Knowledge Construction

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Chapter 7

• Knowledge Construction

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Objective 1
Describe constructivism as it applies to social
groups and to individuals.
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Constructivism
Constructivism is a philosophy of learning
founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our
experiences, we construct our own understanding
of the world we live in.
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An example What is your understanding of the
following passage?
Rocky slowly got up from the mat, planning his
escape. He hesitated a moment and thought.
Things were not going well. What bothered him
most was being held, especially since the charge
against him had been weak. He considered his
present situation. The lock that held him was
strong, but he thought he could break it
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Knowledge is constructed by

• Individuals
• Groups

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Radical Constructivism
The basic tenet of radical constructivism is that
all knowledge is constructed rather than
perceived through senses. Therefore, it is
possible (likely?) that there is little
correspondence between what we believe to be true
and what really is true.
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Two Goals for Education

• Promote knowledge construction
• Promote conceptual change

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Concepts The building blocks of knowledge
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Objective 2
Define what is meant by a concept. Describe the
conditions that must be met to say that someone
has learned a concept. Distinguish between
undergeneralizations and overgeneralizations.
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Definitions

• A way of categorizing objects or events
• A regularity between a set of objects or events.

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Examples of Concepts
Rectangle Bird President Justice
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How do you know if a concept has been learned?

• The learner must correctly identify every
  positive example of the concept.
• The learner must never incorrectly identify a
  negative example of the concept.

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Errors of categorization

• Undergeneralization
• Overgeneralization

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Objective 3
Distinguish among the following notions of a
concept. Describe the implications these notions
might have. a) A concept as a feature list b) A
concept as a prototype c) A concept as a set of
exemplars
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A Concept as a List of Features
Basic Idea Concept is represented in memory as
a list of features. Examples What are the
characteristics of a rectangle? a bird? a
president? justice?
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• Rectangle
• four sides
• straight sides
• parallel sides
• 90 degree angles

• Bird
• feathers
• wings
• flys
• lays eggs

• President
• leader of group
• elected

• Justice
• impartial
• fair

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Features are not all equal

• Defining features features which must be
  present for something to be an example of a
  concept.
• Correlational features features that are
  typical of the concept but not defining

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Which features are defining? Which are
correlational?

• Rectangle
• four sides
• straight sides
• parallel sides
• 90 degree angles

• Bird
• feathers
• wings
• flys
• lays eggs

• President
• leader of group
• elected

• Justice
• impartial
• fair

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According to this approach, learning a concept
involves the discovery of defining features.
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Example
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Ease of learning a concept depends on the
salience of a feature

• A salient feature is one that attracts your
  attention.
• If the defining features of a concept are
  salient, the concept will be learned quickly.
• If the correlational features of a concept are
  salient, it may be difficult to learn the concept.

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Problems with the notion of a concept as a list
of features

• Eliminating a defining feature doesnt
  necessarily mean that something will no longer
  belong to a category (e.g., if you removed the
  wings of a bird, wouldnt it still be a bird).
• Often it is impossible for the individual to
  define a concept in terms of its features, but
  yet the person knows it when they see it
  (e.g., someone might not be able to define
  justice, but can identify it when they see it)

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A Concept as a Prototype
The best example of a category The
statistical average of a class or category.
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Examples
What is the best example of a dog? a bird? a
car?
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According to this approach, class membership is
determined by determined by how similar an
instance is to ones prototype.
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This approach suggests that class membership
might not always be clear cut (i.e., that
categories might have fuzzy boundaries)
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Example When does a red cease to be red. When
does it become orange?
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Educational Implication
Concepts should be taught by exposing the child
to the prototype of a concept
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A Concept as a set of exemplars
Basic idea is that there is no such thing as
abstract knowledge. What one remembers are
specific examples. Category membership is
determined by the extent to which an example is
similar to other known examples.
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Objective 4
Describe the interconnectedness of concepts
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Knowledge does not consist solely of concepts.
It also consists of the relationships
(connections) among concepts.
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Example The knowledge that a canary is a bird
is not to be found in either the concept of
canary or bird, but is to be found in the
connection between the concepts of canary and
bird.
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The specific form of the knowledge structure is
thought by some to be critical to our ability to
draw inferences
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Example What can you tell me about a nuthatch?
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Objective 5
Describe techniques for facilitating concept
learning in the classroom.
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Facilitating Concept Learning

• Provide a definition of a concept.
• Make defining features concrete and salient
• Present a variety of positive instances
• Present a best example or prototype
• Present negative instances
• Ask students to identify positive and negative
  instances
• Ask students to generate their own positive
  instances of the concept
• Show students how various concepts are related to
  one another

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Schemas and Scripts Higher-level knowledge
structures
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Objective 6
Describe schemas and scripts
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Schema
A schema is an organized body of information
about something.
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Examples of Schemas

• Ones body of knowledge about birds
• Ones body of knowledge about the branches of
  government
• Ones body of knowledge about the geography of
  Tennessee
• Ones body of knowledge about men and women
  (gender schemas)

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Information is interpreted in the context of
schemas
What is this paragraph about? The procedure is
quite simple. First, you arange things into
different groups. Of course, one pile may be
sufficient, depending upon how much there is to
do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack
of facilities, that is the next step otherwise
you are pretty well set. It is important not to
overdo things. That is it is better to do too
few things at once than too many. At first the
whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon,
however, it will become just another facet of
life. After the procedure is completed, one
arranges the materials into different groups
again. Then they can be put into their
appropriate places. Eventually they will be used
once more, and the whole cycle will have to be
repeated.
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Schemas determine what information is selected
for memory
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Information is integrated into schemas
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Script A special type of schema that consists
of ones knowledge of how to do something
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Examples

• Ones knowledge of how to order a meal in a
  restaurant
• Ones knowledge of how to change a flat tire
• Ones knowledge of how to write a term paper
• Ones knowledge of what to do on a date

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Difficulties arise when the script is in error,
or when it is inappropriate for the situation, or
when it conflicts with the scripts being followed
by others.
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Objective 7
Describe techniques for promoting effective
knowledge construction.
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Techniques for Promoting Effective Knowledge
Construction

• Provide opportunities for experimentation.
• Present the ideas of others
• Emphasize conceptual understanding
• Use authentic activities
• Promote dialog

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Objective 8
Describe techniques for promoting conceptual
change.
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Its important to keep in mind that students will
have some personal theories about things that are
in error. It is the responsibility of the
teacher to promote revision of these personal
theories.
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Examples of erroneous ideas

• The sun revolves around the earth. It rises in
  the morning and sets in the evening.
• A living thing is something that moves. The sun,
  wind, clouds, and fire are living things.
• A ball thrown in the air continues to be pushed
  up by the force of the throw until it begins its
  decent.

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Techniques for promoting conceptual change

• Identify existing misconceptions before
  instruction begins.
• Convince students that their existing beliefs are
  inadequate.
• Show how new information conflicts with existing
  beliefs
• Ask questions that challenge misconceptions
• Show how new explanation is more plausible and
  useful
• Give students corrective feedback
• Motivate students to learn correct explanations
• Monitor students for persistent misconceptions