MODERN CONSTRUCTIVISM AND PIAGET Modern constructivism urges creating a complex learning environment that is filled with opportunities, but it can become extreme: the more bells and whistles the better. Is that a good thing? Early roots of constructivist learning theory can be found in the work of Piaget. For Piaget, intelligence was based upon how well one adapted to his or her environment. This process of adaptation centered on establishing a balance between what one thinks and his or her environment. As children act in their environments, they encounter new objects, ideas, and concepts. These new ideas are compared with what they already know. These new ideas often create a sense of imbalance when they conflict with or challenge prior knowledge. Piaget believes children make cognitive adjustments themselves. Children are constructivists, which mean that if children are to really learn something they have to do it themselves. While Piaget’s work focused on children’s construction of knowledge, both children and adults construct their own knowledge using the processes of assimilation and accommodation. This give and take interaction with the environment requires the learner to be constantly active. Concepts are learned through a process of “the negotiation of meaning, the sharing of multiple perspectives” (Altun & Buyukduman, 2007, p. 31). Therefore, instructional designers must create learning environments that offer multiple ways for learners to discover answers and learn concepts. From the constructivist perspective, learning content cannot be “pre-specified” as the “direction of the instruction is determined by the learner” (p. 31). While offering a diversity of opportunities for the learner, the environment has been carefully and intentionally constructed. Careful construction is also important for Sweller’s cognitive load theory. Rather than being concerned with how one manipulates his or her environment, cognitive load theory holds that the learning environment must be shaped so that knowledge is captured, retained and stored in the learner’s long-term memory. Rather than offering a variety of choices in the learning environment, instructional designers adhering to the cognitive load theory must keep the learning environment simple, focused, and streamlined so that redundancy is avoided and memory is enhanced. Performance is thought to improve when repetition is eliminated (Sweller, 2009, p. 22). While modern constructivists provide multiple learning opportunities using different learning modes separately (visual, auditory, etc.), cognitive load theory says multiple modes should only be used when memory is improved and the modes are integrated. Piaget and Sweller challenge instructional designers to carefully look at the learning environment. Piaget’s version of constructivism stressed a balanced environment for children, so children were able to process information making the connection with what they already knew. Cognitive load theory is also concerned with processing information, the processing of information by the long-term memory. Both approaches lead me to evaluate the learning environment, rather on-line or f2f: Is the environment where learning is to take place, one where learners can process information? Or are there too many distractions? In both approaches to learning, caution needs to be taken so that the environment does not overshadow what is to be learned. So before I integrate the latest technology into my courses, I need to consider why I am doing so.
JLK
References
Altun, S. and F. I. Buyukduman. (2007) Teacher and student beliefs on constructivist instructional design: A case study. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 7.1, 30-39.