Constructivist Learning

Ruey (2010) presents social constructivism as the most suitable learning theory linked to the digital age and the characteristics of adult learners.

By Ashley Breton Posted on: August 2021 Updated on: July 2022

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Image taken from Wix.com

With the widespread adoption of the Internet, mediums for teaching and learning have become increasingly interactive, collaborative, and boundless (Ruey, 2010). This recent shift in education has had a remarkable effect on instructional design and adult learning.

Guided by the 2010 case study conducted by researcher Shieh Ruey (see Appendix A), this post explores the core elements of constructivism related to social learning, how the theory underpins the design of learning in online adult education, and concludes with a few key perspectives about the concept of constructivist learning.

The author presents social constructivism as the most suitable learning theory linked to the digital age and the characteristics of adult learners. The concept, developed from a synthesis of Piagetian and Vygotskian perspectives, is based on the premise that learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge, but a process of construction in which the learners themselves have to be active participants.

From a social constructivist approach, for adult learning to be successful, the learners should become independent thinkers and create meaning from their existing experiences as a growing point for new knowledge. Numerous later theorists and researchers have expanded on this theory of social learning (i.e., Dewey, Lave & Wenger, Scott, and Palincsar), adding that learning is a social activity. Ruey (2010) claims that for adults to actively engage in knowledge building and create meaning from lived experience, the learner needs to be in continuous and effortful social interaction with others in a carefully planned learning environment designed specifically for its learners. Therefore, online learning environments require specific design and delivery methods that consider constructivism by focusing on delivering content relevant to adult learners and their prior experiences.

Social constructivist learning theory underpins various learner-centered teaching methods and techniques that contrast with traditional education, wherein teachers passively transmit knowledge to students. According to Ruey (2010), teachers need to shift and reform their perspectives to apply social constructivism elements in online adult education. They must move from being people who teach to being facilitators of learning. He contends that a facilitator's primary responsibility is to take on a mentoring role and create an interactive and collaborative setting where learners are at the center of the knowledge sharing and construction process.

Ruey (2010) proposes a facilitation model (see Appendix B) that lays out explicit roles and objectives for the facilitator, teaching assistant (TA), and learners. This model aims to reduce teacher workload and enhance active learner participation. By becoming active participants, students gain a sense of ownership of their learning, while reinforcing the feeling of being a part of a supportive learning community. These are essential components of online adult learning success. However, low student participation in asynchronous online discussions remains an enduring problem. Ruey (2010) suggests a peer-review mechanism in course design, where students are assigned as leaders within the communication exchange and are responsible for posting critical questions. His results reveal that the active participation of peer moderators positively impacted the participation levels of others and sparked a renewed and genuine passion for learning. To this end, peer assessment as a formative practice appears useful when designing a course for adult online education to support student autonomy, community, sense of belonging, and engagement in learning activities, all of which enhance academic success.

Another consideration to make when designing a constructivist-based online course for adults is its lack of structure. A constructivist instructional approach removes assessment in the traditional way. Instead, it places more value on students evaluating their own progress, which may lead to some falling behind, as, without standardized assessments, educators may not know which students are struggling. Ruey (2010) asserts that facilitators may require a specific method to help adult learners assess their needs as they conduct online learning activities. Hence, a tool for organizing individual adult learning is presented.

The work of Knowles (1986, as cited in Ruey, 2010) on the use of learning contracts for adult learners helps organize and understand what a student has already learned, while recognizing needs or knowledge gaps. When students set up their own learning goals through the learning contract process, they become increasingly self-directed. Therefore, by meeting students' needs, while providing adequate opportunities to assess their learning through self-examination and reflection using a learning contract, students develop a sense of responsibility for their education. This offers adult learners the opportunity to teach themselves the essential skill of lifelong learning: learning how to learn.

Finally, for adult learners to benefit from a constructivist-based online course, they need feedback on their performance to enhance their learning. Ruey's (2010) study indicated that learners suffered from a lack of motivation that may have been stimulated by an absence of critical feedback from the course facilitator in the online environment. When facilitators implement a constructivist approach to online course design, this issue can be addressed through design elements (see Appendix C) that create opportunities for timely and meaningful feedback from both the instructor and peers. Ruey (2010) effectively summarizes that even though adult learners seem to prefer self-directed learning, they place a high value on social connection and the perspectives of others. Therefore, a constructivist-based online course with interactive, collaborative, and self-directed learning activities can enhance student achievement when embedded with assessments to provide continuous, but not intrusive, feedback on learner performance.

