Socio-constructivist Learning Theory Research Articles

THE EFFECTS OF OVERCROWDED CLASSROOMS ON TEACHING AND LEARNING IN ONE HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CHRIS HANI DISTRICT

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of overcrowded classrooms on teaching and learning. The research reflected in this study aimed to highlight the challenges teachers and learners encounter in overcrowded classrooms. A qualitative research approach was chosen as the appropriate methodology for this study. The data generation process was obtained through unstructured interviews with teachers and learners. The study’s sample comprised of three teachers and five learners purposefully chosen as participants who are knowledgeable and have an experience of overcrowded classrooms. The theoretical frameworks used was constructivist learning theory and socio-constructivist learning theory. The overall findings of the study point out that teachers and learners experience numerous challenges during teaching and learning as a result of a large number of learners in the classrooms. These challenges include inappropriate classroom management, inadequate classroom space, lack of motivation to participate and insufficient time allocated for assessment. For effective teaching and learning to occur in overcrowded classrooms it is recommended that teachers must be trained for best practices to improve in such circumstances.

I’ll share with her, but not with you: A mixed methods approach to investigating children’s naïve theories about resource allocation decisions

Unlike in science and math content areas, little is known about how kids think about economics. Socio-constructivist learning theory contends this is problematic for kids’ learning. Specifically, new learning should build up on previous understandings and knowledge. If educators are unaware of kids’ previous understandings and knowledge, they cannot build on this knowledge. This study, the second phase of a multi-phase project, begins to fill that gap by employing a mixed methods approach to investigate how kids think about allocating resources. Based on my findings in the first phase, an ethnographic observation of second- and fourth-grade kids, I designed a multi-recipient dictator game where recipients were selected based on their role in the dictator’s social network. First, I used social network analysis to determine best friends, acquaintances, popular kids, and isolated kids in the dictator’s social network at school. Second, I used those recipients in one round of a multi-recipient dictator game and anonymous recipients in a second round. I found the relationship of the recipient with the dictator was significantly associated with the amount of resource they received, and that when recipients were anonymous, dictators were more likely to distribute resources equally. These findings contribute to our understanding of kids’ naïve theories about economics with implications for elementary economics benchmarks and curriculum.

“We can’t believe what we see”: Overcrowded classrooms through the eyes of student teachers

The effects of overcrowded classrooms are far-reaching for teachers and learners. Many parents base their decision on whether to send their child to a particular school on the prospective number of learners in the child’s classroom (Mustafa, Mahmoud, Assaf, Al-Hamadi & Abdulhamid, 2014:178). All teacher training institutions ought to ascertain whether they offer appropriate teacher training programmes that will enable student teachers to deal with the numerous demands associated with the teaching profession, among others, teaching in overcrowded classrooms. The aim of the research reflected in this article was to explore student teachers’ challenges when teaching in overcrowded classrooms. An exploratory research design and qualitative research approach was chosen as the appropriate methodology for this project. Data was collected by means of a non-compulsory written assignment set out in student teachers’ teaching practice workbooks. The theoretical frameworks used constructivist learning theory and socio-constructivist learning theory. The research revealed that numerous problems were experienced by student teachers, who were teaching in overcrowded classrooms. Guiding principles regarding support from lecturers, significant observation and the responsible engagement of mentor teachers are suggested. Keywords: Internships; Large classes; Mentor teachers; Overcrowded classrooms; Practicum; Pre-service teaching; Student teachers

The journey to becoming professionals: Student teachers’ experiences of teaching practice in a rural South African context

This article reports on the experiences of 14 Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) students who took part in a four-week teaching practice in a rural South African school. Drawing on a socio-constructivist learning theory, data were collected from the student teachers’ reflective journals and audio taped collaborative reflection sessions. Findings indicate that while student teachers had positive experiences related to collaborative reflection sessions and classroom practice, these tended to be outweighed by the negative experiences with school-based mentors and the school context. We argue that notwithstanding their positive experiences during teaching practice, the challenges which student teachers experience may considerably shape their ability to derive maximum benefit from the practicum and indeed, from their pre-service training.

Creating consultee change: A theory-based approach to learning and behavioral change processes in school-based consultation.

