constructivist learning theory research paper

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Exploring the Constructivist Approach in Education: Theory, Practice, and Implications

The constructivist approach in education has gained significant attention for its emphasis on learner-centered instruction, active engagement, and knowledge construction. This research paper provides an in-depth exploration of the constructivist approach, including its theoretical foundations, practical applications in the classroom, and implications for teaching and learning. Drawing on key literature and empirical studies, the paper examines the central tenets of constructivism, such as the role of prior knowledge, social interaction, and cognitive conflict in learning. Additionally, it discusses various instructional strategies and assessment methods aligned with the constructivist paradigm. Furthermore, the paper addresses the challenges and controversies surrounding the implementation of constructivist principles in educational settings, offering insights into effective approaches for overcoming barriers and maximizing the benefits of constructivist pedagogy. Overall, this research paper serves as a comprehensive resource for educators, researchers, and policymakers interested in understanding and leveraging the constructivist approach to promote meaningful and transformative learning experiences.

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A constructivist classroom promotes student agency and a collaborative learning environment that provides meaningful learning experiences for all students. The fundamental aspect of a constructivist classroom involves a student-centred approach. Constructivist teachers often offer academic problems that challenge students to grapple first with the big ideas and to discern for themselves, with mediation from the other teachers, the parts that require more investigation (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). The discussion and advocacy directed towards a constructivist classroom have increased over the past several years, bringing more credible research to the table in favour of a student-centred learning environment. Whether it is realized or not, most educators have operated as constructivists in some way. Several approaches and theories are connected to constructivism, including those from Piaget, Dewey, and Bandura. Student motivation, inquiry-based learning, social constructivism, and a democratic environment all significantly contribute to the building of a constructivist classroom.

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Constructivism has been a very powerful model for explaining how knowledge is produced in the world as well as how students learn. Moreover, constructivist teaching practices are becoming more prevalent in teacher education programs, while demonstrating significant success in promoting student learning. In this paper, the author takes a serious look at constructivist teaching practices highlighting both the promises and potential problems of these practices. The author argues that constructivist teaching has often been misinterpreted and misused, resulting in learning practices that neither challenge students nor address their needs. He outlines some of the ways in which constructivism has been misconstrued and analyzes several ways in which constructivist teaching has been misused. The author also presents two examples that illustrate the effective use of constructivist teaching and explains what makes them successful.

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Constructivism is a broad term used by philosophers, curriculum designers, psychologists, educators, and others to emphasize the active role of the learner in making sense of information through individual and social activity. Constructivism focuses on different aspects such as construction of knowledge, processing of existing structures, connecting new ideas sometimes through their own thinking and sometimes in collaboration with others. Constructivism can also be conceived as a revolt against the traditional objectivism. Educationists and researchers have focused on various types of constructivism such as - - (1) Cognitive constructivism, (2) Social constructivism, (3) Radical constructivism, (4) Critical constructivism, (5) Personal constructivism and (6) Emancipatory constructivism. This paper details the pedagogical aspects of cognitive and social constructivism and the elements such as theory of knowledge, learning process, learner, teacher and classroom transaction.

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Although constructivism is a concept that many instructors have adopted in recent years, the implications linked to the phrase are numerous and sometimes imperfectly understood. Teachers must have a thorough understanding of constructivism in order to assess its potential and utilise it wisely and successfully. This paper discusses the various key concepts, the pervasive misconceptions and instructional challenges of this widely promoted and increasingly popular philosophical framework for teaching across the entire school curriculum.

Constructivism represents one of the big ideas in education. Its implications for how teachers teach and learn to teach are enormous. If our efforts in reforming education for all students are to succeed, then we must focus on students. To date, a focus on student-centered learning may well be the most important contribution of constructivism. This article, therefore, discusses constructivism learning theory as a paradigm for teaching and learning. Constructivism is a learning theory found in psychology which explains how people might acquire knowledge and learn. It therefore has direct application to education. The theory suggests that humans construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences. Conceptual understanding of the theory was discussed as well as basic characteristics of constructivists learning environment. Seven pedagogical goals of constructivist learning environments and six benefits of constructivism were outlined in this article. Significant differences between traditional classroom and constructivist classroom were spelt out in a tabular form. Furthermore,principles of constructivism and several implications of constructivism for teaching and learningwere reviewed. The study, therefore, concluded that teachers need to reflect on their practice in order to apply these ideas to their work and that constructivist teachers encourage students to constantly assess how the activity is helping them gain understanding.