Ruey (2010) shares a few key perspectives about the constructivist approach to learning, believing that it can make learning more meaningful, authentic, and of a higher quality. As the findings from the case study suggest, when learners engage in instructional activities (either interactive and collaborative or self-directed), they produce an artifact on which they individually and collaboratively impose meaning through the social learning process. As individuals, despite having the same learning experience, each learner will base their learning on personal understanding and meaning construction, which is an active and continuous process.

As a group, the social processes involved in knowledge construction may involve some conceptual changes. Ruey (2010) asserts that by viewing others' ideas and thoughts in an online discussion, the learner's perspective or vision expands and becomes an essential basis for thinking and constructing meaning in the future. Given this, the social, collaborative, constructivist learning style appears to impact learners' perceptions of their environment, which provides the learner with various benefits (see Appendix D) and can help them develop into responsible, self-directed, and successful learners. Furthermore, he states that the learning process involves an attitude of 'shared inquiry' in which the facilitator is a partner in the collaborative group.

Ruey (2010) believes that a meaningful and authentic constructivist-based online learning environment can be achieved when the facilitator, TA, and learners are all included in the learning process and recognize that all participants are equally important in knowledge construction. Learning is a social process that occurs when individuals are involved in collective knowledge construction within thoughtfully designed learning environments tailored to the students.

Ruey's (2010) discussion of social constructivist learning theory and examples of their use helps facilitators in their course design by providing instructional strategies and evaluation approaches to improve the adult online learning experience.

References

Ruey, S. (2010). A case study of constructivist instructional strategies for adult online learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(5), 703-720. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00965.x

Appendix

Appendix A

Ruey (2010) conducted a case study in constructivist strategies for adult online learning. His study examines how a constructivist-based instructional design helped two classes of adult learners learn more effectively in an online learning environment. Employing a qualitative research approach and a narrative reporting style, he explores the journey of a course facilitator towards the development of a constructivist approach to teaching, and examines the ways he incorporated theory-based strategies into his practice. Data was collected from course documents, interviews, in-class and online observations, and an end-of-semester survey.

The study employed a content analysis approach to analyze qualitative data and a constructivist lens for interpreting results. The findings show no significant difference in learner profile (e.g., most were first-time online learners, worked full-time, and shared similar demographic details). However, there were differences in age, personality, study habits, and study hours per week. In this study, most learners engaged in two types of learning: 1) Interactive and collaborative, which allowed members to exchange thoughts and ideas, and 2) Self-directed, which assisted learners in managing their own learning needs.

Results reveal the opportunity to learn from others appears to benefit learners, while a loosely defined assessment policy and a lack of critical feedback appear to have a negative impact. In addition to reporting the findings, a facilitation model for improving the constructivist-based online course geared towards adult learners is also provided at the end.

Overall, the constructivist style of instructional design seems promising to facilitate adult learning. However, Ruey (2010) advocates for appropriate assessment plans and adequate facilitation to be reinforced to maintain education quality.

Appendix B

Figure 1.

A model for facilitating constructivist-based adult online learning.

Note. This model was taken from Ruey, S. (2010). A case study of constructivist instructional strategies for adult online learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(5), 703-720. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00965.x, p. 716. The model identifies instructional strategies that accommodate various adult learning needs, while clearly indicating the roles and objectives of the course facilitator, TA, and learners that share a mutual learning relationship (indicated by the bi-directional arrows between them).

Appendix C

Six design elements or principles to follow when designing social constructivist pedagogy for adult learners include (Ruey, 2010, p. 708-709):

1. Interactive learning—interacting with the instructor and peers, rather than engaging in isolated learning

2. Collaborative learning—engaging in collaborative knowledge construction, social negotiation, and reflection

3. Facilitating learning—providing a safe, positive learning environment for sharing ideas and thoughts

4. Authentic learning—connecting learning content to real-life experience

5. Student-centered learning—emphasizing self-directed, experiential learning

6. High-quality learning—stressing critical thinking skills and learners' reflection on their own lives

Appendix D

Benefits for online adult learners in a constructivist-based course (Ruey, 2010, p. 715):

· Acquiring new concepts from course materials

· Obtaining different perspectives from reading peer posts

· Increasing confidence in dealing with routine work tasks

· Applying new concepts to real-life practices

· Becoming more responsible, self-directed learners