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COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM: DEVELOPING TOOLS FOR AN i EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM

COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM: DEVELOPING TOOLS FOR AN i EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM. By: Powell, Katherine C., Kalina, Cody J., Education, 00131172, Winter2009, Vol. 130, Issue 2
An effective classroom, where teachers and students are communicating optimally, is dependent on using constructivist strategies,tools and practices. There are two major types of constructivism in the classroom: ( 1) Cognitive or individual constructivism depending on Piaget's theory, and ( 2) Social constructivism depending on Vygotsky's theory. Similarities include inquiry teaching methods and students creating concepts built on existing knowledge that are relevant and meaningful. Differences include language developmenttheory where thinking precedes language for cognitive constructivism and language precedes thinking for the theory of social constructivism. Understanding communicative tools and strategies helps teachers to develop individual learning methods such as, discovery learning, and social interactive activities to develop peer collaboration.
Introduction
Constructivism is a vague concept, but is currentlydiscussed in many schools as the best method for teaching and learning. For many educators or teachers, it has a variety of meanings. In order for teachers to use it effectively, they have to know where the student is at a given learning point or the current stage in their knowledge of a subject so that students can create personal meaning when new information is given to them. When in theclassroom, teachers have the potential to teach constructively, if they understand constructivism. Constructivist teaching strategies and practices are the next important step in educational reform. Constructivist teaching strategies have a great effect in the classroom both cognitively and socially for the student. A teacher must understand and use methods of both cognitive and social constructivism,if he or she is to run an effective constructivist classroom.
In cognitive constructivism, ideas are constructed in individuals through a personal process, as opposed to social constructivism where ideas are constructed through interaction with the teacher and other students. While they are fundamentally different both types will ultimately form overall constructivism or constructed learningelements for students to easily grasp; the main concept being that ideas are constructed from experience to have a personal meaning for the student. To be effective, both theories of constructivism need to be explicit in communicating concepts so that students can connect to them. Teachers need to understand these theories, as well as, know how to incorporate constructivist teaching methods,strategies, tools and practices to develop an effective learning environment.
Cognitive Constructivism
Many educators in schools throughout America are required to teach constructively in their classrooms. The term cognitive constructivism can connote ambiguous or puzzled reactions from teachers who are told that they should be using teaching strategies to promote this form of learning approach for theirstudents. Substantial individual thought needs to be acquired in content or subject areas for students to actually Understand the material instead of just being able to recite it. Providing classroom situations and activities that promote individual learning is required. Jean Piaget, a well-known French Swiss developmental psychologist, who wrote many books and articles on learning, construed thisprocess. Piaget was originally a biologist and theorists state that he thought in terms of students becoming "little scientists," who learn voraciously as individuals who build conceptual structures in memory to store information. Initially, he built his theories observing his own children as they learned and played together.
Piaget's main focus of constructivism has to do with the individual...