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Constructivism is a learning theory that emphasizes active engagement of learners in the learning process, which often happens through problem-solving and discovery. Education is also a field which is actively seeking changes and progress welcoming innovations in methods and techniques. Social constructivism is a theory that can be utilized for educational reform. The theory of Constructivism defines a prominent role for learners in the process and for the aim of building knowledge and achieving comprehension. A constructivist educational setting is mostly learner-centered trying to change learners into active participants rather than passive listeners. Thus, it can clearly work as an influential theory inspiring changes in both attitudes and practices in learning and teaching areas. In this paper, social constructivism will be defined, different dimensions of the theory will be clarified and it will be discussed as how it can function as a starting base for educators to draw practical implications to use during their teaching process.

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Constructivism: reflections on twenty five years teaching the constructivist approach in medical education

Reg dennick.

1 Medical Education Unit, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK

Introduction

There is no single overarching theoretical framework that accounts for how we learn in all situations. There are many theories of how we learn from our experiences and there are many theories of what experiences are.  We know that we do learn and that we have knowledge but there is no consensus on the relationship between the mechanism by which our brains learn and the optimal way in which we should be taught. In other words there is no necessary connection between epistemology and pedagogy. We seem capable of learning from a wide variety of pedagogical processes and although there is empirical evidence that some ways of learning are more effective than others in specific situations no one pedagogical method dominates. However, reflecting on twenty five years as a medical educationalist I have come to the conclusion that there is one framework that makes more connections between different epistemological and pedagogical theories than others and that could have support from neuroscience. I wish to explore the connections between a variety of educational, communication and psychotherapeutic processes and try to show that constructivism holds the promise of providing some unity to the practice of education and learning.

The constructivist model

The constructivist theory of learning, whose philosophical origins are frequently ascribed to Kant and whose educational origins to Piaget, is based on the premise that the act of learning is based on a process which connects new knowledge to pre-existing knowledge. I do not intend to go into all the arguments surrounding this theory and to describe the variety of constructivist models that have been created. The reader is referred to the extensive literature on the subject. 1 - 6    For the purposes of my argument it is simply necessary to acknowledge some basic assumptions underpinning the theory from which important connections to other educational theories can be made as well as to therapeutic practices, neuroscience and even the nature of scientific knowledge.

Possibly the most well-known articulation of the underlying assumption of constructivism is the famous quotation of Ausubel: “The most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows”. 7 In many years of teaching teachers how to teach I have  found many people have an intuitive grasp of this fact and tailor their teaching to take account of the background knowledge of their students. Piaget expressed it differently by stressing that experience is constantly being ‘assimilated’ or filtered through pre-existing concepts. 8    New knowledge is therefore interpreted by existing knowledge and then connected to existing knowledge. The implications of this conception are manifold and spread beyond conventional education into interpersonal communication and psychotherapy. In addition this phenomenon begs the question of how the process is conducted and manifested in the brains of individuals.

The statement of Ausubel 7 automatically leads to a pedagogical intervention even if it is merely ascertaining the prior knowledge of a learner by asking questions. Piaget avoided suggesting detailed pedagogy but certain ways of teaching flow from his assumptions. He stressed that learning was fundamentally about interacting with the world in order to explore the ‘rules of the game’ and to discover the causal relationships between events.  This leads to an active pedagogy involving exploration, experience and experimentation. Dewey aptly summarized this idea by saying that learners should be actors rather than spectators . 9 Others have extended this concept to suggest that individals  interact with the world in order to extract meaning from it and to construct a coherent and consistent cognitive model. Another way of saying this is that our brains are programmed to support our survival. From an evolutionary perspective organisms have evolved brains which create and internalize an increasingly complex and accurate model of the world. Based on our experience of interacting with the world we have each created our own unique model of reality. Nevertheless we are social beings and we cannot ignore the power of social interactivity that has influenced this process, a concept emphasised by the Russian psychologist Vygotsky. 10 Other human beings influence the way in which we construct our models giving rise to the teacher and to the various social processes of pedagogy.

Model building in the individual,  based on interactivity with the world, is the result of a cognitive process which involves the experience of the world being assimilated and filtered through prior knowledge as previously described. If sense or meaning can be attached to the experience then the experience fits with existing cognitive structures (Piaget’s ‘schemas’).  However, if the experience does not make sense then a feeling of dissatisfaction or cognitive dissonance can ensue in which the individual will seek to reach some sort of mental equilibrium by exploration or questioning. At this point the individual may make use of the faculty of imagination to suggest or hypothesise why the experience is problematic. It is the existence of human imagination, the ability of each of us to interrogate our mental model, to speculate and to ask questions that is one of the  hallmarks of our intelligence and our capacity to survive. Albert Einstein famously stated that ‘imagination is more important than knowledge’ since he realized that ultimately all knowledge is derived from an initial process of imagination that is subsequently tested against the world.  As individuals we can simulate reality by asking ourselves ‘what if?’ questions.  We can perform acts in our imagination before doing them in reality and risking having our genes deleted from the gene pool. 11 Our imagined conjectures can be tested by seeking other experiences and by so doing we can resolve the dissonance and elaborate our learning and our mental model.

