Constructivism and the Wiki

Background Information Constructivism as a learning theory proposes that individual learners construct knowledge rather than receive it, and that they learn best when actively engaged in the learning process (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007). Theorist Jean Piaget believed that individuals developed through four distinct stages: sensorimotor stage (0 to toddler), pre-operational stage (toddler to early childhood), concrete operational stage (elementary to early adolescence), and formal operational stage (adolescence to adulthood) (Huitt & Hummel, 2003). In placing Piaget’s theory into practice, teachers develop instructional methods and content which allow students to develop their own interests by bringing their own current and past knowledge to the learning process.

Lev Vygotsky, another constructivist theorist, originated what he termed the “zone of proximal development, the difference between the level of learning a student can reach individually and the level of learning a student can reach through guidance or collaboration with others (Kearsley, 2007). In other words, a student can learn more by collaborating with others than by working alone.

In short, constructivist theory holds that learning should be active, constructive, authentic, intentional, and collaborative (Parker & Chao, 2007). Some researchers and theorists, however, complain that constructivism “does not provide a method, approach or particular pedagogy” (Murphy, 1997, p.1), and to answer such criticism teachers and educators have created activity checklists which represent constructivism in an operationalized form. Accordingly, constructivist activities should promote multiple perspectives, knowledge construction and collaboration, problem solving, and exploration (Murphy, 1997).

Enter the wiki. A wiki, which in Hawaiian means “quick”, can be described as a collaborative, updatable website (Lavin & Claro, 2005). In other words, a wiki is open source software which enables any online user to create, edit, and manage Web content without having any prior knowledge of coding such as html. Wikis are also among a number of programs categorized as “Web 2.0”. Web 2.0 refers to programs such as wikis, blogs, podcasting, and other tools which are easy to use and which encourage interaction and collaboration among users (Parker & Chao, 2007).

Wikis are increasingly being used in education because they provide a relatively easy, user-friendly interface at reasonable cost, while they also encourage student interaction and collaboration, and knowledge generation (Seitzinger, 2006). Furthermore, wikis meet several criteria of constructivism, in that wikis provide multiple modes of representation (text, video, still images) and opportunities to collaborate, and are inherently learner centered and socially negotiated (Lavin & Claro, 2005). Preview Constructivism has become a popular learning theory among teachers and educators of all grade levels. Constructivism places emphasis on students rather than the teacher, as students actively engage in knowledge creation while teachers shift from the role of knowledge giver to facilitator. In addition, students work together to solve a problem or understand a concept, learning from each other along the way. Educators have also begun to implement the wiki as a constructivist tool, since the technology tool provides a forum for students to work collaboratively as they engage in knowledge creation and meaning making. Focus Questions: As you read the case below, please keep the following questions in mind: (1) Is constructivism related to other learning theories, and if so, which one(s)? (2) Are wikis an appropriate tool for constructivist for teaching and learning? (3) How could teachers from the different content areas use wikis as a constructivist tool? The Case Wiki as Constructivist Tool Mr. Doug Smith, a new social sciences teacher at Northbrook High School, teaches 12th grade Government and Politics. For much of the semester, Mr. Smith has primarily relied upon traditional teacher-centered teaching methods, but he recently attended a professional development workshop which focused on constructivist methods of teaching and learning. Smith enjoyed the workshop, and he decided he would attempt to incorporate more constructivist activities into his curriculum.

Shortly thereafter, one day after school he stopped by his colleague’s room, Mrs. Lisa Andrews, an English/Language Arts teacher, to discuss a club meeting which they co-chaired. As he walked into the room he could see that Andrews was intently reading something on her computer screen. After inquiring about what she was doing, Mrs. Andrews quickly explained that she used a wiki in her classes. Students were required to work together in groups to discuss literature readings, collaborate on writing assignments, and comment on each other’s work in a professional, productive way. It had taken quite some time to get all of the ground rules in place, Andrews explained, but now her students were comfortable using the wiki and they actually enjoyed writing and seeing each other’s work.

Mr. Smith had learned about wikis briefly while he was still in college, but he had not paid much attention to them because he believed they would be difficult and complicated to use. After speaking with Mrs. Andrews he changed his mind. One night he researched wikis and he saw a few examples of education wikis designed by classroom teachers. After signing up for a free membership at a wiki site, he began to design his own classroom wiki with the hope of introducing it to his class within the following few days. Mr. Smith realized that interfacing with the wiki was easy, and he believed his students would pick up on it quickly. Now he had to focus on creating content and on deciding how to incorporate it into his classroom.

