Educational Psychology By Anita

1. The Learning Sciences
and Constructivism

2. The Learning Sciences
• Encompasses research in:
• Psychology, education, computer sciences, philosophy,
sociology, anthropology, neuroscience and other fields
• Has basic assumptions:
Experts have deep conceptual knowledge
Learning comes from the learner
Students must actively participate
Schools must create effective learning environment
Prior knowledge and beliefs are key
Reflection is necessary to develop deep conceptual
knowledge
Students should analyze their own work and
progress

3. Embodied Cognition
• Embodied Cognition: The theory that
cognitive processes develop from real –
time, goal – directed interactions between
humans and their environment
• Interactions through senses and body
• Example: Observational Learning
• Can you think of any examples of this?

4. Constructivist
Views of
Learning
• Constructivism: View that emphasizes the
active role of the learner in building
understanding and making sense of
information
• Two forms of constructivism
• Psychological/individual/Cognitive
Constructivism
• Focuses on the active role of the
learner in knowledge construction
• Social construction
• Views social interactions as
necessary to construct knowledge
• Based in research by: Piaget, Vygotsky, The
Gestalt Psychologists, Barlett, Bruner and
Rogoff

5. Reflect • Take out a piece of paper and do the
following:
• Write down a few of your favorite teachers
• Write down what activities they had you do
that you think made you be an active learner
• Share any examples?

6. Psychological Constructivism
• Psychological Constructivism: Individuals construct their own
cognitive structures as they interpret their experiences in particular
situations
• Focuses on:
• How individuals build up elements of their cognitive or emotional
apparatus
• The inner psychological life of people
• The outside world acts as a source of input

7. Psychological Constructivism
• First-Wave Constructivism – Piaget
• Piaget focuses more on meaning as it is constructed by the individual
(not necessarily a correct representation)
• Thinking becomes more organized as children age
• Concern with logic
• Such knowledge comes from reflection
• Social environment important factor, but social interaction was not the
main mechanism for changing thinking

8. Radical Constructivism
• Radical Constructivism: Perspective that holds that individuals can never
know objective reality or truth; they can only know what they perceive and
believe
• Learning is replacing one’s own construction with another that better
explains the person’s perception of reality
• Reflect: Any potential problems with this view?
• Problems:
1) Some values we may want to emphasize like honesty, justice
2) Right answers in many fields – MATH
3) Some knowledge is universal

9. Social Constructivism
• Social Constructivism: Social interaction, cultural tools, and
activity shape individual development and learning
• Second-Wave Constructivism – Vygotsky
• Learning meaning means belonging to a group and
participating in the social construction of knowledge

10. Social Constructivism
• Vygotsky was a mix between psychological/social constructivism
• Zone of proximal development: area in which a child can solve a
problem with the help of an adult or more able peer
• Culture creates cognition – when adults use tools and practices to steer
the child
• Cognition creates culture – adult and child generate new practices and
solutions

11. Constructionism
• Constructionism: How public knowledge in disciplines
such as science, math, economics, or history is constructed
• Social constructivists do not focus on individual
learning
• Focus on public knowledge
• Knowledge is socially constructed
• Some people have more power
• Diverse viewpoints encouraged

12. How is Knowledge Constructed?
• The realities and truths of the external world direct
knowledge construction
Building mental
representations
• Internal processes such as Piaget’s organization,
assimilation, and accommodation direct knowledge
construction
• New knowledge is abstracted from old knowledge
Gradual development
• Both external and internal factors direct knowledge
construction
• Internal (cognitive)
• External (environmental and social)
• Vygotsky – Use of cultural tools
Through Interactions

13. Is Knowledge Situated or General?
• Knowledge is transferable to other situations
• Examples of transferable knowledge?
General
• Situated Learning: The idea that skills and knowledge
are tied to the situation in which they were learned
and that they are difficult to apply in new settings
• Some ideas may be useful within a specific area, but
useless outside that area
Situated –
Vygotsky

14. Common Elements of Constructivist Student-
Centered Teaching
• Give problems with many parts
Complex Learning Environments
and Authentic Tasks
• Be able to defend their own positions
• Respect the positions of others
Social Negotiation
• Gain different ways of viewing content
Multiple Perspectives and
Representations of Content
• Make students aware of their own role in constructing
knowledge
Understanding the Knowledge
Construction Process
• Students’ effort to learn is the main focus
Student Ownership of Learning

15. Applying Constructivist Perspectives
• Elicit students’ ideas and experiences in relation to key topics
• Fashion learning situations that help students elaborate on or restructure their current
knowledge
• Give students opportunities to engage in complex problem based-activities
• Provide students with a variety of information resources
• Group work – give support to engage in task-oriented dialogue
• Elaborate on thinking processes and have students do the same
• Have students apply knowledge in diverse contexts
• Encourage students to reflect on thoughts
• Give feedback on processes and products of thinking

16. Group Task Assign: Brainstorm and choose topic
• A group leader
• Notetaker
• Task person
• Encourager (make sure everyone is included)
• Designer (draws up designs for lesson)
• Checker (ensures constructivist principles are being used)
• Researcher (look up info online/in book)
• Presenter (will talk about lesson plan)
Assign
Brainstorm and choose topic
Brainstorm ideas for a lesson
Make a rough draft / outline
Design a worksheet associated to the activity