Constructivism and scientific reasoning

You may notice that what I have just described,  as the individual attempts to construct a more meaningful and coherent mental model,  is what is often called hypothetico-deductive reasoning. When confronted with experience hypotheses are created via inductive reasoning and human imagination. These hypotheses are then tested by exploration, further experience or deliberate manipulation of the world coupled to and  processed by deductive reasoning. Hypotheses are then either rejected or supported,  leading to the elaboration of knowledge.  Hopefully the reader should now see that what the constructivist model of learning describes in the individual is what is commonly known as the ‘scientific method’. 12 Driver and many other constructivists have frequently asserted that the individual learner behaves like a scientist in seeking to make sense of the world. 13 Indeed Glopnik has gone so far as to assert that even the baby in the cradle is a little scientist testing out hypotheses about reality. 14

In summary we assert that the constructivist model is built on the premise that the brain naturally attempts to extract meaning from the world by interpreting experience through existing knowledge and then building and elaborating new knowledge in a process identical to hypothetico-deductive reasoning or the scientific method. 

Clinical diagnostic reasoning

Diagnostic reasoning is one of the key cognitive skills that doctors need to acquire and medical schools need to teach. It has many characteristics in common with scientific reasoning and hence is connected to the constructivist model. When a patient presents with a problem the doctor will  begin a process of hypothesis formation aided by information derived from the patient’s history and examination findings. Pattern recognition and ‘gut feelings’ are important here but very much depend on the range and quality of the mental models of illness presentation that they have built up. This initial phase  can be seen as an inductive process in which sensory information is assimilated through the pre-existing knowledge of the clinician. The hypotheses, or differential diagnoses, next require testing to see which ones can be supported,  falsified and  eliminated by the acquisition of further evidence. This might involve more history taking and examination or the ordering of investigations such as blood tests or radiographs. The results obtained can be used to eliminate some hypotheses and can potentially lead to a final diagnosis of the problem.  This phase of the process is characterized by deductive reasoning and the whole diagnostic process as hypothetico- deductive reasoning,  which can hopefully be seen as identical to the scientific method as previously described.

Of course many things can go wrong in this process.  Lack of background knowledge and experience will inhibit the assimilative inductive phase and reduce hypothesis formation from the imagination. Bias can influence the hypothesis testing phase by only  looking for evidence to support a diagnosis rather than attempting to falsify one. Interpreting the results of investigations can also be  influenced by a lack of background knowledge and experience. There are a myriad factors that affect the outcome of the diagnostic process and there are many ways of teaching this skill. Nevertheless it is important from a medical education perspective that students are made aware of the constructivist nature of the hypothetico-deductive process as the underlying engine of diagnostic reasoning.

Now that the constructivist framework has been described and its relationship to scientific method  has been outlined it is useful to look at other theoretical models to see if there are any connections that can be discerned.

Students’ theories

It is a remarkable and well evidenced observation that students learning science have their own mental constructs or ‘theories’ and will articulate them when asked to explain the phenomena they are exposed to. 15 This can be explained by the constructivist model in that experiences will be filtered through limited prior knowledge followed by imaginative attempts to provide a plausible explanation. The student comes to school with years of personal experience of heat, light, gravity, forces, motion, solids, liquids, gases, energy, electricity, plants,  animals and people.  It is not surprising that strongly held theories about the nature of the physical, biological and social world have been elaborated by the student even before any scientific teaching is encountered.

Since the student is at the heart of learning good pedagogy suggests that it is essential that teachers make the effort to try to understand the student’s point of view. Teachers should create learning situations that encourage students to bring out their ideas. It is here that the ‘social constructivist’ approaches described by Vygotsky become important. The individual develops conceptual understanding via the social sharing of meanings and intellectual debate. Thus as far as possible scientific and medical learning should be a group activity with opportunities to discuss ideas, make hypotheses and devise ways of testing them.  The teacher should facilitate the developing conceptual understanding of students by providing examples of cognitive conflict as well as emphasising how well the ‘scientific’ concepts explain phenomena in comparison to the more contradictory  theories of the students.  Of course the aim of teaching is to replace the ‘erroneous’ beliefs of the student with the ‘correct’ evidence-based scientific ones. Problem based learning is an ideal way to create this teaching environment. 16

However, children become adults and although they may then be considered  mature thinkers , (‘logical operators’ to use Piaget’s terminology), nevertheless it is clear from many studies that they still have scientific misconceptions. 17 Medical students can be considered to have broken through the immature phase of science education and clearly they have successfully learned the correct scientific theories and concepts required to get into medical school.  Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean they are immune from still having personal theories and erroneous beliefs that might get in the way of acquiring the received evidence-based wisdom provided by their teachers.

