Showing papers on "Social constructivism published in 1998"

Social constructivist perspectives on teaching and learning

Abstract: Social constructivist perspectives focus on the interdependence of social and individual processes in the co-construction of knowledge. After the impetus for understanding the influence of social and cultural factors on cognition is reviewed, mechanisms hypothesized to account for learning from this perspective are identified, drawing from Piagetian and Vygotskian accounts. The empirical research reviewed illustrates (a) the application of institutional analyses to investigate schooling as a cultural process, (b) the application of interpersonal analyses to examine how interactions promote cognition and learning, and (c) discursive analyses examining and manipulating the patterns and opportunities in instructional conversation. The review concludes with a discussion of the application of this perspective to selected contemporary issues, including: acquiring expertise across domains, assessment, educational equity, and educational reform.

What Makes the World Hang Together? Neo-utilitarianism and the Social Constructivist Challenge

Abstract: Social constructivism in international relations has come into its own during the past decade, not only as a metatheoretical critique of currently dominant neo-utilitarian approaches (neo-realism and neoliberal institutionalism) but increasingly in the form of detailed empirical findings and theoretical insights. Constructivism addresses many of the same issues addressed by neo-utilitarianism, though from a different vantage and, therefore, with different effect. It also concerns itself with issues that neo-utilitarianism treats by assumption, discounts, ignores, or simply cannot apprehend within its characteristic ontology and/or epistemology. The constructivist project has sought to open up the relatively narrow theoretical confines of conventional approaches—by pushing them back to problematize the interests and identities of actors; deeper to incorporate the intersubjective bases of social action and social order; and into the dimensions of space and time to establish international structure as contingent practice, constraining social action but also being (re)created and, therefore, potentially transformed by it.

Social Constructivism and the School Literacy Learning of Students of Diverse Backgrounds

Abstract: This theoretical review builds on the idea that social constructivism offers implications for reshaping schooling in ways that may correct the gap between the literacy achievement of students of diverse backgrounds and that of mainstream students. A diverse social con-structivist perspective may encourage literacy educators to progress from a mainstream orientation toward a serious consideration of the significance of students' ethnicity, primary language, and social class to literacy learning. From a social constructivistperspective, 5 explanations for the literacy achievement gap appear plausible: linguistic differences, cultural differences, discrimination, inferior education, and rationales for schooling. Incorporating these 5 explanations and building on the work of Cummins (1986, 1994), a conceptual framework for addressing the literacy achievement gap is proposed. This framework suggests that the school literacy learning of students of diverse backgrounds will be improved as educators address the g...

'Out of Place', 'Knowing One's Place': Space, power and the exclusion of disabled people

Abstract: Disabled people are marginalised and excluded from 'mainstream' society. In general, our understanding of the processes of exclusion is grounded in time and history. In this paper, it is argued that space, as well as time, is instrumental in reproducing and sustaining disablist practices. Disability has distinct spatialities that work to exclude and oppress disabled people. Spaces are currently organised to keep disabled people 'in their place' and 'written' to convey to disabled people that they are 'out of place'. Furthermore, social relations currently work to spatially isolate and marginalise disabled people and their carers. Disability is spatially, as well as socially, constructed. It is contended that an understanding of society's reaction to, and the experiences of, disability should be framed within an approach that combines a spatialised political economy with social constructivism. Unlike neo-Marxist approaches this approach is centred on notions of power rather than capital. Using this approac...

Boundary Objects and the Social Construction of GIS Technology

Abstract: The social construction of geographical information system (GIS) technology requires two-way relationships between technology and people. GIS technology, like any other technology, is more than a tool; it connects different social groups in the construction of new localized social arrangements. We examine several instances of how GIS technology involves social negotiation by using a construct of boundary objects developed in a social constructivist framework. Much like geographic boundaries, boundary objects separate different social groups at the same time that they delineate important points of reference between them. Boundary objects stabilize relationships through the negotiation of flexible and dynamic coherences. The negotiation of differences between different groups is fundamental to the construction of GIS technology. Social-constructivist theories and the concept of boundary objects open new ways to understand the relationships between technology and people. We illustrate the application of boun...

Strategies for Counterresistance: Toward Sociotransformative Constructivism and Learning To Teach Science for Diversity and for Understanding.

