Social Constructivism vs. Personal Constructivism

"Some see social constructivist perspectives as putting the teacher back in the picture, in contrast to the personal constructivist position, which many felt was writing the teacher out of the learning process. A social constructivist view focuses on the teacher interacting with their class, whereas a purely personal constructivist view focuses on what is happening in individual students' minds. A personal constructivist view suggested personalised learning programs based on probing students' prior conceptions—a very difficult project for a teacher."


The Art of Teaching Primary Science
By: Vaille Dawson; Grady Venville

Active Learning Methodology: Engaging children in the process of learning

Click here to see video ALM

"Active Learning Methodology: It is an initiative taken by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Chennai. This is an approach of teaching where individual engagement and group disussion are followed by summarization of the subject through Mind Maps. This initiative has been the result of the inputs from the OUTREACH ACTIVITIES of THE SCHOOL (Krishnamurti Foundation India) in Chennai.

Common sense has no frontiers :)

Key experiences used in a High-Scope Preschool

This list of key developmental indicators, or key experiences, used in High-Scope preschool
programs. They serve as a set of milestones to guide teacher’s planning and assessment of learning
experiences:

Approaches to Learning
♦ Making and expressing choices, plans, and decisions
♦ Solving problems encountered in play

Language, Literacy, and Communication
♦ Talking with others about personally meaningful experiences
♦ Describing objects, events, and relations
♦ Having fun with language: listening to stories and poems, making up stories and rhymes
♦ Writing in various ways: drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, invented spelling,

Conventional Forms
♦ Reading in various ways: reading storybooks, signs and symbols, one's own writing
♦ Dictating stories

Social and Emotional Development
♦ Taking care of one's own needs
♦ Expressing feelings in words
♦ Building relationships with children and adults
♦ Creating and experiencing collaborative play
♦ Dealing with social conflict

Physical Development, Health, and Well-Being
♦ Moving in non-locomotor ways (anchored movement: bending, twisting, rocking, swinging one's arms
♦ Moving in locomotor ways (non-anchored movement: running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, climbing)
♦ Moving with objects
♦ Expressing creativity in movement
♦ Describing movement
♦ Acting upon movement directions
♦ Feeling and expressing steady beat
♦ Moving in sequences to a common beat

Arts and Sciences

Seriation
♦ Comparing attributes (longer/shorter, bigger/smaller)
♦ Arranging several things one after another in a series or pattern and describing the
relationships(big/bigger/biggest, red/blue/red/blue)
♦ Fitting one ordered set of objects to another through trial and error (small cup—small saucer/
medium cup—medium saucer/big cup—big saucer)

Number
♦ Comparing the numbers of things in two sets to determine "more," "fewer," "same
number"
♦ Arranging two sets of objects in one-to-one correspondence
♦ Counting objects

Space
♦ Filling and emptying
♦ Fitting things together and taking them apart
♦ Changing the shape and arrangement of objects (wrapping, twisting, stretching, stacking,
enclosing)
♦ Observing people, places, and things from different spatial viewpoints
♦ Experiencing and describing positions, directions, and distances in the play space, building,
and neighborhood
♦ Interpreting spatial relations in drawings, pictures, and photographs

Science and Technology

Classification
♦ Recognizing objects by sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell
♦ Exploring and describing similarities, differences, and the attributes of things
♦ Distinguishing and describing shapes
♦ Sorting and matching
♦ Using and describing something in several ways
♦ Holding more than one attribute in mind at a time
♦ Distinguishing between "some" and "all"
♦ Describing characteristics something does not possess or what class it does not belong to

Time
♦ Starting and stopping an action on signal
♦ Experiencing and describing rates of movement
♦ Experiencing and comparing time intervals
♦ Anticipating, remembering, and describing sequences of events

Social Studies
♦ Participating in group routines
♦ Being sensitive to the feelings, interests, and needs of others

Arts

Visual Art
♦ Relating models, pictures, and photographs to real places and things
♦ Making models out of clay, blocks, and other materials
♦ Drawing and painting

Dramatic Art
♦ Imitating actions and sounds
♦ Pretending and role playing

Music
♦ Moving to music
♦ Exploring and identifying sounds
♦ Exploring the singing voice
♦ Developing melody
♦ Singing songs
♦ Playing simple musical instruments


Provided by: Robin Mcconnell

“…education to be of the hand, the head, and the heart of the child”

When embarking on the education of the young child, it is important to remember the “whole child” and the continuing development that is yours to play a part in.
Understanding educational theories can aid in working within children’s learning styles, developmental range, and group dynamics.