Lay theories

Adults,  with little knowledge of science and medicine beyond an elementary education,  will have ‘lay beliefs’ concerning the anatomy and physiology of the body and of the causation of illness,  and medical students and practitioners will interact with patients holding such beliefs. 18 - 21

Lay beliefs are therefore a component of the mental models that individuals have made and hence are part of the constructivist framework. Health care professionals need to be aware of lay theories when engaging with patients as they can have an important impact on health outcomes.

However, when we move into the area of lay beliefs we are entering sociological territory and the metaphor of construction is used in a radically different way. In Berger and Luckman’s 22 work ‘The Social Construction of Reality’ it is implied that reality itself is very much a social construction and that there is no single, coherent, real world. This ‘Postmodern’ viewpoint asserts that individuals experience reality as multifaceted and contradictory and rejects scientific ‘objectivity’. This extreme view of constructivism can lead to a cognitive relativism that is a long way from the  scientific approach.

Illness occurs within a culture that fundamentally shapes how that illness is experienced. Anthropologists have provided a rich source of examples of the way in which lay beliefs about illness are part of the social fabric of all societies.  Many studies in contemporary society demonstrate the continuing existence of a wide range of health beliefs that are seen as causative factors in illness. 23   It is tempting to suggest that these constellations of causal factors constitute ‘theoretical frameworks’ but they do not exhibit a high degree of consistency, order, stability and rationality and respondents often maintain and use contradictory models without recognising a logical inconsistency between them.

It may appear paradoxical that one of the claims of constructivism is that the brain uses a process of ‘scientific’ enquiry to try to make sense of the world but that individuals can then come up with and sustain ‘non-scientific’ beliefs or theories. Although the process may follow a scientific logic the final outcomes can clearly be totally unscientific and result from a lack of background knowledge, personal bias and an uncritical interpretation of evidence. Thomas Kuhn famously proposed that even scientists can be resistant to evidence that could lead to theory change and it sometimes takes a revolution to enable ‘paradigm shifts’ to take place. 24   Individuals can be equally resistant to evidence that might change their belief systems and might need their own personal revolution.

Nevertheless the real and potential gulf between lay beliefs and medical knowledge is a major factor in the therapeutic effectiveness of the doctor-patient relationship.  Doctors need to understand the constructions of their patients and need to speak to them using language they can understand. 25 Eliciting the patient’s ideas is an essential step in this process although this can be another source of confusion since what a lay person understands by a particular medical term maybe entirely different from the doctor’s understanding. 26

In the medical field interpersonal communication or ‘communication skills’ is very important. The ability to listen to an individual, to ask them questions, to interpret what they are saying and to give them information and advice in a way that they can understand is a major feature of good medical practice which in one sense is educational. At the heart of it is an engagement with an individual  that is analogous to the learner centred approach and hence is described as patient centred. As in constructivist pedagogy it involves finding out the background knowledge of the patient and then communicating with them and educating them in a way that they can understand. If constructivist pedagogy is used to establish prior knowledge it is also used in helping the patient to construct their understanding of their condition and to help the doctor to establish potentially new behaviours in the patient which will be of medical benefit. In many ways this is fundamentally associated with a teaching process and the Cambridge-Calgary method is a well established formulation of this method. 27

Experiential learning

The experiential learning theory developed by David Kolb 28 cites Piaget as a precursor in addition to acknowledging the influence of the social factors on learning identified by Vygotsky. Therefore it comes with good constructivist credentials.  However, Kolb’s framework has been interpreted and misinterpreted by so many individuals over the years that it is sometimes difficult to see where constructivist concepts can be found within it. Because experiential or ‘non-formal’ learning frequently happens in a haphazard and unstructured way,  with individuals having raw experiences in working environments,  it is not always obvious that there is any pedagogy involved. But those ‘concrete experiences’ still have to be assimilated through pre-existing cognitive constructs.  It is here that the social constructivist  role of others becomes important,  either as mentors who deliberately foster ‘reflection’ or merely fellow learners who can discuss and refine understanding.  Kolb’s ‘abstract conceptualisations’ become the mental models discussed earlier and ‘active experimentation’ becomes the deductive reasoning process associated with questioning and active learning.

