt to its environment in the process of intellectual growth. The whole sequence of change that Piaget saw in a child's cognitive development is the result of a gradual process of adaptation to experiences. In this way Piaget emphases the role of learning as well as biology. He viewed the development of cognitive skills as an interaction between the child's maturational level and its learning experiences.

Piaget's-Constructivism Jean Piaget remembered for his extensive research on developmental psychology, explains the learning process by schemes (the organization of information on how things work), assimilation (the placing of new information into schemes), and accommodation (transforming existing schemes or creating new ones). The motivation for learning is the predisposition of the learner to adapt to his environment, hence to

institute equilibrium between schemes and the environment. Continuous interactions among existing schemes, assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium create new learning. Piaget's developmental theory of learning and constructivism are based on discovery. According to his constructivist theory, in order to provide an ideal learning environment, children should be allowed to construct knowledge that is meaningful for them.

Cognitive learning theory of Piaget Piaget had profound interest in epistemology ? branch of philosophy concerned with nature of knowledge. He asserts that learning is a function of development. Piaget introduced a number of concepts in order to explain the cognitive development theory. These include;

Schema Piaget used the term `schema' (plural, `schemas' or `schemata') to mean a component of the cognitive structure or the pattern of behaviour used by individuals while dealing with objects or situations in the environment. This is the result of the individuals forming a mental image of experiences and registering it in their cognitive structure. As development proceeds each pattern enlarges and changes in accordance with the nature of the mental images formed. A `schema' is something like a computer programme that people construct for dealing with complex problems. Just as a particular programmes in a computer provides the same response in different situations, each specific schema in the cognitive structure of an individual leads him to similar responses on different occasions. Babies learn about objects by sucking on them, biting them, banging them and throwing them. when the infant encounters a new object how are they to know what the object is all about? According to Piaget they will use the schema they have developed and will find out whether it gives milk, whether it moves or makes a loud or soft sound. A schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. Schemas can be useful because they allow us to take shortcuts in interpreting the vast amount of information that is available in our environment.

However, these mental frameworks also cause us to exclude pertinent information to instead focus only on things that confirm our pre-existing beliefs and ideas. Schemas can contribute to stereotypes and make it difficult to retain new information that does not conform to our established ideas about the world.

Schemas are mental images developed from experience or behavioural pattern formed from an experience. Different types of schemas are

Physical schema: Idea of physical object. Object based- Early childhood is the

best stage to develop physical schema.

Social schema: Schemas developed from social experience is through interaction

with society.

Physiological schemas- bodily related schemas

Language schema

Cognitive structure is the totality of these all schemas.

Schema - Examples

For example, a young child may first develop a schema for a horse. S/he knows that a horse is large, has hair, four legs and a tail. When the little boy/girl encounters a cow for the first time, s/he might initially call it a horse. After all, it fits in with her schema for the characteristics of a horse; it is a large animal that has hair, four legs and a tail. Once s/he is told that this is a different animal called a cow, s/he will modify his/her existing schema for a horse and create a new schema for a cow. Now, let's imagine that this very young boy/girl encounters a miniature horse for the first time and mistakenly identifies it as a dog. His/her parents explain to his/her that the animal is actually a very small type of horse, so the little boy/girl must this time modify his/her existing schema for horses. S/he now realizes that while some horses are very large animals, others can be very small. Through his/her new experiences, his/her existing schemas are modified and new information is learned.

Organization

Piaget used this term to refer to the inborn capacities to co-ordinate existing cognitive structures or schemas and combine them into more complex systems. E.g.: the infant of 3 months has learned to combine, looking and grasping with the earlier reflex of sucking.

S/he can do all three together when feeding, an ability which the new born baby did not have.

Adaptation

By adaptation Piaget means the striving of the organism for balance or equilibrium with the environment, which is achieved through the complimentary processes of assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation: Assimilation means "taking in" or incorporating new experience

(schema) and fits into an existing schema. In other words it is "the fitting in" new

schema with already existing cognitive structure or making unfamiliar to familiar. It is

similar to putting a new data into a computer as part of an existing programme. E.g.: a

child may have learnt the words `dog' and `car'. For a while all animals are called `dogs'

(i.e., different animals take into a schema related to child's understanding of dog or all

four-wheeled vehicles might be considered as `cars'). This process is balanced by

accommodation.

Accommodation: Accommodation means a change or modification in a person's

concepts or strategies because of the new information that has been assimilated.

Accommodation is the process by which one's thought patterns are modified in order to

fit himself into the environment. Piaget uses the term accommodation to describe the

changing of an existing schema to fit it with new experiences. Thus a baby assimilates

when he internalizes and perceives the new experience in the light of his old

perceptions. But when a baby forms a new schema by modifying or changing his old

perceptions with a view to adjust with the new experience it is a process of

accommodation. In this way a baby forms new structure or new schemata and

consequently develops cognitively.

Distinguish assimilation and accommodation: According to Piaget, emergence of new cognitive abilities occurs as a result of the modification of the behaviour patterns that are present at the time of birth. These patterns of behaviour constitute the structural units of human mind that he called schemes. Schemas are the basic structural units of human mind. It is the mental model which incorporate the characteristics of a person, objects, events or procedures.

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