Constructivist View of Learning Use in Instruction Problem Solving & Thinking Skills Constructivist View of Learning teachers cannot give knowledge students must have opportunities to discover and apply ideas “student-centered” learning Historical Roots social learning zone of proximal development cognitive apprenticeship mediated learning Top-down processing begin with complex problems discover basic skills required bottom-up goes from basic to complex skills Cooperative learning students more easily discover & understand difficult concepts if they can talk with others about problems social nature of task peers model thinking Generative learning students must perform mental operations can teach students methods of doing mental work with new information example--teach questioning strategies Discovery learning active involvement with concepts and principles conduct experiments “knowing is a process, not a product” (Bruner, 1966) Discovery learning in Classroom encourage independence let students follow natural interests arouse curiosity minimize risk of failures be as relevant for student as possible Self-regulated learning have use of effective learning strategies know how & when to use them motivated by learning itself able to stick by long-term task until it is done Scaffolding Teacher assists student in mastering and internalizing tools to increase higher cognitive functioning. example--give more structure at beginning of lessons and gradually turn it over to them. APA’s learner-centered psychological principles learner as actively seeking knowledge learning as motivated by quest for knowledge itself learner works with others learner is aware of own learning strategies Reciprocal teaching has been examined for reading. teacher models metacognitive skills teacher models questions at first students begin to take on role of “teacher” Constructivist methods in mathematics Supporting Ten-Structured Thinking (STST) using base-10 blocks to add/subtract large #s Conceptually Based Instruction (CBI) physical, pictorial, verbal, symbolic presentations of math concepts Problem Centered Mathematics Project (PCMP) from concrete to abstract problems with and without counters Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) higher-level thinking & computational skills Research on constructivist methods different outcomes than direct instruction descriptive research positive effects in mathematics, science, reading, & writing particularly effective in high-poverty schools Cooperative learning Student teams-achievement divisions (STAD) mixed level, sex, ethnicity make sure all team members master material take individual quizzes awarded based on improvement & team scores best for well-defined objectives Team-assisted individualization (TAI) mixed-ability teams certificates for high-performing teams individualized instruction Cooperative integrated reading and composition (CIRC) series of reading activities master main ideas and other comprehension skills write drafts, revise & edit together, etc. aids reading skills Jigsaw students become experts in section of material students return to team team scores on quizzes Learning together group product Group investigation group reports and presentations Cooperative scripting work in pairs, summarizing material learn better when teaching than listening Research on cooperative learning Group study vs. Project-based (active) most research has looked at group study methods favored cooperative learning over traditional methods, if: recognition must be provided to groups individual accountability generalized effects over long-run most effective for high achieving and special education students may be different for different ethnic groups being taught communication and helping skills or metacognitive strategies is effective some studies have shown effectiveness of project-based learning Problem-solving & thinking skills means-end analysis extracting relevant information representing the problem Obstacles to problem solving functional fixedness emotional factors Creative problem solving incubation suspension of judgment appropriate climates analysis thinking skills feedback Teaching thinking skills instrumental enrichment teaches categorization, comparison, etc. skills improves aptitude test scores, not achievement scores only when long-term how to take IQ tests? better when combined with specific content Critical thinking emphasis of divergent perspectives and free discussion give reasons for opinions rather than just correct answers Review questions What is the constructivist view of learning? How is cooperative learning used in instruction? How are problem-solving and thinking skills taught?