Dewey’s influence on the education of young children is seen in the works of Patty Smith Hill, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, and Abigail Eliot who furthered his ideas of “integrating childhood with life and cooperative living”. Schools that focus on the “nature of the child” encourage the child’s innate curiosity. A “child-centered approach” involves the teachers as facilitators with “real objects and real situations within the child’s own social setting”.


By: Dianna Dammir

GENRES OF PLAY

Focus of Play Activity Description

Object-study (Repetitive play with objects)
The child’s focus is on the object. Exploration of the properties of the object are evident. Repetitive action will be observed.

Idea-study (Playing with ideas)
The focus of the play is on ideas. Objects may be used as props (but not always) to assist with the play. Ideas can take the form of “make believe” and events experienced vicariously or learned directly.

Social-study (Socially focused interaction)
The child concentrates upon the interaction process, social rituals and cultural practices (rules within particular communities and social groups). Objects or ideas are really only the vehicle for interacting with another child/adult. Emotions and feelings may also be explored. Metacommunicative language may be featured.

Role-study (in role)
Collaborative or solitary play whereby the child acts out a role(functional, professional, etc.) Metacommunicative strategies may be used.

Power-study (Power focused play)
The child identifies with a particular role and acts out the associated behaviors and relationships of power. Some forms of play are clearly aggressive, while others focus mostly on the role behaviors. Meta-communicative language may be featured.

Physical-study (Physical activity)
The child focuses on the physical experience. Either fine or gross motor skills are exercised in the play.

Language-study (Language play)
The focus of the play is on manipulating language. This may occur independently or with others. Objects are peripheral.

Spatial-study (Spatially oriented Play)
The focus of the play is on the use of space in relation to the child’s body.

Construction-study (making things)
The child concentrates upon making things either alone or with others.

Music-study
Active exploration and design of musical sounds (oral and
Instrumental, including percussion).

Work-study
The child is a willing participant in adult-focused activities. The child may initiate real work activities.


Source: PLAY AND PEDAGOGY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD: BENDING THE RULES
Sue Dockett & Marilyn Fleer Harcourt Brace ISBN 0-7295-3353-0
Provided by Megan Holecko

Just Playing

"When I’m building in the block room, please don’t say I’m “Just Playing”. For, you see, I’m learning as I play; about balance and shapes.Who knows, I may be an architect someday.

When I’m getting all dressed up, setting the table, caring for the babies, Don’t get the idea I’m “Just Playing”. For you see, I’m learning as I play; I may be a mother or a father someday.

When you see me up to my elbow in paint, or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay, Please don’t let me hear you say, “He is just Playing”. For, you see, I’m learning as I play. I’m expressing myself and being creative. I may be an artist or an inventor someday.

When you see me sitting in a chair “reading” to an imaginary audience, Please don’t laugh and think I’m “Just Playing”. For, you see, I’m learning as I play. I may be a teacher someday.

When you see me combing the bushes for bugs, or packing my pockets with choice things I find, Don’t pass it off as “Just Play”. For, you see, I’m learning as I play. I may be a scientist someday.

When you see me cooking or tasting foods, Please don’t think that because I enjoy it is “Just Play”. I’m learning to follow directions and see differences. I may be a cook someday.

When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body. Please don’t say I’m “Just Playing”. For you see, I’m learning as I play. I’m learning how my body works. I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.