Abstract: This article reports on two types of resistance by preservice science teachers: resistance to ideological change and resistance to pedagogical change. The former has to do with the feelings of disbelief, defensiveness, guilt, and shame that Anglo-European preservice teachers experience when they are asked to confront racism and other oppressive social norms in class discussions. Resistance to pedagogical change has to do with the roles that preservice teachers feel they need to play to manage conflicting messages about what they are expected to do from their cooperating teachers (cover the curriculum and maintain class control) and from their university supervisors (implement student-centered, constructivist class activities), and about what they desire to do as emerging teachers. Although these two forms of resistance are closely linked, in the literature they are extensively reported separately. This study suggests a sociotransformative constructivist orientation as a vehicle to link multicultural education and social constructivist theoretical frameworks. By using this orientation, specific pedagogical strategies for counterresistance were found effective in helping preservice teachers learn to teach for diversity and understanding. These strategies for counterresistance were primarily drawn from the qualitative analysis of a yearlong project with secondary science preservice teachers. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 589–622, 1998.

Climate Change and Society: Speculation, Construction and Scientific Investigation

Abstract: This article traces the long intellectual history that seeks to understand the recursive relationship between variations in the Earth's climate and variations in social structure and cultural practices. Contemporary sociological investigations of this theme have evolved along two paths: the neoidealistic orientation of social constructivism and a neo-realist orientation comprising two complementary approaches. Both orientations are explicated and evaluated, leading to a conclusion that provides programmatic directions.

Constructivism: Sound theory for explicating the practice of science and science teaching

Abstract: Critics praise applications of constructivism in science pedagogy, but they argue that constructivism is severely impaired and hopelessly flawed as a theory. Flawed theory should not be employed to explain innovative practice. My purposes are twofold. First and foremost, I present a case to support my own and others' assertions that constructivism is a sound theory with which to explain the practice of science and science pedagogy. In accomplishing my primary purpose, I also fulfill my secondary purpose, to respond to constructivism's critics. My argument is presented in three parts. In Part 1, I delineate the epistemological ground with a brief synopsis of the purpose, nature, and orientation of radical and social constructivism. I then offer a synthesis of their foundations. In Part 2, I offer a constructivist account of five long-standing epistemological issues, including truth, solipsism, experience, instrumentalism, and relativity. Truth is the center piece of the argument, and I show how constructivism avoids the root paradox by embracing truth as coherence. Next, constructivism is shown to be a rejection of solipsism. Then, an account of experience based in neurophysiological theory, emergent properties, and the brain as a parallel data-processing organ is provided to support constructivism's inside-out view of experience, in which meaning making occurs within individual minds and in communities of individuals. In the final segment of Part 2, I present a constructivist account of relativity which focuses on physicists' acceptance of relativity, its translation to constructivist epistemology, and constructivists' request for silence regarding ontology. Response to critics' objections are also presented at appropriate points throughout Part 2. In the third part, I present constructivism as an epistemological foundation for a cybernetic perspective of knowing. I then summarize the value of constructivism in explaining and interpreting the practice of science and science pedagogy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 501–520, 1998.

The culture of the mathematics classroom

Abstract: List of contributors Acknowledgements Introduction Falk Seeger, Jorg Voigt and Ute Waschescio Part I. Changing Classroom Culture: 1. Joint activity in the mathematics classrooms: a Vygotskian perspective Maria G. Bartolini Bussi 2. Evolution of classroom culture in mathematics, teacher education and reflection on action Nadine Bednarz 3. Reorganizing the motivational sphere of classroom culture: an activity-theoretical analysis of planning in a teacher team Yrjo Engestrom 4. The practice of teaching mathematics: experimental conditions of change Lisa Hefendehl-Hebeker Part II. Classroom Processes: 5. Reasoning processes and the quality of reasoning Albrecht Abele 6. A constructivist perspective on the culture of the mathematics classroom Paul Cobb and Erna Yackel 7. The culture of the mathematics classroom: negotiating the mathematical meaning of empirical phenomena Jorg Voigt 8. The missing link: social and cultural aspects in social constructivist theories Ute Waschescio Part III. Epistemology and Classroom Culture: 9. The culture of the mathematics classroom and the relations between personal and public knowledge: an epistemological perspective Paul Ernest 10. Problems of transfer of classroom mathematical knowledge to practical situations Jeff Evans 11. Cultural perspectives on mathematics and mathematics teaching and learning Stephen Lerman 12. Representations in the mathematics classroom: reflections and constructions Falk Seeger 13. Mathematical understanding in classroom interaction: the interrelation of social and epistemological constraints Heinz Steinbring Part IV. Outlook: 14. About the notion of culture in mathematics education Heinrich Bauersfeld Author index Subject index.

From Constructivism To Social Constructivism: A Vygotskian Perspective on Teaching and Learning Science.

