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In psychology and education, learning is commonly defined as a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one 's knowledge, skills, values, and world views. Learning as a process focuses on what happens when the learning takes place. Explanations of what happens constitute learning theories. A learning or practice theory attempts to describe how people and animals learn; thereby helping us understand the inherently complex process of learning. (Schunk, 2013).
After spending 7 weeks teaching Grade R, I have come to the conclusion that the theoretical paradigm that best suits my perspective on teaching and learning is constructivism. Constructivism is a new approach in education that claims humans are better able to understand the information they have constructed by themselves. According to constructivist theories, learning is a social advancement that involves language, real world situations, and interaction and collaboration among learners. The learners are considered to be central in the learning process. Learning is affected by our prejudices, experiences, the time in which we live, and both physical and mental maturity or experiences. Constructivism transforms today’s classrooms into a knowledge-construction site where information is absorbed and knowledge is built by the learner. (Ozer, 2004)
Constructivism is based on Relativist Ontology. Ontology is the study of the nature of being, existence or reality. It asks questions like, “What is an object?”, and “What does it mean to say something exists?” (Water & Mehay, 2010), Ontology questions the following:
1. Are you a realist? You see reality as something “out there” just waiting to be found.
2. Are you a critical realist? You know things exist out there but as human beings our own presence as researchers influences what we are trying to measure.
3. Are you a relativist? You believe that knowledge is a
After spending 7 weeks teaching Grade R, I have come to the conclusion that the theoretical paradigm that best suits my perspective on teaching and learning is constructivism. Constructivism is a new approach in education that claims humans are better able to understand the information they have constructed by themselves. According to constructivist theories, learning is a social advancement that involves language, real world situations, and interaction and collaboration among learners. The learners are considered to be central in the learning process. Learning is affected by our prejudices, experiences, the time in which we live, and both physical and mental maturity or experiences. Constructivism transforms today’s classrooms into a knowledge-construction site where information is absorbed and knowledge is built by the learner. (Ozer, 2004)
Constructivism is based on Relativist Ontology. Ontology is the study of the nature of being, existence or reality. It asks questions like, “What is an object?”, and “What does it mean to say something exists?” (Water & Mehay, 2010), Ontology questions the following:
1. Are you a realist? You see reality as something “out there” just waiting to be found.
2. Are you a critical realist? You know things exist out there but as human beings our own presence as researchers influences what we are trying to measure.
3. Are you a relativist? You believe that knowledge is a
Bibliography: Abramitis, B. (2010). Social cognitive theory in the classroom. Retrieved July 18, 2013 from http://suik101.com/article/social-cognitive-theory-in-a-k8-classroom-a186111 Cherry, K Ozer, O. (2004). Constructivism in Piaget and Vygotsky. Retrieved July 14, 2013 from www.fountainmagazine.com Rhinehart, L Schunk, D. H. (2013). Learning theories. An educational perspective. Sixth edition. Boston: Pearson. Sincero, S. M. (2011). Cognitive learning theory: using thinking to learn. Retrieved July 18, 2013 from http://explorable.com Slabbert, J.A., de kock, D.M Standridge, M. (2012). Behaviourism. Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology, University of Georgia Water, M & Mehay, R Yahaya, A. (2010). Information processing and its implications to teaching and learning. Faculty of education. University of Technology Malaysia.