Humanistic theories

In the field of education humanistic theories of learning have contributed ideas and practices that complement constructivist and behaviourist models of learning.  In particular the humanistic theories of Rogers and Maslow emphasise the importance of acknowledging the individual and starting from their standpoint in either a therapeutic or educational process. 29 , 30 This leads to human-centred or learner-centred approaches to education where the needs of the learner become the heart of the educational process. In addition one of the principles of adult learning, sometimes termed ‘andragogy’, is that the life experiences  and background knowledge of adult learners becomes an important educational resource. 31 With adult learners, therefore, we build on and respect their prior knowledge,  which may have been acquired from their own personal needs. But as we have previously established starting from where the learner is and building on their knowledge is a fundamental tenet of the constructivist model. Thus we can establish a strong connection between constructivism and learner-centred approaches.

Personal construct theory and cognitive behavioural therapy

George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory 32 is built on the premise that ‘all men are scientists’ and have constructed specific mental constructs and beliefs based on their experiences that make them what they are.  It also posits that mistaken constructs can be created which can cause mental problems and inappropriate behaviour. Constructivist psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy are similarly based on the premise that individuals may have constructed inappropriate behaviours and beliefs. 33 Therapy involves challenging these ‘cognitive distortions’ to normalize behaviour.

Neuroscience

Social constructivists often stress that as social beings our knowledge is disseminated amongst other human beings and also stored within physical locations such as libraries and the internet.  But we cannot lose sight of the fact that learning and memory are ultimately processes that take place in individual human brains. Therefore what does the constructivist metaphor mean in terms of neural structure and processing? Is the construction of knowledge paralleled by the construction of neural structures and do the pedagogical processes suggested by the epistemology of constructivism enhance these constructions?

There is considerable evidence that our perceptions of reality and our own mental states are,  in fact,  constructions.  Images projected onto the retina are analysed and processed by a variety of mechanisms in the brain and what we ‘think’ we see is largely a creation of mental processing. The central image on the fovea,  scanned by unconsciously experienced saccadic eye movements, constitutes the centre of a perception whose peripheral elements are entirely ‘filled in’ by the brain. We do not therefore perceive reality as it actually is but we perceive a construct based on  a probabilistic model of reality created by the brain. Our brains are constantly predicting what is out there in the world and by a series of ‘top down’ processes they fill in the sensory data we are receiving to create what Clark has called a ‘controlled hallucination’. 34

Further illustrations of how the brain constructs our perceptions, thoughts and even feelings have been provided by the work of Ramachandran. 35 , 36   Oliver Sacks has also written eloquently about how individuals who have tragically suffered from damage to specific regions of the brain can reconstruct their cognitions,  often in strange and unusual ways. 37 The key conception that derives from these studies and observations  is that the brain actively ‘fills in’ gaps in perception, sensation and cognition with constructs that attempt to maintain some sort of mental cohesion, even if the results can sometimes be anomalous.

It has been argued that constructivism is underpinned by mainstream theories of cognitive neuroscience: it is how our brains work when we are learning. According to  Quartz and Sejnowski 38 the cerebral cortex has evolved to maximize its structure and function through constructive learning. In addition the importance of active learning methods,  as recommended by constructivist pedagogy,  is supported by studies of   neurogenesis in the adult brain.  Neurogenesis continually occurs in the dentate gyrus area of the hippocampus of the human brain, a region well known for its part in learning and memory. 39 Furthermore it is now established from mouse models that activity in an enriched living environment stimulates neurogenesis and results in increased synaptic connectivity. 40 The implication of these and other studies suggests that learning is a physically constructive process in the brain which is enhanced by active learning.

Conclusions

The key principle of constructivism in education is that learning is always a building process whereby  new knowledge can only be added on to and understood in terms of existing knowledge. The ramifications of this concept are significant. Constructivist epistemology suggests constructivist pedagogy such as always checking and activating prior learning. Constructivism implies that hypothetico-deductive reasoning is a process we all engage in when trying to understand the world. The scientific method and diagnostic reasoning  are essentially constructivist. Constructivism underpins many human interactions where dealing with and recognising the prior knowledge and personal constructs of an individual are important such as teaching in general, communication skills in medicine and some types of psychotherapy. Finally it is increasingly being suggested that the physical structure of the brain and its processes provides a neuroscientific rationale for constructivist cognition implying that certain pedagogical methods such as active learning should be encouraged. All medical and health science educators should be aware of the fundamental principles of constructivism and the extent of its influence on educational theory and clinical practice.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Constructivist Learning

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Effective learning ; Meaningful learning

The word constructivist is an adjective that comes from the noun constructivism which specifies the theory about the nature of reality and the theory of knowledge (epistemology) founded on the basis that humans generate knowledge and meaning from their experiences, mental structures, and beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events. Constructivism focuses on the importance of the individual knowledge, beliefs, and skills through the experience of learning. It states that the construction of understanding is a combination of prior knowledge and new information. Individuals can accept new ideas or fit them into their established views of the world. Constructivist learning is a theory about how people learn. It states that learning happens when learners construct meaning by interpreting information in the context of their own experiences. In other words, learners construct their own understandings of the world by...

