The learning theory

Constructionism (Papert, 1993) is both a theory of learning and a strategy for education. It builds on the "Constructivist" theories of Jean Piaget, asserting that knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student, but actively constructed in the mind of the learner. Learners don't get ideas; they create ideas. Moreover, Constructionism suggests that new ideas are most likely to be created when learners are actively engaged in building some type of external artifact that they can reflect upon and share with others. Papert (1991) differentiated between constructivism and Constructionism:
"The word with the v expresses the theory that knowledge is built by the learner, not supplied by the teacher. The word with the n expresses the further idea that happens especially felicitously when the learner is engaged in the construction of something external or at least sharable" (Papert, 1991, p.3).
Constructionism supports the constructivist viewpoint--that the learner is an active builder of knowledge. However, it emphasizes the particular constructions of external artifacts that are shared by learners. Although learners can construct and present knowledge or meanings without producing external products, the processes of construction are more evident when learners produce through social interaction with others and share representations of their understanding and thoughts.


Situated Cognition posits that knowing is inseparable from doing (John Seely Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989; Greeno, 1989)
By arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and According to Allen Collins (1988) situated cognition or situated learning is “ the notion of learning knowledge and skills in contexts that reflect the way they will be used in real life physical contexts.
CONTEXULIZED LEARNING
• Flute students not only practice basic skills such as how to blow smoothly or leave the fingers off the holes, but they watch and listen to experts performing those skills and playing, get experts coaching and practice as much as they can.
LEADERS IN THE SITUATED COGNITION MOVEMENT
• Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger
LAVE AND WENGER
Lave and Wenger describe learning as:
• Generation- an act of creation or co-creation
• Social- occurs in partnership with others• Social- occurs in partnership with others
• Occurring in the “ lived-in world”
In settings that make it more relevant, useful and transferable.

DYNAMIC COMMUNITIES
• Dynamic Communities are seen as a critical element of situated cognition.
• Learning in such communities involves teachers, students and others such as experts from the school, the business and local community and the electronic world community.


What is Multiple Intelligences Theory?

Multiple intelligence theory challenges traditional, narrower views of intelligence. Previously accepted ideas of human intellectual capacity contend that an individual's intelligence is a fixed entity throughout his lifetime and that intelligence can be measured through an individual's logical and language abilities. According to Gardner's theory, an intelligence encompasses the ability to create and solve problems, create products or provide services that are valued within a culture or society.

What is 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.
Engagement theory has emerged from the authors' experiences teaching in electronic and distance education environments (see Shneiderman, 1994, 1998; Shneiderman et al, 1995; Kersey, 1997). The fundamental idea underlying engagement theory is that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks. While in principle, such engagement could occur without the use of technology, we believe that technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise. So engagement theory is intended to be a conceptual framework for technology-based learning and teaching.
Although not directly derived from other theoretical frameworks for learning, it has much in common with many such frameworks. For example, with its emphasis on meaningful learning, it is very consistent with constructivist approaches. Because it emphasizes collaboration among peers and a community of learners, it can be aligned with situated learning theories. Because its focuses on experiential and self-directed learning, it is similar in nature to theories of adult learning (i.e., androgogy).
Basic Principles
By engaged learning, we mean that all student activities involve active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation. In addition, students are intrinsically motivated to learn due to the meaningful nature of the learning environment and activities.
Engagement theory is based upon the idea of creating successful collaborative teams that work on ambitious projects that are meaningful to someone outside the classroom. These three components, summarized by Relate-Create-Donate, imply that learning activities:
1. occur in a group context (i.e., collaborative teams)
2. are project-based
3. have an outside (authentic) focus
The first principle (the "Relate" component) emphasizes team efforts that involve communication, planning, management and social skills. The modern workplace demands proficiency in these skills, yet historically students have been taught to work and learn on their own. Research on collaborative learning suggests that in the process of collaboration, students are forced to clarify and verbalize their problems, thereby facilitating solutions. Collaboration also increases the motivation of students to learn, a significant consideration in settings with high drop-out rates (e.g., teen-agers, distance learners). Furthermore, when students work in teams, they often have the opportunity to work with others from quite different backgrounds and this facilitates an understanding of diversity and multiple perspectives.
The second principle (the "Create" component) makes learning a creative, purposeful activity. Students have to define the project (problem domain) and focus their efforts on application of ideas to a specific context. Conducting their own projects is much more interesting to students that answering sterile textbook problems. And because they get to define the nature of the project (even if they don't choose the topic), they have a sense of control over their learning which is absent in traditional classroom instruction. Project orientation is the essence of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approaches which are often used in medical and others types of professional education (e.g., Barrows & Tamblyn, 1980).
The third principle (the "Donate" component) stresses the value of making a useful contribution while learning. Ideally each project has an outside "customer" that the project is being conducted for. The customer could be a campus group, community organization, school, church, library, museum, government agency, local business, or needy individual. In many cases, the projects can be work-related, i.e., an activity that fits into a team's occupational or career interests. The authentic learning context of the project increases student motivation and satisfaction. This principle is consistent with the emphasis on school-to-work programs in many schools systems and colleges, as well as the "service" philosophy of contemporary corporate training efforts (e.g., Jacoby & Associates, 1996).



http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Constructionism%2C_Learning_by_Design%2C_and_Project_Based_Learning
• Situated cognition: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Situated_Cognition
• Vygotsky's constructivism: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Vygotsky%27s_constructivism
• Multiple intelligences theory: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Multiple_Intelligences_and_Learning_Styles