CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY
MAIN THEORY
John Deway (1933/1998) the philosophical founder of this approach.
Bruner (1990) and Piaget (1972) are considered the chief theorists among the cognitive constructivists
Vygotsky (1978) is the major theorist among the social constructivists.
philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in.
Lev Vygotsky emphasized the importance of social constructivism in which knowledge is built on social interactions, cultural tools, and activities that shape individual construction and learning.
There are two main factors in children's cognitive development according to Les Vygotsky: social interaction and language skills.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OCCURS IN TWO STAGES
a social stage in which information is obtained as a result of interactions between two individuals such as parents, friends, and neighbors
the individual level is the ability of individuals to exchange information and knowledge gained from social interaction into individual understanding.
LEARNING THEORY OF VYGOTSKY CONSTRUCTIVISM
1. Language, Culture, & Knowledge
Vygotsky (1934) emphasized the role of language and culture in cognitive development and in how we perceive the world, and claimed that they provide frameworks through which we experience, communicate, and understand reality.
The statement of Ratumanan (2004: 45) argues that Vygotsky's work is based on two main ideas.
First, intellectual development can only be understood from the context of children's history and cultural experiences.
Second, development relies on a system of signs that refers to symbols created by culture to help people think, communicate and solve problems,
2. The Zone of Proximal Development
To ensure development in the ZDP, the assistance/guidance received must have certain features:
Intersubjectivity – the process whereby two participants who begin a task with different understandings arrive at a shared understanding (Newson & Newson, 1975). This creates a common ground for communication as each partner adjusts to the perspective of the other.
Vygotsky believed that learning takes place within the Zone of Proximal Development. In this, students can, with help from adults or children who are more advanced, master concepts and ideas that they cannot understand on their own
Scaffolding – adjusting the support offered during a teaching session to fit the child’s current level of performance. This captures the form of teaching interaction that occurs as individuals work on tasks such as puzzles and academic assignments.
Guided participation – a broader concept than scaffolding that refers to shared endeavours between expert and less expert participants
Moreover, According to Slavin (Ratumanan, 2004: 49) there are two main implications of Vygotsky's theory of education. First, class arrangements in the form of cooperative learning are desired between groups of students with different abilities, allowing students to interact in challenging tasks and to develop effective problem-solving strategies in the nearest / nearest development area. Second, Vygotsky's learning approach emphasizes scaffolding. With scaffolding, more and more students can take responsibility for their own learning.
IMPLICATIONS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY IN TEACHING-LEARNING
In teaching and learning based on Constructivism Theory, the role of teacher is to guide, facilitate and plan, while students play a leading role in learning activities.
The most effective teaching-learning models are inquiry-based, cooperative and collaborative learning. Traditional teaching methods and techniques, such as lectures, memorization and remembering, are not suitable to be used to further knowledge.
Student experience and readiness are important factors that influence the process of developing new knowledge. This means that the level of content should be in line with students' abilities.
The priority of learning is on the proceeds of constructivism.
the value of tradition is no longer used. Forms and tools for assessing the level of knowledge formation should be established by teachers and students together.
Learning that meets constructivist methods must meet several principles,
a) providing learning experiences that enable students to build knowledge;
b) learning is carried out by connecting it with real life;
c) learning is done by associating it with appropriate reality; .
d) motivate students to be active in learning;
e) learning is carried out by adapting to the social life of students;
f) learn to use barbaric facilities;
g) involve students' emotional level in building student knowledge (Knuth & Cunningham, 1996)