Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom: Responding to Individual Needs

2. Constructivist Perspectives on Learning

2 Constructivist Perspectives on Learning Bick-har Lam This chapter considers constructivist perspectives on learning, which involve a shift from viewing learners as responding to external stimuli to seeing them as ‘active in constructing their own knowledge’ and consider that ‘social interactions are important in knowledge construction’ (Bruning et al. 2004). For constructivists, learners develop knowledge directly by experiencing things and by reflecting on the consequences of such experiences; and they learn actively through cognitive processes, constructing an understanding of the world around them. After completing this chapter, readers will be able to: • understand various constructivist approaches to teaching; • explain various constructivist perspectives on learning, including the work of Piaget, Bruner and Vygotsky; • appreciate the strengths and limitations of various constructivist perspectives; • conceptualize various constructivist approaches; and • critically apply constructivist approaches to teaching in a Chinese context. Constructivism and Learning Constructivist perspectives on learning originated from constructivist epistemology, and there are hints of constructivist pedagogies in psychology. To understand the underpinnings of constructivist approaches to teaching, and various criticisms of such approaches, this chapter turns to psychological studies. However, constructivist psychologists disagree on (a) what determines the processes at work in the human construction of knowledge and (b) what creates different constructivist learning theories. Woolfolk (2010) has suggested a way of aligning the different constructivist streams. From a psychological perspective, constructivism is best understood in terms of how individuals use information, resources and help from others to build and improve their mental models and problem-solving strategies (Woolfolk 2010). Constructivist perspectives on learning are evident in three main psychological 32 Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom models: the information-processing model, Piaget’s genetic epistemology and Vygotsky’s social constructivism model. Social constructivists have extended the traditional focus of individual learning from cognitive structures and processes to the involvement of culture and society, language and social interaction. They view learning as socially constructed and contend that knowledge can be developed by participating and interacting in activities that are culturally meaningful (Wood 1998). The chapter begins with a close examination of different constructivist perspectives and their application in teaching. It then discusses constructivist approaches to teaching and learning in the context of Chinese classrooms. Information Processing In the information-processing approach, learners are seen as processors of information, and many studies have focused on understanding the cognitive processes learners use in processing information within their minds, such as perception, attention, memory and problem solving. This model has been conceived to link the behaviourist models of learning (which consider learning as a passive response-strengthening activity) to the constructivist theories of learning (which see learning as an active meaning-making process) (Mayer 1996). In explaining the information-processing model of learning, a comparison is often made with computer systems. Computers contain hardware, such as a central processing unit for carrying out the main processing of information, random access memory (RAM) for short-term storage of information and hard disks for longterm storage of information. The information-processing perspective suggests that similar structures can be found in our minds. For example, Atkinson and Shiffrin’s stage model of memory (1968) is a classic information-processing model that posits memory as information flowing through a system with distinct stages and different stores, much like the situation in a computer. Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) suggested that information is first detected by our sense organs and stays in the sensory memory for a very brief period of time; and, if the information is attended to, it then enters the short-term memory. This memory works like a computer’s RAM: it stores information momentarily for processing. The processed information is transferred to the long-term memory where information may be permanently stored for later retrieval. While many amendments have been proposed for the stage model of memory, its description of the mind’s architecture remains a central tenet of information-processing psychology (Mayer 1996). Constructivist Perspectives on Learning 33 Sensory memory Our bodies have a range of sensory receptors that change environmental stimuli into information that our brains can process. The sensory memory has a large capacity, which holds all our sensory experiences, but it can retain information for only a brief period of time (less than a second). Hence, information is lost quickly if it is not attended to. Short-term (working) memory The working memory is the part of memory that corresponds to what we are thinking at the moment. It...