To improve schools, educators must develop the capacity to implement instructional and behavioral interventions that differ from those typically employed. Yet, the central problem of building educator capacity is not determining what to implement. The central issue for improving schools is rather to find ways to help educators identify, implement, adapt, and sustain effective practices. School-based consultation could provide the means to elicit and support new behaviors, competencies, and dispositions among educators. However, little attention has been directed at fundamental consultee learning and behavioral change processes that lead to different teacher behaviors and improved student outcomes. Exceptional professional learning (EPL) is a comprehensive consultation model that attends specifically to the processes and mechanisms of consultee cognitive, behavioral, and motivational change. The model is grounded in positive psychology and self-determination theory, constructivist and socioconstructivist learning theory, situated cognition, and distributed practice. It provides a coordinated framework to elicit and sustain changed cognition and behavior among consultees. The explicit theoretical grounding provides mechanisms of conceptual change; development of content, contextual, and pedagogical knowledge; and attention to motivation and sustainability. Consultation based explicitly on learning and motivational theory is advantageous because assumptions and approaches are testable, consultation strategy selection is guided by more than clinical judgment, and the model can adapt to incorporate

Commentary: Characterizing meta-level mathematical discourse and accounting theoretically for its development – The instructional and the spontaneous

This article reports on the experiences of 14 Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) students who took part in a four-week teaching practice in a rural South African school. Drawing on a socio-constructivist learning theory, data were collected from the student teachers’ reflective journals and audio taped collaborative reflection sessions. Findings indicate that while student teachers had positive experiences related to collaborative reflection sessions and classroom practice, these tended to be outweighed by the negative experiences with school-based mentors and the school context. We argue that notwithstanding their positive experiences during teaching practice, the challenges which student teachers experience may considerably shape their ability to derive maximum benefit from the practicum and indeed, from their pre-service training.

Using CALL to bridge the culture gap between discourse communities and ESP learners

Learners of English for computer science have to master one essential skill: reading technical documentation. This documentation, available online and consulted whenever programmers need information to code programs, is barely understood by French first-year university students in computing. Faced with these professional texts, they experience linguistic as well as cultural problems due to lack of fluency in English and lack of knowledge in computer science. Our pedagogic aim is to lighten the cognitive overload induced when they read texts written by members of the discourse community. To this end, we have developed a software application to help students understand these authentic texts. Based on computer-assisted reading research and socio-constructivist learning theories, different types of aids were designed to alleviate the learner's difficulties and make the input comprehensible. Our software provides scaffolding on the macrostructural level (textual and rhetorical organisation) and the microstructural level (lexis and syntax). It was tested with 112 students who had to answer comprehension questions and carry out professional tasks similar to the activities programmers undertake in real life. We present the results of our experiment and reflect on a genre-centred, action-oriented, task-based learning approach that requires the learner to participate actively in these computer-mediated learning systems.

Building an online wisdom community: A transformational design model

THIS PAPER discusses the development of a new instructional design model based on socioconstructivist learning theories and distance education principles for the design of online wisdom communities and the efficacy of the model drawing on evaluation results from its implementation in Fall 2002. The model, Final Outcome Centered Around Learner (FOCAL), aims to facilitate transformational learning by fostering three dimensions: the development of a Wisdom Community, Knowledge Innovation, Mentoring and Learner Support, in an online learning environment. The theoretical framework for the FOCAL model is grounded in socioconstructivist learning theories that focus on the link between cognitive and social processes in understanding learning.

Web-based Cases in Teaching and Learning – the Quality of Discussions and a Stage of Perspective Taking in Asynchronous Communication

The aim of this study is to examine the quality of asynchronous interaction in web-based conferencing among pre-service teachers. Because all successful communication presumes perspective-taking skills and reciprocal understanding among the participants, we study whether the students are able to reach in reciprocal interaction and thus create educationally relevant high-level web-based discussion. The research project has its foundation in socio-constructivist learning theories, one of the most important principles of which is the idea of apprenticeship in thinking. To create a learning project in web-based conferencing we developed pedagogical practices, which enhance higher-level networked communication and make use of theoretical and expert knowledge. The study combines the power of asynchronous conferencing with peer and mentor collaboration to electronically apprentice student learning. The subjects of the study are pre-service teachers in the United States (N ?=?40) and Finland (N ?=?30) who use an asynchronous web-based tool called Conferencing on the Web (COW) to collaborate in creating joint case-based descriptions in different areas of teaching and learning. The results point out different levels of web-based discussion. Three kinds were found: higher-level discussion, progressive discussion and lower-level discussion. More specific analysis of the quality of each discussion level focused on perspective taking in communication. The results support our hypothesis that higher-level perspective taking was related to higher-level discussion.

Ninter-Networked Interaction: Theory-based Cases in Teaching and Learning.

This article describes the pedagogical framework of an interdisciplinary and international project entitled NINTER (Networked Interaction: Theory-Based Cases in Teaching and Learning). The practical aim of the project is to produce a pedagogical model for learning and teaching in networked environments. The research project has its foundation on socio-constructivist learning theories, with one of the most important principles being the idea of apprenticeship in thinking. The article also takes a look at the first results obtained from different kinds of videotaped and written material that were collected during a WWW-based university course. Also questions raised from the data for future research are considered.