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Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. G. (1999). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms . Alexandria: ASCD - Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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The Application of the Constructivism Learning Theory to Physician Assistant Students in Primary Care

Thampinathan, Sanjeef

Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Address for correspondence: Mr. Sanjeef Thampinathan, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]

Received July 14, 2020

Received in revised form January 24, 2021

Accepted July 19, 2022

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

When examining different clinical programs, educators must incorporate the most appropriate educational theory to the learners, especially in a clinical setting. The implementation of constructivism learning theory will help preceptors and learners understand and assess educational content appropriately. This literature review covers the key components on the application of constructivism learning theory to physician assistant students in primary care. The history, fundamental principles, and the clinician/educator role in constructivism learning theory are discussed.

Understanding different learning theories is crucial to providing an adequate method of conveying educational information. When examining different clinical programs, educators must incorporate the most appropriate educational theory to learners, especially in a clinical setting.

Currently, physician assistant (PA) students are trained in three civilian programs across Canada.[ 1 ] Initially, PA students have a didactic year of learning, followed by a clerkship year.[ 2 ] PA students are exposed to a lot of learning and education in the didactic year which can be overwhelming. Since these PA programs are very intensive in their training process, it is important to incorporate specific educational theories to help learners gain knowledge and skills necessary for practice.

When examining the educational learning theories, constructivism learning theory is a very suitable theory that can be applied to PA students engaging in their rotations. The implementation of this theory will help preceptors and learners better understand and assess educational content. In addition, this will help improve the overall experience for both students and preceptors.

We cover the key components on the application of constructivism learning theory to PA students in their primary care rotation. The history, fundamental principles, and the clinicians/educator's role in the theory are reviewed in detail.

History of Constructivism

Throughout history, there has always been a tradition in education where teachers taught information to students in a single logical manner. The constructivist view has always been opposed to this tradition. Today, more teachers are applying the constructivist framework to allow students to question and build on existing knowledge. Constructivism has two main historical foundations: one in philosophy and the other in experience/research.[ 3 ] Many individuals have developed this theory to apply it to practice. The three key figures for constructivism theory are as follows: Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey.[ 4 ]

Jean Piaget developed the foundation of constructivism learning theory. Constructivism theory is linked to Piaget's work on genetic epistemology theory.[ 4 ] Piaget emphasized the importance of an individual's cognitive adaptive capabilities which occurs through accommodation or assimilation.[ 4 ] It emphasizes that external experiences assimilate into the existing understanding. Piaget's four levels of human development are (1) sensorimotor, (2) preoperational, (3) concrete operational, and (4) formal operational.

Another important individual in constructivism theory is Lev Vygotsky. In his view, constructivism put emphasis on social, language, and cultural aspects, and how all of these played a key role in the learning process. Lev Vygotsky disagreed with Piaget and stated that all learning derives from social interaction and emphasized that students must be engaged and assisted by others for learning to occur. The zone of proximal development and scaffolding was developed by Vygotsky to discuss the importance of working together and assisting students with guided interaction in a learning environment.[ 5 ] Although these two prominent theorists had contrasting views, Piaget and Vygotsky played fundamental roles in establishing constructivist learning theory.

Finally, John Dewey played an important role in applying constructivism in a teaching environment,[ 4 ] positing that learners should engage in the real-world problems in a classroom setting. Learners should think for themselves and discuss their thoughts as opposed to the use of repetitive memorization to understand the concepts. His notion of “real-life experience” was a fundamental aspect of this educational learning theory.

Theory and Principles of Constructivism

It was through the work of these foundational figures that the important fundamental principles of constructivism were established. We apply this theory of constructivism to PA learners in a clinical setting, outlining the main assertions of this theory, and reviewing the role of the educator and the clinical learning environment.

Fundamental components of constructivism

There are five key attributes of constructivism learning theory. The first principle is that the construction of knowledge occurs on already existing knowledge.[ 6 ] It should be built on new experiences rather than knowledge being passively absorbed. This is a very important goal and can be applied to PA learners in the clinical setting. Having a needs assessment before clinical rotations will help show the gaps in knowledge that exist in students.[ 7 ] This can help in tailoring students' experiences.