When you ask me what I’ve done at school today, and I say, “I Just Played”, Please don’t misunderstand me. For, you see, I’m learning as I play.I’m learning to enjoy and be successful in my work. I’m preparing for tomorrow.

Today, I am a child and my work is play.

Source: N/A Provided by Elizabeth Riesner

About Reggio Emilia

“Many experts have hailed the Reggio Emilia approach as an exemplary system for helping children develop strong thinking skills. The primary goal of this method is to create learning conditions that help children develop these abilities through exposure to all matter of expressive, communicative, and cognitive experiences.

Four guiding principles work together to meet this objective:

Emergent curriculum: Topics for study are built on the interests of the children, determined by discussions with the class and their families, and by areas that fascinate many children, such as puddles and dinosaurs. Teachers use these observations to decide what projects are best suited to the interests of the class, what materials will be needed, and how they can get parents, or possibly even the community, involved.

Projects: Children participate in in-depth studies of concepts, ideas, and interests. Such projects are often explained to the children as adventures, and can vary in duration from a week or two to the entire school year. Teachers stand by as advisors to the group, helping them decide what directions they should take their research in, how they should represent what they learn, and what materials would be best suited for this representation.

Representational development: Teachers present new ideas and concepts in multiple forms, such as print, art, drama, music, puppetry, etc. This variation is considered essential in making sure that all children (who have many different styles of learning) have the chance to understand what is being taught to them.

Collaboration: Groups both large and small are encouraged to work together to solve problems using dialogue, comparisons, negotiations, and other important interpersonal skills. Each child's voice should be heard within the group to promote the balance between a sense of belonging and a sense of self.

Teachers play a dual role as researchers in a Reggio Emilia classroom. Their primary purpose is to learn alongside the children, being involved in their group learning experiences as a guide and resource. A Reggio Emilia teacher must always carefully observe and track the growth of the children and the community within the classroom, and also spend time reflecting on what they have learned about themselves and their teachings as well.

The documentation of these observations on the growth of both teacher and children is another facet of the Reggio Emilia approach. Pictures of the children at work and play, dictations of their words, and their interpretations of their experiences help both teacher and parent learn more about what does and does not work for their young ones. This allows for the dynamic of the classroom to be adjusted in whatever way best helps the learning process.

The classroom itself is referred to as the "third teacher" in Reggio Emilia schools. Much like the Montessori approach, great care is taken in constructing an environment that allows for explorations of various interests with ease. Interesting items, plants, and animals are not uncommon either. The documentation mentioned above is sometimes kept at children's eye level so that they, too, can see how they are progressing as the year goes along.”

—Richard Jeter, Early Childhood Today

Language Development

“Children are not just trying to imitate others and making mistakes but are trying to come to terms with language themselves”.

I founded eye opening the fact that children need to understand symbolism before they can create meaningful concepts about letters, words, sentences, etc.
“We need to change our definition of reading from a technical skill (Translating print into spoken language) to the conception of a different mode of language use”.

Ashton-Warner “organic reading” approach is very interesting. It is always good to remember that the meaning and context of the topic and materials play a major role in the learning process.

Whole language and language experience approaches also present great opportunities to make reading and writing significant.

Sylvia Ashton-Warner (1908-1984)

Her recognition that each person has a ‘key vocabulary’, a set of words with a special meaning relating to their emotional life, enabled her to develop a reading scheme for children who were otherwise failing at school. Though she despaired of being recognised in New Zealand for her contribution to education, she enjoyed a warm response overseas.

After her husband’s death in 1969, she accepted an invitation to assist in setting up an ‘alternative’ school in Colorado. She also lectured at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. She wrote a number of books about teaching, of which the best known is Teacher (1963).

Ashton-Warner’s teaching and approach to education are closely linked to her contribution to New Zealand literature. The ‘key vocabulary’ not only made the teaching of reading more effective, but also provided insights into the working of children’s minds and released their literary creativity. Her observation that all people, but particularly children, have an inner and an outer vision, is central to both her teaching and her fiction. The inner world ‘behind my eyes’ and the outer of ‘raw reality’ are often at war with each other, but the tension is also creative.

