MODULE 4.
THEORETICAL
BASED OF CONSTRUCTIVISM AND BEHAVIORISM
4.1 Constructivism –
learning as a generative process
- The word ‘construct’ comes from the Latin
word “ construere “ which means ‘ to arrange’ or ‘ give structure ‘
-learner
must construct knowledge, the teacher cannot supply it
-
It is a learner center approach
-Two
types; cognitive constructivism & social constructivism
1)Cognitive constructivism
-
It is advocated by Piaget and bruner
-
Mind has to be constructed by the individual though knowledge discovery
-The
learner constructs new ideas or concepts based upon their current or past
knowledge
-Emphasizes
learning rather than teaching
-
Learning considered as a process
-
Priority to ‘HOW TO LEARN’THAN WHAT TO LEARN’
-
Nurtures the learner instinctive curiosity
-
Encourage the spirit of enquiry
-Mental
models of learners taken into consideration
-Accept
the role of exploring and experiencing in learning
-Importance
to learning context
-
Support co- operative learning
-Encourages
dialogue and communicating among pupils and teachers
-Encourages
learning through life situations
-Strong
foundation of cognitive theories
Performance
is given importance in evaluation
-
Provide opportunity for the constriction of knowledge by learners
-
Teacher act as facilitator, co-learner, diagnostician, democratic leader and
not an information monger
Constructivism as a theoretical
backing for education
- Piaget
called his general theoretical framework “genetic epistemology”
- Four
primary cognitive structures according to piaget : sensory motor ,
pre-operation , concrete operation and formal operations . Cognitive structure
change through the process of adaptation
-important
points
-
Learner while facing a challenging unfamiliar situation
-linking
the new situation with already familiar ‘schemas ‘ present in the cognitive
structure of the learner , through the process of reversibility
-
Assimilation resulting from the above linkage
-Accommodation
by which the learner tolerates the newness of the situation and adjusts with it
-
Equilibration or gaining back the lost equilibrium and thus ‘adaptation’ ;by
which the cognitive structure gets develop and organized .
2)
Constructivist theory ( Jerome s. bruner )
-
Learners construct new ideas or concept based upon their current / past
knowledge
-
The learner selects and transform information, construct hypothesis and make
decisions , relying on his cognitive structure for doing so.
-Teacher
should encourage the students to attain or discover the concept and also
principles that are linkage of concepts
Theories four major aspects;
-Pre
disposition towards learning
-The
ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most
readily grasped by the learner
-The
most effective sequences in which to present material
-The
nature and pacing of rewards and punishments
3)
Theory of social constructivism ( L.Vygotsky)
-theory
is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of
cognition
-he
views cognitive development of an individual to be at three zones.
a)
Level of actual development; the individual learner acquires left to himself at
a particular age
b)
Zone of proximal development (ZPD) ; the individual at a particular stage can
attain vast cognitive development appropriate for the stage by meaningful
interacting with adult under their guidance .
c)
Level of potential development; the maximum development one can aspire to reach
with the potential available, if the proximal zone is effectively handled..
COMPARISON BETWEEN CONSTRUCTIVISM
AND BEHAVIOURISM
|
NO.
|
CONSTRACTIVISM
|
BEHAVIOURISM
|
|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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LEARNING is an active
process
Emphasis on pupils
Learning is mental
construction
Learning depends on
learning situation , attitude, interest etc,,of pupils
Learners are
introduced to real life situations
Learner initiative is
accepted
Teachers are guides
There is dialogue
among pupils and between teacher and pupil
It encourage
cooperation
Question asked are
open ended
|
Learning is passive
process
Emphasis on teachers
Learning is
modification of behavior
Learning is not much
dependent on these
Leaning task place in
the classroom
Learner initiative is
not accepted
Teacher are
transmitters of knowledge
This is absent in behaviorism
There is not much
cooperation
Question asked are
closed ended
|
4.4 small group
activity & large group activity
-
Four to six members
-
Small group activity methods are
valuable for increasing student motivation through greater involvement and
active participation
-
Give relief to overburdened teachers by
sharing responsibilities of instruction with students
Advantages
-
Motivating and generate greater students
involvement
-
Increasing understanding and insight of course
content involved in the task
-
Students are ability to generate ideas
-
Develop students commitment to recommend
ways of handling problem
-
Provide practice in the application of
information and concept in working out practically relevant tasks
-
Develop positive attitude (cooperative
effort ,cooperation of experiences , group feelings ,self respect ,respect for
others
-
Develop problem –solving skill
-
Help in fostering creativity among
participants
Example for small group activity
-
Projects
-
Small group discussion
-
Case study
-
Role play
-
Dramatization
-
Preparation of sample records and report
Large group activity
-Project at
macro level
-Large
number of students
-
have to be assigned to all members
-Large
group discussion, project, seminar etc..