The second principle is that learning occurs in an active process.[ 6 ] Learners are not blank shells where knowledge is inputted or received. Students need to engage with real examples and experiences to construct the meaning of the educational material. Learning cannot be achieved if understanding is not present. Passively presenting information to a learner will not promote understanding. There needs to be a strong connection made with prior existing knowledge. Piaget's concepts of assimilation and accommodation are fundamental in this process.[ 6 ] Assimilation is the cognitive process in which information is built on existing knowledge.[ 6 ] Accommodation is the cognitive process in which existing knowledge is changed because new experiences or information is presented.[ 6 ] These two processes are important in the adaption of human learning. There will be opportunities for PA learners to adapt and actively learn in a clinical setting with the appropriate application of this theory.

The third principle is that acquiring knowledge is fundamentally a social construct[ 8 ] (authors: What happened to reference 7?). This is tailored toward Vygotsky's perspective and his emphasis on social importance.[ 5 ] Furthermore, Dewey stated that learning occurs through interaction and prioritizes this in the context of classroom education.[ 4 ] Vygotsky stated that the concept of sharing and educating through social engagement is crucial to help guide and cement learning.[ 8 ] This principle highlights the importance of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Since the current work looks at applying the theory of constructivism in training PA students in primary care, Vygotsky's theories will be focused on to a lesser extent compared to principles discussed by Piaget.

The fourth principle is to value everyone's perspectives and that every learner has a different point of view.[ 8 ] Learning is mainly subjective with different interpretations existing for each learner. This principle is crucial to create a constructivist environment in which educators can provide the support necessary for their learners.

Finally, the fifth principle of constructivism theory involves the mental model of learning and that individuals are constantly evolving.[ 8 ] Learners are always creating and developing new connections and perceptions of reality. With time, individuals gain new experiences and understand the world in their own unique way. This will allow students to revise their perspectives with each new experience. Furthermore, students reflect on new educational materials to apply to their reality of life.[ 8 ] This helps individuals establish strong connections and create a holistic learning plan. Each PA learner must have their mental model about their learning process.

From all these principles of constructivism, it is important to note that learners are the key players in this implementation process. Without engagement and participation from learners, any application of this educational theory will not be successful.

Educator's role in constructivism

Constructivist theory focuses on a learner-centered approach where the emphasis is placed on students being the builders and creators of knowledge.[ 9 ] Educators must play a key role in developing an environment where problem-solving activities actively engage the students throughout their learning process. During this process, the educator must act as a facilitator.[ 9 ] Facilitating an activity is key to building on students existing knowledge. The educator has a responsibility to understand the baseline knowledge and skill level of the student. Educators must help students learn the required knowledge for proper comprehension.

The process of scaffolding is important for educators. This helps teachers or preceptors tailor their assistance level for the student based on their performance.[ 5 ] It is also the responsibility of the educators to change his/her way of teaching to respond to the learners' performance level. Creating an open and collaborative environment will help the student actively engage and discuss with preceptors about opportunities and issues that may arise.

Clinical learning environment

The clinical learning environment plays an important role in establishing and maintaining constructivism theory. There are key factors to creating a constructivist environment in a clinical setting. The first important factor is the idea of authority. Tam states that authority must be shared between the learner and the educator.[ 10 ] Students will have a sense of ease to ask the educator any questions/concerns they have with no bias. These questions discussed by the students must be valued by the educator. Second, knowledge must be shared between the student and the educator. Educators will engage with students through dialog and interactive activities.[ 10 ] Third, teachers are facilitators that must guide students in the learning process.[ 10 ] Providing ownership to learners will give them a voice in the process.[ 11 ] It is important to have a wide range of perspectives when interacting with learners. This includes incorporating different modes of learning through videos, presentations, and reflections.

Within the constructivist clinical environment, preceptors must play a leading role to (1) promote and create an environment in which learners have autonomy, (2) be able to shift teaching strategies when necessary, (3) have a better understanding of what the student knows about the concept, (4) allow students to ask open-ended questions with appropriate wait times to allow them to elaborate on their responses, and (5) promote curiosity and discuss contradictions that exist in the clinical learning environment.[ 12 ]

Applying Constructivism Learning Theory into Practice

In a primary care setting, these principles need to be applied with the creation of an instructional design type that will engage the student. To accomplish this, it is important for a learner to have collaboration, exploration, experimentation, construction, and reflection in the learning environment. A problem-based, issue-based, question-based, project-based, or case-based experience with multiple support systems must be in place for the successful application of constructivism theory.[ 13 ]

Physician assistant preceptors in supporting primary care training of physician assistant learners