This recognition is one she shares with Janet Frame, who similarly writes about the hidden world ‘two inches behind my eyes’. Sylvia Ashton-Warner had been writing fiction and publishing short stories for many years beforeSpinster burst on to the New Zealand and international literary scene in 1958. Ostensibly the story of a single teacher working in a largely Maori school, Spinster is also an account of Anna Vorontosov’s emotional involvement with her pupils, a fellow teacher, the inspector who praises her reading scheme, and the shadowy lover Eugene.The effort to integrate Anna’s emotional life (the inner world) with her teaching (the world of raw reality) makes this her most popular and successful novel. In 1960 it was made into a film starring Shirley MacLaine, Laurence Harvey and Jack Hawkins, in a studio set that was a Hollywood distortion of New Zealand realities.

In presenting the clash between reality and emotion, Ashton-Warner helped to break the dominance of the realist tradition associated with Frank Sargeson and opened up other ways of interpreting the experience of living in this country. She lamented the poverty of creative vision in New Zealand, and that the experience of many, particularly women, was negated. This also applied to Maori, children and anyone seen as ‘different’ from white males, whose experiences, she thought, had dominated literature since at least the turn of the century.

By: Karen Fite

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist and philosopher, well known for his pedagogical studies. His theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "Genetic Epistemology."

He is considered the pioneer of the “constructivist theory of knowing.”

“Construction is superior to instruction”. Children are developing and constantly revising their own knowledge. The information is assimilated into what we already know or need a new place for it (need to be accommodated) thus returning to a sense of balance (equilibrium).

Piaget’s view of cognition theory is two fold:
1) Learning is a process of discovery, of finding out what one needs to know to solve a problem.
2) Knowledge results from active thought, from making mental connections among objects, from constructing a meaningful reality of understanding.

Knowledge is “an interpretation of reality that the learner actively and internally constructs by interacting with it”. (Labinowitz, 1980)

Social Constructivist Theory

The principles of social constructivist theory are:

• Knowledge is built by the learner internally rather than being imported from an externalsource.
• The experiential world is complex andintricate, thus learning involves the consideration of multiple truths, representations andperspectives.
• Constructivist learning environments emphasize authentic tasks in a meaningful context rather than abstract instruction out of context.
• Social discourse and negotiation help students clarify and modify their ideas, thus enabling the student to build a personal knowledge base.

Source: http://www.evergreencommunityschool.com/

How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition

http://dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=23206

How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition
By Michael I. Posner, Ph.D., and Brenda Patoine

Does education in the arts transfer to seemingly unrelated cognitive abilities? Researchers are finding evidence that it does. Michael Posner argues that when children find an art form that sustains their interest, the subsequent strengthening of their brains’ attention networks can improve cognition more broadly.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

Maria Montessori was the first woman to get a medical degree in Italy. However she wanted to persue a technical career in Engineering. Maria took courses on Anthropology, philosophy and psychology. She was heavily influenced by Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel and Giuseppe Sergi. She created “La casa de Bambini".

Each individual is unique and the objective of education is to develop the individual’s unique potential. She believed that you have to “Control the environment, not the child”

There are 3 main Montessori principles:
1) Observation
2) Individual Liberty
3) Preparation of the environment.

Her theory was based on individualized learning, readiness program manipulative learning, ungraded classes, team teaching and open classrooms. She changed the focus on the teacher and turn it to the child through observation.

Montessori believed that it was through individual free choice that the child perfects itself. She also believe that children should have practical life experiences and was the first educator to create furniture design for the child size. She was an advocate to freedom from its role of dependency from adults. “What he is able to do he must do by himself”.


Source: “The Essential Montessori: The woman, the writings and the method” by Elizabeth G Hainstock

John Dewey (1858-1952)

He directed the Progressive Movement, he felt education should be integrated with life and should promote cooperative living.