Abstract: The basic principles of constructivist theory are outlined, and the limitations of the theory in terms of providing a worthwhile science education, discussed. A shift in emphasis from personal construction by individual learners towards social construction within the community of scientists and to a view of learning as a process of enculturation - as propounded by Vygotsky - is advocated. Such an approach would require purposeful teacher intervention.

From deficit thinking to social constructivism: A review of theory, research, and practice in special education

Abstract: Currently special education is in poor health. Plagued by criticisms about program efficacy, many educators, policymakers, and researchers now argue for changes in how students with disabilities are educated. In the midst of heated debates about redefining current practices, social constructivism has emerged as a theory that has the potential to make instruction in special education more holistic and relevant and emphasize more the strengths and knowledge that children bring to the classroom setting. While we do not elevate social constructivism as a cure for the complex problems now facing the field, we do believe that instruction emanating from social constructivist theory can inform instructional practices and can contribute to improved learning outcomes for children with disabilities. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to outline the emerging contributions that social constructivism has made to the field of special education, specifically in the area of literacy instruction for students with mild disabilities. We focus on literacy because of its central importance in the education of students, particularly those with disabilities. In addition, we limit the discussion to the mild disabilities group because it is the largest segment of the special education population in the United States. In the first section, we contextualize the significance of social constructivism by offering a historical sketch of the evolution of special education social organization. We emphasize that this summary is not an exhaustive account of historical periods or events, nor is it an indictment against instructional approaches derived from a deficit perspective. Rather, our goal is to illustrate how special education has relied too heavily on deficit thinking and must now enhance existing practices with alternative approaches that consider the sociocultural contexts in which children with disabilities learn. We next summarize some basic theoretical principles

Creating learning centered classrooms : what does learning theory have to say?

Abstract: Reviews research and theories on college student learning. Examines attribution theory, self-efficacy in students, social constructivism, and Freire's theory of conscientization. Also explores theories that support or refute popular assumptions about college classrooms.

Constructivism in science education : a philosophical examination

Abstract: Preface. Introductory Comments on Philosophy and Constructivism in Science Education M.R. Matthews. Cognition, Construction of Knowledge, and Teaching E. von Glasersfeld. Constructivism in Science and in Science Education: A Philosophical Critique R. Nola. Constructivism Deconstructed W.A. Suchting. Constructivism Reconstructed: A Reply to Suchting E. von Glasersfeld. Constructivisms and Relativsms: A Shopper's Guide M.H. Bickhard. Constructivisms and Objectivity: Disentangling Metaphysics from Pedagogy R.E. Grandy. Social Constructivism, the Gospel of Science, and the Teaching of Physics H. Kragh. Coming to Terms with Radical Social Constructivisms D.C. Phillips. Sociology of Scientific Knowledge and Science Education P. Slezak. Reflections on Peter Slezak and the 'Sociology of Scientific Knowledge' W. Suchting. Educational Constructivism and Philosophy: Some References M.R. Matthews. Notes on the Contributors.

A New Perspective on the Race Debate

Abstract: In the ongoing debate concerning the nature of human racial categories, there is a trend to reject the biological reality of race in favour of the view that races are social constructs. At work here is the assumption that biological reality and social constructivism are incompatible. I oppose the trend and the assumption by arguing that cladism, in conjunction with current work in human evolution, provides a new way to define race biologically. Defining race in this way makes sense when compared to the developments in other areas of systematic biology, where shared history has largely replaced morphological similarity as the foundation of a natural biological classification. Surprisingly, it turns out that cladistic races and social constructivism are compatible. I discuss a number of lessons about the way human biological races have been conceptualized.

The politics of constructionism

Abstract: Introduction - Irving Velody and Robin Williams PART ONE: FORMULATING CONSTRUCTIONISM Towards a Constructivist Genealogy of Social Constructivism - Michael Lynch Constructionist Dialogues and the Vicissitudes of the Politics - Kenneth Gergen On Being More Literal about Construction - Ian Hacking PART TWO: THE LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTIONISM What Does the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge Explain? - Paul A Roth The Reflexive Politics of Constructivism Revisited - Steve Fuller Unconstructive - Wil Coleman and Wes Sharrock The Limits of Social Constructionism - Stephen Turner PART THREE: APPLYING CONSTRUCTIONISM Relations, Communication and Power - Ian Burkitt Social Constructionism and the New Technologies of Reproduction - Erica Haimes and Robin Williams The Social Construction of Outliers - Sandy Lovie and Pat Lovie Procedure, Reflexivity and Social Constructionism - Philip Manning Social Constructionism as a Political Strategy - Tom Shakespeare PART FOUR: THE POLITICS OF CONSTRUCTIONISM Questions of Method - Mitchell Dean Social Constructionist Political Theory - Craig Mackenzie Constructionism, Authority and the Ethical Life - Thomas Osborne

Transcript Analysis of Computer-Mediated Conferences as a Tool for Testing Constructivist and Social-Constructivist Learning Theories.

