Title: The relationship between radical constructivism, social constructivism and sociocultural theory
1The relationship between radical constructivism,
social constructivism and sociocultural theory
- Christian Holmboe
- Dept of Teacher Training and School development
University of Oslo
2Outline of the talk
- Clarify
- Confuse
- Tie together
Radical constructivism
Radical constructivism
Radical constructivism
Radical constructivism
Radical constructivism
Social constructivism
Social constructivism
Social constructivism
Social constructivism
Social constructivism
Sociocultural theory
Sociocultural theory
Sociocultural theory
Sociocultural theory
Sociocultural theory
3Clarify
4Learning theory based on epistemology
- What is knowledge?
- Where is knowledge?
- How is knowledge created?
- What is knowledge about?
5Dichotomies (epistemology)
6Dichotomies (knowledge)
- Scientist or student
- Personal or collective
7Dichotomies (learning process)
- Scientist or student
- Personal or collective
- Discovery or construction
8Dichotomies (world view)
- Scientist or student
- Personal or collective
- Discovery or construction
- Realism or relativism
Emc2
9Constructivism
- Knowledge is organised in cognitive schemes
- Learning takes place in the form of assimilation
(adding to the existing schemes) or accommodation
(modifying the schemes)
10Constructivism
11The many faces of constructivism
Rationalistconstructivism
Psychologicalconstructivism
Radicalconstructivism
Empiricalconstructivism
Cyberneticconstructivism
Epistemicconstructivism
Idealistconstructivism
Trivialconstructivism
Metaphysicalconstructivism
Educationalconstructivism
Socialconstructivism
Philosophicalconstructivism
Cognitiveconstructivism
Epistemologicalconstructivism
12Our 2 (or 3) faces of constructivism
Relativism, viability, and implications for the
meaning of reality and truth
Rationalistconstructivism
Psychologicalconstructivism
Radicalconstructivism
Empiricalconstructivism
Cyberneticconstructivism
Epistemicconstructivism
Idealistconstructivism
Sociology of Scientific Knowledge and
implications for the status of scientific
knowledge
Trivialconstructivism
Metaphysicalconstructivism
Educationalconstructivism
Socialconstructivism
Social mediation ofindividual learning
Philosophicalconstructivism
Cognitiveconstructivism
Epistemologicalconstructivism
13Radical Constructivism
- Knowledge is not passively received, but is
actively built up by the cognizing subject. - The function of cognition is adaptive, and serves
the subjects organization of the experiential
world, not the discovery of an objective
ontological reality. - von Glasersfeld (1995 p51)
Ernst von Glasersfeld
14Relativists see truth as relative to a scientific
paradigm
15Relativists see truth viability as relative to a
scientific paradigm
16Sociology of Scientific Knowledge
- Scientific knowledge as collectively endorsed
beliefs - All beliefs (true or false) have some cause
that should be symmetrically explainable - Scientific beliefs are explained as socially
constructed through discursive persuasion and not
as empirically deduced from observation - Bloor (1976/1991)
David Bloor
17Socially mediated individual learning
18Social Constructivism
- Concepts evolve with aid of strenuous mental
activity on the part of the child himself - Vygotsky (1986 p157)
- Higher mental functioning in the individual
derives from social life - Vygotsky (1978 p128)
Lev Vygotsky
19Constructivism in science
determined inquiry
social negotiation
logical deduction
Fma
logical deduction
Fma
20Constructivism in education
empirical analysis social negotiation
determined inquiry
random
Fma
adaptedby teacher
adaptedby teacher
interaction
reflection social negotiation
reflection social negotiation
viability check
viability check
21The Vygotskian project
- To find how aspirant members of a culture learn
from their tutors how to understand the
world. - There is no way, none, in which a human being
could possibly master that world without the aid
and assistance of others for, in fact, that world
is others. - Bruner (1985)
Lev Vygotsky
22The many faces of sociocultural theory
Activity theory
Socio-historic
Situated cognition
Cultural-historic
Sociocultural theory
Dialogism
Distributed cognition
Socio-interactive
23The many faces of sociocultural theory
Activity theory
Socio-historic
Situated cognition
Cultural-historic
Sociocultural theory
Dialogism
Distributed cognition
Socio-interactive
24Sociocultural theory
- Human mental functions are inextricably situated
in social, cultural, institutional and historical
contexts. - Wertsch (1991 p86)
- Language is the most important cultural tool
available to man - It is therefore of particular interest for
studying processes of learning. - Wertsch (1991)
Jim Wertsch
25Knowledge means competency that is valued in
various areas
26Language as a cultural artefact
- It is through communication that sociocultural
resources are created, but it is also through
communication that they are carried forth - Thinking in the individual are forms of
communication that the individual has met,
appropriated and uses as resource in future
situations - Säljö (2000)
Roger Säljö
27Knowledge is embedded in cultural artefacts used
to mediate meaning
28Confuse
29The path(s) more travelled
Radicalconstructivism
Construc-tivism
Cognitive psychology
Socialconstructivism
Socialformationof mind
Sociohistoric psychology
Sensored
Socioculturaltheory
Anthro-pology
1935
1975
1990
2005
30Sociocultural theory in constructivist terms
- Childrens prior conceptual knowledge
significantly affects their predictions,
explanations, and perceptions of novel phenomena
- Hennessy, Situated Cognition and Cognitive
Apprenticeship (1993 p10) - not all words submit equally easily to
transformation into private property many words
stubbornly resist, others remain alien they
cannot be assimilated into his context - Bakhtin, The Dialogic Imagination (1981
p293-4)
31The path(s) more travelled
Radicalconstructivism
Construc-tivism
Cognitive psychology
Socialconstructivism
Socialformationof mind
Sociohistoric psychology
Sensored
Socioculturaltheory
Anthro-pology
1935
1975
1990
2005
32Constructivism in sociocultural terms
- Learning is seen as the process by which
individuals are introduced to a culture by more
skilled members. As this happens they
appropriate the cultural tools through their
involvement in the activities of this culture. - Driver et al. Constructing scientific knowledge
in the classroom (1994 p7)
33The path(s) more travelled
Radicalconstructivism
Construc-tivism
Cognitive psychology
Socialconstructivism
Socialformationof mind
Sociohistoric psychology
Sensored
Socioculturaltheory
Anthro-pology
Anthro-pology
1935
1975
1990
2005
34Tie together
35Is there room for individual knowledge within a
sociocultural perspective?