From My Pedagogic Creed (Washington DC: The progressive Education Association, 1897):

“I believe that only true education comes from the stimulation of the child’s powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself”

“The child’s own instinct and powers furnish the material and give the starting point for all education”. I a child want to build a table they have to learn to understand the directions, calculate the cost, and purchase the materials. In the building process they will understand geometry, physics and math. By working in teams they develop their social skills

Experiential education uses various tools like games, simulations, role plays, stories in classrooms. The experiential education mindset changes the way the teachers and students view knowledge. Knowledge is no longer just some letters on a page. It becomes active, something that is transacted with in life or life-like situations. It starts to make teachers experience providers, and not just transmitters of the written word. (John Dewey)

Alfie Kohn (1957-?)

Alfie Kohn’s theory analyzes human behavior from the perspective of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations.

► Intrinsic Motivation: where the task itself is experienced as appealing
► Extrinsic Motivation: where the task is seen as a means to an end, a prerequisite for receiving a reward or avoiding a punishment.[1]

“It is not the amount of motivation that matters, but the type.”
He is an outspoken critic of the education fixation on grades and test scores. The education system and the workplace are created based on a reward and punishment system in which human development is limited. The objective is to figure out how to succeed and beat the system instead of consciously learn and value knowledge in a practical way. Alphie Cohn challenges teachers, parents and managers to think “What is the motivation?” instead of thinking “How do I motivate?”

► The difference between a good educator and a great educator is that the former figures out how to work within the constraints of traditional policies and accepted assumptions, whereas the latter figures out how to change whatever gets in the way of doing right by kids.[2]
► The negative effects of homework are well known. They include children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities, and possible loss of interest in learning.
► Specifically, the evidence suggests that five disturbing consequences are likely to accompany an obsession with standards and achievement: 1) Students come to regard learning as a chore, 2) Students try to avoid challenging tasks, 3) Students tend to think less deeply, 4) Students may fall apart when they fail, and 5) Students value ability more than effort.[3]
► Most of the time students are in school, particularly younger students but arguably older ones too, they should be able to think and write and explore without worrying about how good they are. Only now and then does it make sense for the teacher to help them attend to how successful they’ve been and how they can improve.
► The more you use rewards to "motivate" people, the more they tend to lose interest in whatever they had to do to get the rewards.
► Are our reactions helping the child to feel a sense of control over her life or to constantly look to us for approval? Are they helping her to become more excited about what she’s doing in its own right – or turning it into something she just wants to get through in order to receive a pat on the head or avoid punishment. [4]

[1] Challenging Behaviorist Dogma: Myths About Money and Motivation
[2] "Changing the Homework Default," Independent School, Winter 2007
[3] "The Costs of Overemphasizing Achievement" School Administrator, November 1999
[4] "Five Reasons to Stop Saying 'Good Job!,'", Young Children, September 2001

Howard Gardner - Multiple Intelligences Theory (1943 - ?)

Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory is based on one fundamental question: What is intelligence? The theory was proposed in the context of debates about the concept of intelligence. The idea of a “general intelligence” for all human beings was created in, what Gardner called, the phychometric and behaviorist era. He challenges the idea that there is one type of intelligence.

MI theory is influenced by the phycho-analytic, cognitive and sociocultural theories since he considers both thought processes and the dynamic interaction of the developing person and its environment. He attended Harvard College where he studied under psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, sociologist David Riesman, and cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner. Gardner main perspective used eight criteria for describing something as an independent kind of intelligence:

1. Case studies of individuals exhibiting unusual talents in a given field
2. Neurological evidence for areas of the brain that are specialized for particular capacities
3. Evolutionary relevance of the various capacities;
4. Psychometric studies
5. The existence of a symbolic notation

Gardner originally identified seven core intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal (Frames of Mind 1983). He added the last two, naturalistic and existential, in his work Intelligence Reframed (1999).

Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence: It is associated with well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to sounds, meanings and rhythms of words. This intelligence facilitates learning by reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, and via discussion and debate.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: Logic, abstractions, inductive and deductive reasoning, and numbers are common for this type of intelligence. It is associated with reasoning capabilities, abstract pattern recognition, scientific thinking and investigation, and the ability to perform complex calculations.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: This area has to do with movement and doing. Includes abilities related to physical activities such as sports or dance and preference to activities which use movement. Physically doing something facilitates the learning process for individuals with strong Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence.

Interpersonal Intelligence: This area involves human interaction with others. Sensitivity to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations, and the ability to cooperate in order to work as part of a group, is common. Learning is enhanced by working with others, discussion and debate.

Intrapersonal Intelligence: This intelligence includes introspective and self-reflective capacities. They are usually highly self-aware and capable of understanding their own emotions, goals and motivations. Learning is best when allowed to concentrate on the subject by themselves. There is often a high level of perfectionism associated with this intelligence.

Visual-Spatial Intelligence: Vision and spatial judgment are prominent in this intelligence. People with strong visual-spatial intelligence are typically very good at visualizing and mentally manipulating objects. They have a strong visual memory and are often artistically inclined.

Musical Intelligence: This area is related to rhythm, music, and hearing. Those with a high level of musical-rhythmic intelligence are more sensible to sounds, rhythms, tones, and music. Learning by Lecture is best for those with strong musical intelligence. Using songs or rhythms to learn and memorize information is also common.

Naturalistic Intelligence: This area is related to nature, and the relationship with our environment. They are also good at recognizing and classifying different species. "Naturalists" learn best when the subject involves collecting and analyzing, or is closely related to something prominent in nature. It is advised that naturalistic learners would learn more through being outside or in a kinesthetic way.

Other intelligences: Spiritual, existential and moral intelligence have also been suggested and explores by Gardner.

MI theory is often criticized as it is seen by many as not indicative of intelligence but rather an interest. The fact that a standard measure for each type of intelligence has not been established makes psychometric professionals and psychologists skeptic and criticize it for not being scientific.

In regards to Education and child development the theory suggests that, rather than relying on a uniform curriculum, schools should offer "individual-centered education", with curriculum tailored to the needs of each child. Personalized education. In Gardner’s own words: “When you "teach for understanding," your students accumulate positive educational experiences and the capability for creating solutions to problems in life.”[1]
According to Gardner “the intelligences should be mobilized to help individuals learn important content and not used as a way of categorizing individuals”[2], an idea I totally agree with.

I agree with the theory. I like idea that each individual has a unique cognitive profile (which changes through time) and there is not one standard learning method that works for everybody. I also agree that each type of intelligence can be stimulated. I really like the idea that intelligences should be mobilized to help individuals learn important content and not used as a way of categorizing individuals.
I think Gardner’s theory is very relevant to childhood education. I do believe that there is need for more personalized education with a more individualistic approach. Of course, this presents a great challenge for the curriculum and the educators.

[1] Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences, pp. 5, 56

[2] Gardner, Howard. www.howardgardner.com/FAQ

Lev Vygotsky (1896 - 1934)

Vygotsky is the creator of the socio-cultural theory that focuses on how values, beliefs and skills, and traditions are transmitted to the next generation. Engaging together matters. When a mentor presents a new challenge he draws the student to a zone of proximal development.

“Social interaction between a teacher and a learner give context and cultural values of the skill being taught”.

Erick Erickson (1902-1994)

Erickson theory state that life is a series of stages through each person passes. He emphasized the drive for identity and meaning in a social context. He proposed eight stages of development: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, search for identity vs. role confusion, Intimacy vs. isolation, Generativity (Caring for the next generation) vs. stagnation and Integrity vs. despair.

I like the fact that he changed his last name to Erickson (get it?). I think it was very important for him to be independent, to be the son of his beliefs. I also like the fact that he states that the issues in early childhood education are really our own issues.

“While the remnants o this stages stay with us all of our lives, teachers who are aware of their own process can fully appreciate the struggles of children” (Beginnings and Beyond: Foundations in Early Childhood Education)