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Constructivist learning spaces

NLII focus session9/9/04

Malcolm Brown, Dartmouth College

Copyright Malcolm Brown, 2004. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

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learner-centered

metacognitive factors

self-regulating

strategic thinking

environmental factors

motivational factors

diagnostic assessment

process assessment

outcome assessment

authentic assessment

active learning

authentic learning

cognitive apprenticeship

distributed intelligence

inquiry-based learning

intermediate cognitive processesprior knowledge

problem-based learning

uncoverage

multiple modes of representation

learning cycle model

enculturation

peer assessment

metacognitive growth

problematization of teaching

scaffolding

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Constructivism

• Learning is active, not passive or receptive

• Act of reconciling new with the old• Information is

– transformed– organized– elaborated– “scaffold-ed”

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experimentwhere are the knights?

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where are the rooks?

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implications

• learning is an active process• based on paradigms• learner’s context is significant• metacognitive: learning about

learning

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knowledge ofhow people learn

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knowledge ofhow people learn

technologyenhanced

individualvs. group

skillsbased

inquirybased

lecturebased

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knowledge ofhow people learn

technologyenhanced

individualvs. group

skillsbased

inquirybased

lecturebased

communicationenvironments

assessmentopportunities

electronictools

simulations

oral

written

narrativevideos

modeling

contextualizedpractice

isolated drilland practice

learning bydesign projects

problems

casestudies

self-study

cooperativelearning

jigsawlearning

From: How People Learn (expanded edition), p. 22

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learning space implications

Brooks, J., and M., In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms

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#1 Encouragement of student autonomy and

initiative• Classroom design implications

– paired tables vs. fixed individual seats– mobile computing for the Geek

chorus

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#2 Raw data and interactive tools and

materials• Classroom implications

– Robust application suite for classroom use (e.g., graphing app, video editing app, image manipulation apps)

– Robust communication tool suite (cross-platform, async & sync, material sharing)

– Studio, modeling, and workshop space, physical and virtual

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#3 Active teaching vocabulary

• Analyze (apps)• Create (media production

equipment)• Criticize (commenting tools)• Debate (communication)• Classify (note taking; access to

past work)

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#4 Student response as input

• Real time polling• Acoustic treatments• Sight lines

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#8 Elaboration of student responses

• Post-it charts equivalents• Virtual whiteboard• Board capture and distribution

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• 5 Students speak first• 6 Multi-directional dialogue• 7 Asking questions• 9 Critical examination of initial hypotheses • 10 Wait time after posing questions• 11 Thinking time• 12 5 e’s Learning cycle

– Engage– Explore– Explain– Extend– Evaluate

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“The future of higher education lies outside the classroom.”

Chronicle Higher Ed, circa 1999