- Given that we
- accept an independent reality
- as basis for our experiences
- acknowledge individual knowledge
- as explanations of these experiences
- Can we then take a distributed or sociocultural
perspective on knowledge?
36Knowledge as individual cognitive representations
37The sum of what is known to people, the shared
resources available to a community
38Sociocultural perspective again
- Individual knowledge
- Ability to participate in cultural practices
- Distributed knowledge
- Communitys ability to perform social tasks and
to engage in these practices - Collaborative utilisation of available tools.
- Gradual appropriation of cultural tools and
skills. - Higher level of specialisation
- Increased collective body of knowledge
39Knowledge is constructed by reflections on
experiencesagainst thebackground ofprior
knowledge
40Is there room for individual knowledge within a
distributed cognition perspective?
- Yes!
- Communicative activity, and individual thinking
have continuous, dynamic influence on each other - Studies of the joint construction of knowledge
- Studies of the interrelationships between
individual and collective forms of knowledge
41One big happy family
Radicalconstructivism
Construc-tivism
Cognitive psychology
Socialconstructivism
Socialformationof mind
Sociohistoric psychology
Sensored
Socioculturaltheory
Anthro- pology
1935
1975
1990
2005
42The relationship between radical constructivism,
social constructivism and sociocultural theory
43The road ahead
- I believe that the prospects are good for
developing a synthesis that will provide a
coherent theory of social interaction and of
cognitive processes. - If that happens in the next few decades it will
be a strong scientific achievement of great
importance to education - Greeno, 1997 p14
James Greeno
44Some initial steps
- Sfard On Two Metaphors for Learning and the
Dangers of Choosing Just One Educational
Researcher (1998) - Anderson, Greeno, Reder Simon Perspectives on
Learning, Thinking, and Activity Educational
Researcher (2000) - Leach Scott Individual and Sociocultural
Views of Learning in Science Education Science
Education (2003)
Anna Sfard
John Anderson
John Leach
45Litterature
- Anderson, J. R., Greeno, J. G., Reder, L. M.,
Simon, H. A. (2000). Perspectives on Learning,
Thinking, and Activity. Educational Researcher,
29(4), 11-13. - Bloor, D. (1976). Knowledge and Social Imagery.
London Routledge and Kegan Paul. - Bruner, J. (1985). Vygotsky A historical and
conceptual perspective. In J.Wertsch (Ed.),
Culture, communication and cognition Vygotskyan
perspectives (pp. 21-34). Cambridge, UK
Cambridge University Press. - Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Mortimer, E.,
Scott, P. (1994). Constructing Scientific
Knowledge in the Classroom. Educational
Researcher, 23(7), 5-12. - vonGlasersfeld, E. (1995). Radical
Constructivism A Way of Knowing and Learning.
The Falmer Press. - Greeno, J. G., Collins, A. M., Resnick, L. B.
(1996). Cognition and Learning. In D. C. Berliner
R. C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of Educational
Psychology. New York McMillan. - Greeno, J. G. (1997). On Claims That Answer the
Wrong Questions. Educational Researcher, 26(1),
5-17. - Hennessy, S. (1993). Situated Cognition and
Cognitive Apprenticeship Implications for
Classroom Learning. Studies in Science Education,
22, 1-41. - Kuhn, T. S. (1996). The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions (3rd ed.). Chicago University of
Chicago Press. - Lave, J., Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning
Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge,
UK Cambridge University Press. - Leach, J., Scott, P. (2003). Individual and
Sociocultural Views of Learning in Science
Education. Science Education, 12, 91-113. - Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in
the child. New York Basic books. - Sfard, A. (1998). On Two Metaphors for learning
and the Dangers of Choosing Just One. Educational
Researcher, 27(2), 4-13. - Säljö, R. (2000). Lärande i Praktiken Ett
sosiokulturellt perspektiv. Stockholm Prisma. - Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society The
Development of Higher Psychological Processes.
Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press. - Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and Language (A.
Kozulin, Trans.). Cambridge, MA MIT Press. - Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice.
Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge
Cambridge University Press. - Wertsch, J. V. (1991). Voices of the Mind A
sociocultural approach to mediated action.
Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press.
46The buzzwords of constructivism
Accommodation
Reflection
Viability
Cognitive conflict
Prior knowledge
Construction
Assimilation
Cognitive schemes
Experiences
47The buzzwords of sociocultural theory
Community of practice
Mediated action
Apprenticeship
Legitimate peripheralparticipation
Scaffolding
Enculturation
Appropriation
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
The more competent peer