In many cultures, the history of learning never
considered the learner. The task of the teacher was to make clear to thelearner the working of this "machine" and any accommodation to the learner
was only to account for different appropriate entry points for differentlearners. Times have changed.
Constructivist theory requires that we turn our
attention by 180 degrees; we must turn our back on any idea of an"all-encompassing machine" that describes nature and, instead, look
towards all those wonderful, individual living beings - the learners - eachof whom creates his or her own model to explain nature. If we accept the
constructivist position, we are inevitably required to follow a pedagogywhich argues that we must provide learners with the opportunity to: a)
interact with sensory data, and b) construct their own world.
This second point is a little harder for us to swallow,
and most of us constantly vacillate between faith that our learners willindeed construct meaning that we will find acceptable (whatever we mean by
that) and our need to construct meaning
for them; that is, to structure situations that are
not free for learners to carry out their own mental actions, but "learning"situations that channel them into our ideas about the meaning of
experience.
Principles of learning
What are some guiding principles of constructivist
thinking that we must keep in mind when we consider our role as educators?Here is an outline of a few ideas, all predicated on the belief that learning
consists of individuals' constructed meanings:
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Learning is an active process in which the learner uses
sensory input and constructs meaning out of it. The more traditionalformulation of this idea involves the terminology of the active
learner (John Dewey's term) stressing that the learner needs to dosomething; that learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge
which exists "out there" but that learning involves the learnerengaging with the world.
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People learn to learn as they learn
. Learning consists both of
constructing meaning and constructing systems of meaning. Forexample, if we learn the chronology of dates of a series of historical
events, we are simultaneously learning the meaning of a chronology.
Each meaning we construct makes us better able to give meaning to othersensations that can fit a similar pattern.
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The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental. It happens in the mind. Physical actions, hands-on experience may be
necessary for learning, especially for children, but it is notsufficient; we need to provide activities which engage the mind as well
as the hands (Dewey called this reflective activity).
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Learning involves language.
The language we use influences learning. On the empirical
level, researchers have noted that people talk to themselves as theylearn. On a more general level, there is a collection of arguments,
presented most forcefully by Vygotsky, that language and learning arebound together.
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Learning is a social activity. Our learning is
intimately associated with our connection with other human beings,our teachers, our peers, our family, as well as casual acquaintances,
including the people before us or next to us. We are more likely to besuccessful in our efforts to educate if we recognize this principle
rather than try to avoid it. Much of traditional education is directedtowards isolating the learner from all social interaction, and
towards seeing education as a one-on-one relationship between thelearner and the objective material to be learned. In contrast,
progressive education recognizes the social aspect of learning anduses conversation, interaction with others, and the application of
knowledge as an integral aspect of learning.
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Learning is contextual.
We do not learn isolated facts and theories in some
abstract ethereal land of the mind separate from the rest of our lives -we learn in relationship to what else we know, what we believe, our
prejudices and our fears. On reflection, it becomes clear that thispoint is actually a corollary of the idea that learning is active and
social. We cannot divorce our learning from our lives.
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One needs knowledge to learn.
It is not possible to assimilate new knowledge without
having some structure developed from previous knowledge to build on.The more we know, the more we can learn. Therefore any effort to teach
must be connected to the state of the learner, must provide a path intothe subject for the learner based on that learner's previous
knowledge.
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It takes time to learn. Learning is not instantaneous.
For significant learning to occur, we need to revisit ideas, ponderthem, try them out, play with them, and use them. If you reflect on
anything you have learned, you soon realize that it is the product ofrepeated exposure and thought. Even, or especially, moments of
profound insight, can be traced back to longer periods of preparation.
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Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it
the case that motivation helps learning; it is
essential for learning. This idea of
motivation as described here is broadly conceived to include anunderstanding of ways in which the knowledge can be used. Unless we know
"the reasons why," we may not become engaged in using the knowledge thatmay be instilled in us, even by the most severe and direct teaching.