Throughout the remainder of the semester, Mr. Smith encouraged his students to use the class wiki. For one assignment, students were split into groups and asked to work together to create a chapter study guide. As part of the assignment, students were required to ask questions and attempt to answer them, and to add definitions for terms they deemed important. Interestingly, Mr. Smith found that many groups corrected each other’s mistakes, linked questions or terms to additional information at other websites, and added video clips where appropriate. In addition, students also voted on the best question or entry submitted, and the winner received bonus points on the test.

Mr. Smith realized, however, that some groups struggled with the assignment. Some groups did the minimum assignment requirements, while some groups fell short. He decided to give an anonymous survey at the end of the semester to discover any problems the students faced with the wiki. The survey results surprised him, as some of the problems expressed by students had not entered into his mind.

The survey indicated that a few students did not like to work in groups, that they did not want their grade to be linked to someone else’s effort, and that they believed they could do better on their own. Mr. Smith believed these problems could be mitigated by assigning grades to both the group and to the individual members. Other groups had more complicated issues. One group was hesitant to post any answers on the wiki out of fear of being embarrassed in front of their friends if their answers were incorrect. Yet another group did not feel comfortable editing or changing their fellow group members’ work. Still another group did not want the teacher to view any of their work until they were absolutely sure it was correct, and consequently, they did not post their assignment to the wiki by the stated due date.

Mr. Smith began to re-evaluate the use of a wiki in his classroom, and whether it was actually effective as a constructivist tool. He decided he would discontinue using the wiki until he received a new set of students at the beginning of the Spring Semester. Then, during the first few days of class, he would introduce the wiki from the beginning, instead of halfway through the semester as he had done in the Fall Semester. Then, while introducing the wiki, he would explain what he hoped the class could accomplish with the wiki, and he would carefully walk through potential problems they might encounter. Discussion Questions 1. Could Mr. Smith have handled the situation with students who struggled with the wiki any differently? What could he have done? 2. Do you feel that Mr. Smith used the wiki as a constructivist tool correctly? What else could he have done with the wiki to teach students in alignment with constructivist principles? 3. Are there any learning theories similar to constructivism which Mr. Smith could have followed and incorporated? 4. In what ways could a wiki hinder constructivist practices? Should a wiki be used to encourage constructivist learning practices? Why or why not? 5. What other technology tools, other than the wiki, could possibly be used as constructivist instruments to teach students? Links http://www.pbwiki.com http://www.wikispaces.com http://wikipedia.org http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html Constructivism: Concept to Classroom http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~elmurphy/emurphy/cle4.html Constructivism Checklist References

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2007). The definition of constructivism. ASCD.org. Article retrieved November 11, 2007: http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.d36b986168f3f8cddeb3ffdb62108 a0c/;jsessionid=GbOPuXQ9KV48nPBDB8DOoKDQdp2T8I3JpwfIvt3METzeX4 I6224d!-91809162

Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved November 11, 2007: http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html

Kearsley, G. (2007). Social development theory (Lev Vygotsky). ). Explorations in Learning & Instruction: The Theory into Practice Database. Article retrieved November 11, 2007: http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html

Lavin, R.S. & Caro, J. (2005). Wikis as constructivist learning environments. From the 2005 Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALTCALL) Proceedings. Article retrieved November 11, 2007: http://www.pu- kumamoto.ac.jp/~rlavin/mainsite/page26/page29/files/page29_1.pdf

Murphy, E. (1997). Constructivist checklist. Constructivism from Philosophy to Practice. Article retrieved November 11, 2007: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~elmurphy/emurphy/cle4.html Parker, R.K. & Chao, J.T. (2007). Wikis as a teaching tool. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects, Volume 3, p. 57-72. Article retrieved November 11, 2007: http://ijklo.org/Volume3/IJKLOv3p057-072Parker284.pdf

Seitzinger, J. (2006). Be constructive: Blogs, podcasts, and Wikis as constructivist tools. Learning Solutions e-Magazine, 07/31/2006, p.1-16. Article retrieved November 11, 2007: http://www3.griffith.edu.au/03/ltn/docs/Design_Strategies.pdf