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The Information Processing Theory of Learning
This approach to learning is based around the idea that the
brain absorbs information as it is experienced, analyses and
processes it within the short term memory and stores it with
other related information in the long term memory. As the
child progresses through life new information is compared
to stored information, the stored information is refined and
reordered in a more diverse manner to accommodate new understanding
of prior knowledge.
An example would be a child who has seen a rabbit for the
first time. This knowledge is compared to prior knowledge
and place accordingly in the long term memory. In this case
the new knowledge of the rabbit is compared to the prior knowledge
of the child’s grandmother’s dog. Both are furry
so the new knowledge is stored next to the knowledge of the
dog. Initially the child will consider the rabbit as a dog
and visa versa. As the child learns more about the rabbit
and the dog, they see they are in fact different. The knowledge
is reaccessed and segregated to accommodate this new diversity.
The Social Constructivist Theory of Learning
"Many scholars have now determined that knowledge, like
Truth, is not objective, but socially constructed, and as
such, it depends a great deal upon that which the learner
brings to the experience and interactions with other knowers."
The social constructivist view is that learners make sense
of new information by comparing it with prior conceptions
and experiences and those of others. This basically means
that for someone to learn they must be allowed to question,
analyse and truly understand the information presented before
them in a social setting.
Walters, K. states "The knowing subject is not a passive
spectator who simply receives information that is anonymously
processed in a formalistic black box. Instead, she brings
to the act of knowing a complex set of presuppositions and
commitments, and this set necessarily informs the type of
information she concentrates on as well as the inflections
she places on it. There is not, then, a radical separation
between the knower and the object of knowing or the knower
and the act of knowing."
Study has shown that we can force knowledge into our short
term memory for recall during a pressure situation such as
an exam but this knowledge is easily forgotten. Dirks states
"Cognitive retention studies seem to suggest, however,
that a great deal of the content we deem important is not
retained beyond the necessary demonstration for grading purposes."
and "The requirement of active engagement of the learner
in the process of constructing meaning, as opposed to the
acquisition and retention of content, means that such ingrained
teaching methods as the lecture may not play an important
role in producing constructed knowledge. Through constructivism
a learner is able to understand information rather than memorise
it. This understanding is more beneficial than a simple fact
as it can be applied to other problems. Through social constructivism
a group of learners are able to draw in each others understanding
and past experiences of a given problem and create a better
understand based on these views. "What a child can do
today in co-operation, tomorrow he will be able to do on his
own."
Dirks outlines 5 key stages that a learner goes through during
social constructive learning, these are:
- “Exposure to alternative perspectives.”
- “Empathetic experience of entering into those perspectives
for understanding.”
- “Understanding of the body of theory relating to
the subject.”
- “Evaluation of the alternatives through reflection
and critical thinking.”
- “Construction of a personal perspective, the matter
that is learned.”
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