Abstract: This paper reviews the authors' attempts to find appropriate interaction analysis/content analysis techniques to assist in examining the negotiation of meaning and co-construction of knowledge in collaborative learning environments facilitated by computer conferencing. This study was undertaken in order to find appropriate interaction analysis techniques to address the following two evaluation research questions: whether analysis of the computer conference transcript yields evidence that knowledge was constructed within the group by means of the exchanges among participants; and whether individual participants change their understanding or create new personal constructions of knowledge as a result of interactions within the group. The new interaction analysis model was developed using a grounded theory building approach which involved analysis of the interactions that occurred in a global online debate conducted through computer conferencing. The following five phases and related operations of the interaction analysis model are outlined: (1) sharing/comparing of information; (2) discovery and exploration of dissonance or inconsistency among ideas, concepts, or statements; (3) negotiation of meaning/co-construction of knowledge; (4) testing and modification of proposed synthesis or co-construction; (5) and agreement statement(s)/applications of newly-constructed meaning. (AEF) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Transcript Analysis of Computer-Mediated Conferences as a Tool for Testing Constructivist and Social-Constructivist Learning Theories U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. '1 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. 0.0 Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Charlotte N. Gunawardena, Ph.D. Associate Professor The University of New Mexico Constance A. Lowe, M.A. Teaching Associate The University of New Mexico Terry Anderson, Ph.D. Professor and Director, Academic Technologies for Learning, Faculty of Extension University of Alberta "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

Models of cognitive development

Abstract: 1.Nativist Models. Introduction. Contemporary Nativism. Natural Mechanics and Natural Computations. Development of Concepts and Categories. The Modular Mind. Smart Infants. "Hard and "Soft" Nativism. Practical Applications. Criticisms of Nativist Models. Evolution and Nativism. 2. Associationist Models. Introduction. Behaviourism. Cognitive Associationism. Semantic Networks. Developmental Models. Concepts. Covariations, Causes, Rules and Schemas. Applications of Associationist Models. Criticisms of Associationism. 3. Constructivist Models. Introduction. Gestalt Psychology. Modern Schema Theory. Mental Models. Mandler's Theory. Piaget's Theory. Cognition in Context. Other Criticisms of Piaget's Theory. Piaget's New Theory. Practical Applications of Constructivism. Criticisms of Constructivism in General. 4. Sociocognitive Models. Introduction. Social Nativism. Social Associationism. Social Constructivism. Piaget and Vygotsky Compared. 5. Models Mixed and Models New. Introduction. Nativism with Constructivism. Nativism with Associationism. Nativism with Constructivism and Associationism. Connectionism. Ecological Realism Theory. Dynamic Systems Theory. Cognitive Hyperstructures. A Confluence of Models? References. Author Index. Subject Index.

The Social Construction of a Digital Library: A Case Study Examining Implications for Evaluation

Abstract: The social construction of technology (SCOT) frame-work encourages a focus on the multiple perspectives inherent in the development and evaluation of digital libraries. SCOT concepts such as relevant social groups, interpretative flexibility, and closure are used to examine an evaluation case study of the Making of America digital library. Evaluation is a critical component of effective digital library (DL) design and implementation, but involves many theoretical and practical challenges. Not only are DLs intricate technological systems comprising scanning, storage, transmission, display, and printing components, they are also embedded in complex social systems, comprising librarians, engineers, funders, scholars, and general users. Evaluation of these complex socio-technical systems is complicated by the need to convince early users to look beyond the immature technology and limited holdings; user expectations are especially high because of the rhetoric surrounding digital technologies. Finally, there is little agreement about what exactly constitutes a "digital library," which can encompass an automated reserve system, online archives, or include the current Internet, online journals, existing holdings, or a combination of these,[1] except that the technology is poised to change the roles of libraries, librarians, and scholarly research.[2] This case study uses the social construction of technology (SCOT) approach to frame both the development and evaluation of a specific DL prototype, the Making of America (MOA) project (the name refers to its holdings of nineteenth-century U.S. journals). An important part of a promising but nascent technology such as a DL system is the evaluation process, which is itself socially-constructed. After summarizing the social constructivist approach and its application to other large-scale technological systems, we describe the MOA project and our evaluation methods and results. Finally, we discuss modifications that make SCOT more appropriate for an analysis of DL development. Some of the examples in this case study reflect the fact that initial versions of MOA did not meet the needs of all social groups, and that people are often especially critical in their early encounters with a new technology. These examples are, we believe, realistic given the very high expectations for current DL systems. While we are optimistic about MOA and the DL concept, our intention in this case study is to demonstrate the use of the SCOT model in highlighting the differing perceptions of a technology's performance in order to anticipate future design and use challenges. As with any useful analytical approach, SCOT's ultimate benefit lies in its reframing of the problem under study as much as in providing specific lessons for improvement. Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) The role of social interactions in the development of technology and the inherent ambiguities of engineering design are increasingly the subject of study.[3] Fundamentally, as Edwards notes, "technological change is... a social process: Technologies can and do have `social impacts,' but they are simultaneously social products that embody power relationships and social goals and structures" (original emphasis).[4] The SCOT approach, developed in the mid-1980s, accounts for multiple "branches" of a technology coexisting to meet the needs of multiple social groups.[5] Using this approach, the researcher examines the varied conceptions held by these "relevant social groups" involved in a technology's development, and then follows the social construction of each group's technology to examine how it reaches closure, that is, how it is conceptually "frozen" in the view of that group and then across multiple groups. More recent work has focused on the interplay among social groups, including the political nature of technology development,[6] and the mutual construction of technology and society. …