4.5
Co-operative learning
-The
pupil are structured into groups of peers who work together towards a common
goal
-Students
of different abilities in the same team and reward or reinforce are given to
the group but not to individual to encourage learning
-Co-Operative
learning involves specific guideline for assignment of children to groups
Advantages
-Develop
higher proficiency in critical reasoning strategies and abilities
-Students
experience higher levels of intrinsic motivation to learn
-Facilitate
behavior based on stronger group interaction
-Positive
attitude necessary for working effectively with others
-Develop
positive attitude towards teachers, principals, and other school personal as
well as towards peers.
Disadvantages
-Not
properly planned and designed, it can allow for “free rider” effect
Possibility
of diffusion of responsibility
Teachers’ role in co-operative
learning
-
Specifying the objective for the
learning task
-
Assigning adequate learning activities
to the learners
-
Observation ,analysis and giving proper
direction to the students
-
Clarifying the doubts raising by the
students
-
Evaluating students performance
4.6 competency based
instruction
Competency
-
Competency is ability to do something
-
Combination of knowledge ,
understanding, skill, attitude ,and values
Competency based instruction
-aimed at developing different
competencies among the learners , is knows as competency based instructions
-to learn and attain
for the mastery of a task
-teacher design appropriate
learning activities for the attainment of these definite items
Features of competency based
instructions
- Competencies to be developed
among the leaner’s are identified and selected before starting instruction
-
The instructional programme provides for
the development of pre-determined competencies
-
The details of these compete4ncies and
the standards expected will be specified and let known in advance
-
Different types of instructional
activities , materials, etc… should be designed in advance in tune , with the
nature of the competencies and slandered determined
-
Assessment of competencies should cover
the knowledge , attitudes, values expected of learners , but the primary source
of evidence will be the actual performance of the learner exhibiting the
competency in tune with the pre-determined standers
-
The entry behavior of the learner is to
be assessed in advance
-
The learner should be frequently
observed and their performance analyzed to gather feedback and to provide
appropriate remedial measures
-
Competency based instruction ultimately
aims at mastery learning by all participants in all the required competencies
-
To achieve this, enough time and
appropriate environmental conditions should be provided
Steps in competency based
instruction
Steps
Step 1; identifying the
competencies
-
The teacher identifies the competencies
to be achieved among the learners
Step
2; analyzing the entering behavior
-
The teacher should analyses the entering
behavior of the learner by way of an oral or written test
-
It will give clue for planning the leaning
activities to the learner pr learners concerned
-
The teacher determines ‘from where to
start? And ‘ how to proceed?’
Step 3 explain the competencies
-
This will help the learner to get a
clear idea regarding what they are going to learn
-
The teacher may demonstrate the
competences to the learners
-
The teacher gives clues to the learner
regarding ‘what to achieve ?’
Step 4 imparting instructions
-
In this stage teacher should provide
adequate learning activity resulting in experience to the learner
-
Teacher can select suitable curriculum
material
-
Mastery learning strategy is
preferred for imparting instructions
Step 5’; evaluation
-
To analyses the attainment of
competencies among the learners an effective evaluation programme should be
implemented
-
The evaluation will help the teacher to
collect the feedback and give remediation programme