Constructivism learning theory highlights three roles that the PA educator should incorporate to support students in the clinical environment: coaching, modeling, and scaffolding. Coaching is a process in which an educator improves a student's understanding and knowledge through motivation, performance advice, feedback, and reflection. This will help students feel supported if struggles arise with specific learning concepts. Some methods of coaching can be elicited through providing motivational prompts, performance regulation by clues/hints to direct students, and reflections.[ 13 ] There will be an increase in confidence levels for students by providing motivational prompts. It may be necessary to increase these prompts when learners are performing more difficult tasks. Through this process of completing activities, discussing related cases, making inferences, and providing feedback, students can achieve the important clinical skills required for the rotation.[ 13 ] Asking students to reflect on their experiences and performances is key to building comprehension and producing meaningful relationships.

Modeling is another way in which PA educators can assist their learners in both behavioral modeling and cognitive modeling. Behavioral modeling is how to perform an activity, while cognitive modeling discusses the reason behind the performed activity.[ 13 ] An example is to ask the student to reflect on the questions asked by the preceptor during a specific patient encounter. With a case-based example, PA educators can articulate the reasoning behind each step in a clinical examination.

Scaffolding can help support students by guiding them on specific tasks to provide support and improve student performance.[ 13 ] The term “scaffolding” means temporary support for building structures in construction projects. The key to scaffolding is to use the technique of modifying task complexities, reorganizing the task to help support learning for students, and providing alternative assessments for students that have difficulty.[ 13 ] It is important to accommodate students who have difficulties on specific tasks by providing a learner-specific assessment or readjusting the task difficulty.

Assessment of learners in the primary care setting

Preceptor assessments are important to determine the level of competency gained throughout rotations. The use of mind mapping is an important assessment tool. Mind mapping is a multisensory tool that assists learners to formulate, retain, and organize information.[ 14 ] Previous research has shown that mind mapping assists and improves learners' critical thinking abilities.[ 15 ] With this, students will build strong learning connections.

Oral discussion is another way to assist students in their process of learning. In these discussions, it is important to give case-based examples and provide clinical exercises to complete at home to build on the students' knowledge.

In addition, in the primary care rotation, conducting pre/post-tests to PA trainees through e-mail can be an effective way to assess and retain knowledge. A posttest at the end of the primary care rotation will provide the educator with information about whether the learner successfully retained knowledge.

With hands-on activities incorporated in the primary care rotation, PA learners will have the opportunity to build on the clinical skills aspect of medicine. It is important to use hands-on activities on materials such as physical examinations. The process of modeling and coaching by the PA educator will help students feel comfortable and at ease when doing these skills on their own. A checklist will be an effective way to help build on and retain these skills.

The last two activities that can be included in assessments are role-playing and research projects. Role-playing with simulated cases will help students build confidence and pick up on crucial information in a patient encounter. In a primary care rotation, a supplementary research project on commonly seen conditions will help learners improve their experience and knowledge.

Based on the information provided, constructivism learning theory will be an effective theory if there is appropriate buy-in from preceptors, educators, learners, and program directors. With proper implementation, constructivism learning theory will create highly competent students as they enter and complete their rotations in primary care. This theory will be effective in establishing a good learning environment for students/trainees. The investment needed for the successful implementation of this learning theory is high, but the results will be worth it.

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JSmol Viewer

Research on fatigue crack propagation prediction for marine structures based on automated machine learning.

1. Introduction

2. automl model and dataset, 2.1. automl model, 2.2. constructing datasets based on fatigue experiments.

• Strain data.
• Cycle count.
• Loading conditions.
• Sensor position.
• Crack propagation length or propagation rate.

2.2.1. Fatigue Experiment Materials

2.2.2. experimental plan, 2.2.3. dataset for crack measurement, 2.2.4. principle of crack propagation rate calculation, 2.3. evaluation metrics for automl, 3. results and discussion, 3.1. prediction and analysis of crack propagation rate based on automl, 3.2. prediction and analysis of crack geometric dimensions based on automl, 4. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Share and Cite

Li, P.; Yang, Y.; Chen, C. Research on Fatigue Crack Propagation Prediction for Marine Structures Based on Automated Machine Learning. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024 , 12 , 1492. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12091492

Li P, Yang Y, Chen C. Research on Fatigue Crack Propagation Prediction for Marine Structures Based on Automated Machine Learning. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering . 2024; 12(9):1492. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12091492

Li, Ping, Yuefu Yang, and Chaohe Chen. 2024. "Research on Fatigue Crack Propagation Prediction for Marine Structures Based on Automated Machine Learning" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 12, no. 9: 1492. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12091492

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