Teachers' Theories of Play: Constructivist or Social Constructivist?.

Abstract: The concept of play and its relationship to learning is problematic in theory and practice. This paper examines this relationship from two standpoints. First, the contrasts between two dominant formal theoretical orientations deriving from the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, and the extent to which they have influenced pedagogy is explored. Second, data from an empirical study on teachers' theories of play provides insights into how play is conceptualized and enacted in classrooms, and how teachers and contexts mediate the theory‐practice relationship. Multi‐method approaches were used to elicit teachers' theories and juxtapose these to their practice. At the outset, their theories revealed a predominantly Piagetian, developmental orientation. An unintended outcome of the study was the changes in teachers' theories, or practice, or both, towards a more social‐constructivist orientation. Implications are drawn for understanding teachers' perspectives and for their professional development.

Science and a Social Constructivist View of Science Education

Abstract: Educators have long viewed science as either a culture in its own right or as transcending culture. More recently many educators have come to see science as one of several aspects of culture. In this view it is appropriate to speak of Western science since the West is the historic home of modern science, modern in the sense of a hypothetical-deductive, experimental approach to science. If “science” is taken to mean the casual study of nature by simple observation, then of course all cultures in all times have had their own science. There is, however, adequate reason to distinguish this view of science from modern science. It follows that science education is an aspect of culture and thus it is appropriate to speak of Western science education. Since the late 1970s the education literature has shown “a growing awareness that, for science education to be effective, it must take much more explicit account of the cultural context of the society which provides its setting, and whose needs it exists to serve” (Wilson, 1981, p. 29). This suggests that a simple transfer of Western educational practices to other cultures including sub-cultures within the West will not do. Indeed, statistics indicate that “far more children study science in developing countries than earlier but the evidence suggests that the great majority do not master more than a small proportion, of the goals set for them” (Lewin, 1990, p. 1; also see Lewin, 1993). Moreover, the increasing pluralism within Western societies — not to mention increasing disinterest in science among students in Western societies — suggest that even within the West it is important for science educators to understand the fundamental, culturally based beliefe about the world that students and teachers bring to class, and how these beliefe are supported by culture; because, science education is successful only to the extent that science can find a niche in the cognitive and cultural milieu of students.

Social Constructivism, the Gospel of Science, and the Teaching of Physics

Abstract: During the last two decades, science studies have increasingly been dominated by ideas related to social constructivism and the sociology of scientific knowledge. This paper offers a critical examination of some of the basic claims of this branch of science studies and argues that social constructivists cannot explain some of the most characteristic features of the physical sciences. The implications of social constructivism for science education are considered. I conclude that if education in physics consistently followed the philosophy of sociology of scientific knowledge in its more extreme versions it would mean the end of physics. However, the rejection of social constructivism does not imply a rejection of social or cultural studies of science or their value in science education.

Chapter 2: Can We Trace the “Efficacy of Social Constructivism”?

Abstract: We now have a large corpus of work in which a social constructivist view has been used to design instruction (in math, science, literacy, social studies, etc.). What have we learned about the efficacy of the social constructivist approach to learning environments? Has \"social constructivism\" affected the flow of research and practice in education? What, if anything, has been its \"effect\" on the measurable outcomes of learning, on teaching, on curriculum, and on research about these things?