17. Scaffolding
Scaffolding: Support for learning and problem solving
Could be:
• Clues
• Reminders
• Encouragement
• Breaking down the steps
• Providing examples
Three main characteristics:
• Contingency Support: Teacher is constantly adjusting, differentiating, and tailoring responses
to the student
• Fading: Teacher gradually withdraws support as the students’ understanding deepens
• Transferring Responsibility: Students assume more responsibility for their own learning

18. Inquiry Learning
• Inquiry Learning: Approach in which the teacher presents a puzzling
situation and students solve the problem by gathering data and testing their
conclusions
• The students:
• Formulate hypotheses to explain/solve the problem
• Collect data
• Draw conclusions
• Reflect on the problem and thinking processes

19. Video Link
https://youtu.be/mAYh4nWUkU0?t=23s

20. Problem-Based Learning
• Problem-based learning: Students are confronted with a
problem that launches their inquiry as they collaborate
to find solutions and learn valuable information and
skills in the process
• Designed to help students develop knowledge that is
useful and flexible

21. Cognitive Apprenticeships
• Six features:
1. Students observe an expert model the performance
2. Students get support through coaching or tutoring
3. Students receive scaffolding that gradually fades
4. Students articulate their knowledge
5. Students reflect on their progress
6. Students explore new ways to apply what they are learning

22. Reciprocal
Teaching
• Reciprocal Teaching: Learning to apply
the strategies of questioning,
summarizing, predicting, and
clarifying
• Designed to help students understand
and think deeply about what they
read
• Strategies in Reading:
• Summarizing the content of a
passage
• Asking a question about the
central point
• Clarifying the difficult parts of the
material
• Predicting what comes next

23. Reciprocal Teaching
• Guidelines for effective reciprocal teaching:
• Shift gradually – Shift from teacher to student responsibility
must be gradual
• Match demands to abilities – Difficult tasks and responsibility
must match the abilities of each student
• Diagnose thinking – Student thinking should be observed

24. Collaboration and Cooperation
• Collaboration: A philosophy about how to relate to others – how to
learn and work
• Cooperation: Way of working with others to attain a shared goal
• Cooperative Learning: Situation in which elaboration, interpretation,
explanation, and argumentation are integral to the activity of the
group and where learning is supported by other individuals
• Group Work: Several students working together
• Might not be cooperating!

25. What can go
wrong
• Students attempt to finish early
instead of focusing on learning
• Students can reinforce
misunderstandings
• Socializing may take precedence over
learning
• Students may rely on the “best”
student in the group
• Status differences may be increased
• Some students learn to “loaf” and be
dependent on group

26. Preparing
Students for
Cooperative
Learning
Positive interdependence
• Members can attain their goals only if the others in the
group do as well
Promotive interaction
• Members encourage each other’s efforts
Individual accountability
• Students are responsible for their own learning
Collaborative and social skills
• Giving constructive feedback, reaching consensus, and
including other members
Group processing
• Members ensure the group is working effectively

27. Assigning Roles
• Possible Roles:
• Encourager
• Coach
• Checker
• Recorder
• Gate Keeper
• Taskmaster
• Can assign audience members listening roles
• Roles support learning, not ends in themselves

28. Designs for Cooperation
• Reciprocal Questioning: Students work in
pairs or triads to ask and answer questions
about lesson material
• Jigsaw: A learning process in which each
student is part of a group, and each
member is given part of the material to be
learned by the whole group
• Students depend on each other

29. Structured Controversies
• Structured controversy: Students work in pairs within their four-person cooperative
groups to research a particular controversy
• Each pair researches the issue
• They develop a pro and con position
• They present their position and evidence
• The pairs discuss the issue together
• The pairs reverse positions
• Total group forms a final report
• Discuss: What kind of subject material are each of these methods useful for? Which do
you prefer?
• Potential issues:
• Learning disability
• Gifted students

30. Service Learning
• Service Learning: A teaching strategy that integrates meaningful
community service with instruction to enrich the learning experience
• Characteristics for service learning:
1. Organized and meet community needs
2. Integrated into curriculum
3. Have time to reflect and write about experience
4. Opportunities to apply academic knowledge
5. Enhance learning and a sense of caring

31. Learning in a Digital World
• Uses of technology in school:
• Technology based activities for classroom
or learning environments
• Students can interact with technologies or
collaborating in a virtual environment
oCloud computing: Allows computer
users to access applications or
computing assets to use online
applications
• Administrators use technology to track
information

32. Virtual Learning Environments
• Virtual Learning Environment: A broad term that describes
many ways of learning in virtual or online systems
• Learning Management System: Systems that deliver e-
learning, provide tools and learning materials, keep
records, administer assessments, and manage learning
• i.e., Icon
• Personal Learning Environment: Framework in which
knowledge is constructed through online peer interactions
• Immersive Virtual Learning Environment: A simulation of a
real-world environment that immerses students in tasks
like those required in a professional practicum
• Massive Multi-player Online Games (MMOGs): Interactive
gaming environments constructed in virtual worlds in which
the learner assumes a character role of avatar

33. Developmentally
Appropriate
Computer
Activities
Is digital media appropriate for
preschool children?
• Hotly debated
• Potential danger: Visuals or sound effects
could interrupt with the development of
concepts
• Might make children better at
multitasking but worse at deeper thought
processes
Students have to be media/digital
literate

34. Computational Thinking and
Coding
• Computational Thinking: The thought
processes involved in formulating
problems so you can represent their
solution steps and algorithms for
computing
o“Thinking like a computer scientist”
• Discuss: What part of technology is
present in this class? What do you
regularly use? Are any harmful to the
learning environment?

35. Video Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmuEWjHr5c

36. Thank You…!!!