Introducing Constructivism

Reflections week 1

I really felt I found a gem when I read Major's article that delineated differences and similarities between major learning theories. Of particular interest to me was how transitioning to online teaching/learning requires potential shift in our expectations and roles. While this article, written in 2015, made a deliberate decision to incorporate vignettes from established online learning researchers to support Major's view that web-based learning is at par with onsite learning, the matter is now settled - given how the world higher education establishment resorted to synchronous and asynchronous teaching during this global health pandemic.

How have the articles changed my perception/views?

I completed my distance learning postgraduate certificate from the Open University UK, and I appreciate the affordances of technology that made learning possible. Now I can see why certain activities, assignments and tasks were chosen - and why some others were not. I greatly enjoyed self-directed nature of learning and flexibility to pursue my interest - both of which felt different from my brick and mortar university experience. Reading Major's article has enabled me to understand the thinking behind the instructional design decisions of the course development team.

Some useful quotes from the articles

- "Conceptualizing learning in an online environment demands that we consider the relationship between technology and learning and their influence on each other, and it requires taking a stance toward learning in this new environment (Major, 2015)".

- "When critical constructivists produce knowledge, they are not attempting to reduce variables but to maximize (Knoble, 1999) them. Such maximization produces a thicker, more detailed, more complex understanding of the social, political, economic, cultural, psychological and pedagogical world (Kincheloe, 2005)".

- "Critical theory is concerned with extending a human’s consciousness of himself or herself as a social being in light of the way dominant power operates to manage knowledge. A critical theoretical analyst who gains such a consciousness would understand how his or her political opinions, religious beliefs, gender role, racial self-concept or view of the goals of education had been influenced by both the dominant culture and subcultures. Critical constructivism thus promotes reflection on the production of self (Kincheloe, 2005)".

Elaboration

Kincheloe's notion of critical consciousness prompted me to reconsider epistemological constructs about what constitutes 'learning', and the way such learning is actualized in learning contexts. Although I found Kincheloe's application of power to illuminate the ways in which certain voices are privileged a fresh take on the subject, I would have liked the author to draw upon research that shows how such power manifests (if it does!) itself in a collaborative online learning environment through participants and artifacts.

Distinctiveness

Constructivism is generally associated with Piaget's developmental constructivism, Vygotsky's socio-cultural constructivism, Papert's constructionism. Kincheloe's article is distinctive in its use of aspects of critical theory (such as the Foucauldian notion of 'power' and privileged/non-privileged binary) in the discussion of constructivism.

Personalization

The two articles have convinced me that constructivist orientation can be applied in online learning contexts in order to invite learners to collaborate, interact and build a learning community. Together they can create something that they cannot produce singly; Having said that, I really feel that an out-and-out constructivist outlook needs be balanced with mastery learning approach of the basics.

Application

Is constructivism appropriate for all types and domains of learning? In my experience of learning to use a new piece of software or mastering the basics, I have found spaced repetition helpful. However, when it came to making sense of complex topics and problem solving, I've found group work useful.

Significance

Kincheloe's writing is significant in its application of critical consciousness that empowers educators to nurture learning in innovative, inclusive and

Major's article provides a chronology of web-based learning in Canadian context, and illustrates potential shifts required of educators working in this new instructional format.

References

Kincheloe, J. (2005). From Constructivism to Critical Constructivism. In _Critical Constructivism Primer_ (pp. 1–40). International Academic Publishers.

Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching Online. John Hopkins University Press.