This page was provided ahead of the lecture:
The constructivist perspective on learning
Given to the UTM Faculty of of Social Sciences and Humanities on 25th January 2021
This page is intended to get you thinking about some of the issues to be discussed in the lecture…
Defining terms
The basic principles of the constructionist perspective on learning are quite simple, but may seem challenging (or unconvincing) unless we consider carefully how we understand such core notions such as learning, knowledge, perception, and memory.
Of course, everyone working in education uses these concepts all the time.
Before the lecture you might ask yourself how you would define each of these familiar terms:
- learning
- knowledge
- perception
- memory
Memory
How good is your memory?
Consider the two brief texts below.
Would you recognise them if you saw them later?
If you were asked to memorise them, how easy would that be? Why?
A (multiple choice) question about storing knowledge
Perception
Meaningful images?
The images below have been chosen because they represent objects or events /scenes that may be perceived as meaningful.
Do these images mean anything to you?
For each image ask yourself
a) what the image means to you
b) whether that meaning is inherent/intrinsic to the object scene shown (would a visitor from Alpha Centauri also recognise it?)
c) i) how do you 'know' what is being represented?
ii) would you always have known?
iii) if not, when did you acquire this knowledge?
Can you read this message:
Perhaps you recognise this object?
It is inscribed with a message.
Can you work out what the inscription is meant to communicate?
Distorted images
These images below have all been deliberately distorted so that it may not immediately be obvious what they are of. Can you make out what is pictured?
- Immediately?
- Only after some time?
- (If only after some time, is the realisation gradual – or sudden?)
How do you know what is shown in the images – what cues are you using?
Unusual images
Here are some of my photographs. I am not a very good photographer, as often people suggest my photos are 'not of' anything (but of course they are!)
Can you tell what I photographed?
If you cannot see immediately, think about why it is not obvious what the pictures are of? How did you identify the images?
What do you see?
What do you see in the two images below:
• what does your brain 'tell you' you are seeing?
• what are you actually looking at?
(If the answer to these two question is different – why is that?)
What do you see?
What do you see?
Thinking about two guessing games…
Consider these two guessing games:
Game 1: Blind guessing
Imagine a stranger had thought of a number between 1 and 1000, and you had to guess what it was.
You could have as many guesses as you like – but the only feedback you get is whether you have guessed correctly.
Typically how many guesses would it take to get the right answer?
You can probably suggest a good answer to that question without having to try out the game. (You can try the game if you like, but it might get a little tedious!)
Game 2: Guessing with directions
Imagine a stranger had thought of a number between 1 and 1000, and you had to guess what it was.
This time, if you get the answer wrong, the other person has to tell you whether your answer was too high or too low.
Typically, how many guesses would it take to get the right answer in this game?
If you are not sure what the answer is here, you might want to try this out with a friend or colleague – it does not matter which of you decides on a number, and which of you is guessing.
Guess what the lecturer is thinking
Perhaps it is not obvious what this has to do with learning – if so, you might want to see if you can guess (or, if guessing seems a little childish, see if you can deduce, infer, imagine…) how it fits in with the lecture.
You can view the lecture, and/or see what the distorted/unusual images above were of, at The constructivist perspective on learning.
I think, looking at all these pictures, we are able to somehow guess what they are because we have some prior knowledge/experience in knowing what they are. However, of course i can say that an image is something but another person has different opinion because they have their own experience/memory about what the images could possibly be.
Maybe your point is, for me to construct new understanding, I was relating to new knowledge with things that I already now so that it can be meaningful to me later on and then I can remember better.