UNIT 3 COGNITIVISM LEARNING THEORY
B. Constructing of Knowledge
A strategic step for the realization of the above objectives is the existence of expert services effective and highly efficient education.
Student active learning or the approach of active student learning in the management of teaching and learning activities that recognizes the centrality of the student's role in the learning process is a solid foundation for the formation of expected future human beings. This choice departs from critical and empirical studies in addition to people's choices (Raka Joni, 1990).
The application of the teachings of “tut wuri handayani” is a tangible manifestation that is meaningful for today's humans in order to pick up the future. To do this, it requires handling that pays attention to the strategic aspects of the right approach when individuals learn. In other words, education is challenged to focus on the formation of future humans who have the characteristics above.
The study of constructivist learning theory in learning and learning activities allows for this goal.
someone who is constantly reorganizing because of new understandings.
Knowledge is not something that can be transferred from the mind of someone who already has knowledge to the mind of another person who does not have that knowledge. If the teacher intends to transfer concepts, ideas, and knowledge about something to students, the transfer will be interpreted and constructed by the students themselves through their own experiences and knowledge.
The process of constructing knowledge. Humans can know something by using their senses. Through their interactions with objects and the environment, for example by seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or feeling, someone can know something.
Knowledge is not something that has been determined, but a process of formation. The more a person interacts with objects and their environment, their knowledge and understanding of these objects and environments will increase and be more detailed.
Von Galserfeld (in Paul, S., 1996) suggests that there are several abilities needed in the process of constructing knowledge, namely; 1) the ability to remember and recall experiences, 2) the ability to compare and make decisions about similarities and differences, and 3) the ability to prefer one experience over another.
Factors that also influence the process of constructing knowledge are the construction of one's existing knowledge, the domain of experience, and the network of cognitive structures it has. The process and results of knowledge construction that a person already has will be a barrier to future knowledge construction. Experience of new phenomena is an important element in forming and developing knowledge. The limited experience of a person on a thing will also limit his knowledge of it. The knowledge that the person already has will form a network of cognitive structures within him.
C. Learning Process According to Constructivistic Theory In this section, we will discuss the learning process from a constructivistic perspective, and from the aspects of learning, the role of the teacher, learning tools, and learning evaluation. Conceptually, the learning process when viewed from a cognitive approach, is not as the acquisition of information that takes place in one direction from the outside to the inside of students, but as giving meaning by students to their experiences through a process of assimilation and accommodation that leads to updating their cognitive structures.
Learning activities are viewed more in terms of the process than in terms of acquiring knowledge from loose facts. The process is
“…..constructing and restructuring of knowledge and skills (schemata) within the individual in a complex network of increasing conceptual consistency…..”. Giving the meaning to objects and experiences by individuals is not done individually by students, but through interactions in unique social networks, which are formed both in class culture and outside the classroom. Therefore, the management of learning should be prioritized on the management of students in processing their ideas, not solely on the management of students and their learning environment, even on their performance or learning achievements associated with an external reward system such as grades, diplomas, and so on.
Student’s Role (Learner). According to the constructivist view, learning is a process of knowledge formation. This formation must be done by the learner. He must actively carry out activities, actively think, formulate concepts and give meaning to the things being studied. Teachers can and should take the initiative to organize an environment that provides optimal opportunities for learning to occur. However, what ultimately determines the realization of learning symptoms is the student's own learning intentions. In other terms, it can be said that essentially the full control of learning lies with the students.
The constructivist paradigm views students as individuals who already have initial abilities before learning something. This initial ability will be the basis for constructing new knowledge. Therefore, even though the initial ability is still very simple or not in accordance with the opinion of the teacher, it should be accepted and used as the basis for learning and guidance.
Teacher’s Role. In constructivistic learning the teacher or educator plays a role in helping the process of constructing learning by students run smoothly. The teacher does not transfer the knowledge he already has, but helps students to form their own knowledge. Teachers are required to do more understand the way of thinking or the perspective of students in learning. The teacher cannot claim that the only correct way is the same and according to his will.
The teacher's key role in educational interaction is control which includes:
1. Fostering independence by providing opportunities to make decisions and act.
2. Develop the ability to make decisions and act, by increasing students' knowledge and skills.
3. Provide a support system that facilitates learning so that students have optimal opportunities to practice.
Learning facilities. The constructivistic approach emphasizes that the main role in learning activities is the activity of students in constructing their own knowledge. Everything such as materials, media, equipment, environment, and other facilities are provided to help the formation. Students are given the freedom to express their opinions and thoughts about something they face. In this way, students will be accustomed and trained to think for themselves, solve the problems they face, be independent, critical, creative, and be able to take responsibility for their thinking rationally.
Learning evaluation. The constructivistic view suggests that the learning environment strongly supports the emergence of various
views and interpretations of reality, knowledge construction, and other activities based on experience. This raises the idea of an attempt to evaluate constructivist learning. There are differences in the application of learning evaluation between the objective (traditional) behavioristic and constructivistic views. Programmed and designed learning mostly refers to objectivity, while Piagetian and discovery learning tasks is more constructivists. Objectivists recognize the reliability of knowledge, that knowledge is objective, certain, and fixed, does not change. Knowledge has been structured neatly. The teacher's job is to convey knowledge that. Reality of the world and its structure can be analyzed and described, and one's understanding will be generated by external processes of the structure of the real world, so that learning is the assimilation of real objects.
The goal of designers and traditional teachers is to interpret real events that will be given to their students.
The constructivistic view suggests that reality exists in one's mind. Humans construct and interpret them based on their experiences. Constructivistic directs its attention to how a person constructs knowledge from his experiences, mental structures, and beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events. The constructivist view recognizes that the mind is an important instrument in interpreting events, objects, and views of the real world, where the interpretation consists of individual basic human knowledge.
Constructivistic learning theory recognizes that students will be able to interpret information into their minds, only in the context of their own experience and knowledge, on their needs, backgrounds and interests. Teachers can help students construct understanding representations of the conceptual functions of the external world. If learning outcomes are constructed individually, how to evaluate them?
Evaluation of learning in the traditional behavioristic view is more directed at learning objectives. While the constructivist view
uses goal-free evaluation, which is a construction to overcome the weaknesses of evaluation on specific goals. The evaluation will be more objective if the evaluator is not informed about the next goal. If the learning objectives are known before the learning process begins, the learning process and evaluation will be one-sided. The provision of criteria for evaluation resulted in the setting of learning. Learning objectives direct the learning which will also control student learning activities.
Learning and evaluation using criteria is an objective/
behavioristic prototype, which is not suitable for constructivist theory. Constructivist learning outcomes are more accurately assessed by the goal-free evaluation method, namely evaluation that used to assess constructivist learning outcomes, requiring cognitive experiential processes for constructivist goals.
Constructivistic evaluation forms can be directed at authentic tasks, constructing knowledge that describes higher thinking processes such as the level of "discovery" in Merrill's taxonomy, or
"cognitive strategy" from Gagne, and "synthesis" in Bloom's taxonomy. It also constructs student experience, and directs evaluation in a broad context with multiple perspectives.