Some thoughts on constructivism and cognitivism

Hi everyone,
I put a little string on my finger this week so I'd keep the Wednesday blog date in my head.

I see the constructivist theory linked closely with cognitivism--when students create something--when they have an active experience with something--they are going to change/develop a schema for the content--to understand it at a deeper level and retain to a greater extent.

The way information is organized in our schemas can be so important to conceptual understanding and retrieval. Seeing relationships between higher order concepts and supporting details can facilitate retention and “bigger picture” conceptual attainment.Experts can quickly distinguish between declarative information and larger, overarching concepts. They see patterns easily—see relationships. Beginners or novices tend not to see these relationships. As an example, when one learns a new game, an unfamiliar one—the rules can seem overwhelming and sometimes idiosyncratic. One may not really understand the goal of the game; a novice may be able to recite the goal based on the rules they've read, but they may not really have a deep understanding of how the rules support the goal. Then, after one plays for a couple of times, the rules start to “make sense.” One gets to see the overarching goal (or concept) and how the individual rules or procedures support that goal. Soon, after months of play, one begins to see patterns that seem to lead to winning or losing. One can quickly recognize when a game is “lost” or “won” based on the configuration of the board.Once someone has a good schema for a particular game, they can more easily learn new games with related frameworks by invoking that schema or drawing on their prior knowledge. A person who knows how to play "Hearts" can usually pick up "Bridge" more easily. Hearing about the game may help invoke the schema--actually playing the game--and then teaching someone else to play helps the person to really "know" the game.

An active, hands-on experience can faciliate the development of schemas--when students take an active role in creating something--they are making the information their own--they are making memories that will be meaningful and memorable.

I admit to having some larger gaps in my knowledge base in subjects that were presented via lecture and text. But when I was able to interact with material in hands-on contexts, the information stayed with me. I see the same thing time and again with my own students. Building models, taking part in field trips, creating posters, podcasts, and other technology-based artifacts--even just working with manipulatives provides the personal, hands-on experience they need to remain engaged and to take ownership over the content.

I look forward to others' thoughts.