Answers to Questions on Piaget

Q1: Explain in your own words the principal contributions of Piaget's cognitive constructivist theory as a theory of learning. Make a list of questions you still have.

Piaget contributed to cognitive constructivist theory as a theory of learning. He challenged the behaviorist theorists of his time and raised questions regarding human cognitive processes. He changed the focus from how people respond to a stimulus to how people think about a stimulus. People are active learners and construct their own knowledge. I feel his principal contributions in this field center around his work of development stages. His work shed light on the cognitive growth of children. For preschool and elementary teachers, the stages of development are important considerations when designing instruction. Piaget provided a foundation for developmentally appropriate activities in a classroom. However, children do not grow physically or cognitively at the same rate. Do children get stuck in a stage of development? If so, how do we move them from one stage to the next? How do we accommodate the instructional needs of students who have rapidly moved through the stages?

Q2: Make a connection between Piaget's stages of development and what James argued the teacher should know about cognitive development.

Piaget’s stages of development are similar to James’s ideas on constructivism. Piaget’s preoperational stage states children mentally act on object and are not capable of thinking abstractly. James also emphasized the importance of training in construction and object teaching from Kindergarten through the first years. Both would agree this period of exploration of the world around them allow a child to make sense of their environment. Piaget’s concrete operational stage shares how a child begins to make logical sense of the world around them. James believed objective and experimental methods were crucial to knowledge construction. He stated, “Compared with youth taught by this methods, one brought up exclusively by books carries through life a certain remoteness from reality: he stands as it were, out of the pale and feels that he stands so; and often suffers a kind of melancholy from which he might have been rescued by a more real education”(p. 30). Two additional connections between Piaget and James are the development of habits and connection of new information to what one already knows or believes.

Q3: What would authors Airasian and Walsh have to say about the learning environment in which Bart was placed? Is this an example of constructivism? What are your own thoughts about constructivism as a theory of learning so far?

I believe Airasian and Walsh would have said that Bart had been placed in an environment which attempted to be constructivist in nature. Bart attempted to make meaning for himself through participating in discussions and even turning himself green in chemistry. Bart initially showed great enthusiasm when he thought about a learning environment which allowed him the freedom to structure his day as he pleased, yet Bart was not successful in this environment. Airsian and Walsh might say Bart’s failure was a result of the teacher’s ability to implement instructional strategies and provide appropriate feedback. The classroom design provided Bart with a “learn as you go” model, but the teacher was not in tune to Bart’s constructed knowledge nor did she provide specific feedback to guide him on his learning journey. Airsian and Walsh might also argue the fact the teacher did not ask Bart to share with her his thought process or justify his reasoning when answering a question. One might argue that Bart was not successful in this environment because he lacked the ability to communicate effectively with peers, traditional classroom exposure has stifled his ability to make decisions about his own learning paths and the classroom structure reflected needs for different students. The gifted students in the classroom, however, seemed to be successful in this environment. I believe constructivism is a valuable theory for learning. When given the opportunity to explore and create their own meaning, students have a deeper understanding of the material. I am not certain a “one size fits all model” is best for any classroom, though.

R#7

Within a school environment, there exist many differing views of how children learn. Typically, teachers of special needs children rely on behaviorist approaches to shape behavior and knowledge acquisition. Classroom teacher views vary from the same behaviorist approaches to instructional strategies based on constructivist theory or some combination of the two. Imagine a school where the administration insisted on the use of direct instruction, the use of charts for students in need of behavior modification and the use of rewards and punishments for both students and staff. Teachers believing in the constructivist theories of learning would be at odds most of the time with their supervisors. Perhaps, this scenario is extreme but the idea of contradictory philosophies of teaching in a school is not farfetched. How do conflicting views of behaviorist and constructivist theories affect school culture and student learning?

Time to teach the required curriculum is a constant battle for classroom teachers. As a believer of the constructivist theories, I often found myself attempting to pour knowledge into the minds of my students instead of taking the time to construct activities that led to meaning making due to a lack of time. My students recalled information correctly but lacked a deep understanding of content and displayed difficulty in applying skills learned to a new situation. Airasian and Walsh state, “It is easy to say that constructivist teachers must create an open, nonjudgmental environment that permits students to construct, disclose and expose their constructions to scrutiny. But listening and responding to student constructions will be difficult and time consuming” (p. 448). The authors make a good point and teachers do need to consider the element of time; however is the time a teacher takes to tell a student about a topic time well spent. One constructivist-like model of teaching is the 5E model of instruction. Students share in a common set of exploratory activities to provide a foundation for understanding. During this phase, the teacher talks to students and observes student constructions, providing thought provoking questions and guidance. Explanations are brief, direct and to the point. The teacher clarifies misconceptions and introduces domain specific vocabulary. Students then apply this new knowledge to a new situation. Formative evaluations made at each phase allow the teacher to make the instructional decisions regarding a student’s readiness to move to the next step. The process is quite time consuming in the beginning for both maintaining student engagement and allowing adequate time for exploration. The time spent allows students to acquire a deep understanding of the intended content and apply the information. How are classroom teachers using their time for student instruction?