Schema Theory and Scaffolding
| Schema Theory and Scaffolding |
Prior to engaging in this discussion, be sure to watch the What are schemas? video, read “The Value of Peers and Support From Scaffolding,” “Learning Theory – Schema Theory,” and “Constructivism in Theory and Practice” articles, and review any relevant Instructor Guidance. This guidance can be very helpful as it may include strategies that support your preferred learning.
Information on how we learn can be applied to areas such as in health, leadership, business, employee training, and the family. It can also help you to assist people to understand the needs of others’ more successfully and create more successful learning, organizational, and personal environments. In this discussion, you will demonstrate your understanding of schema theory and scaffolding by sharing about your educational background and the ways you have been taught new knowledge in the past.
· First, evaluate schema theory and its potential application to learning psychology.
· Second, compare one method of learning you have experienced that did not align with anything you knew or believed to a method that built on your existing schema (scaffolding).
· Third, thinking critically about the inherent differences in the outcomes in these two situations, what differences were there for you in the level of difficulty of remembering the material?
· Fourth, analyze and comment on how this learning theory applied to these two real-life situations.
· What other differences you can think of?
· How might you apply the principles of this theory when providing new information to a diverse group of individuals?
Example 1:
Evaluate schema theory and its potential application to learning psychology.
Schema theory believes that any information received or observed by an individual can be stored and referenced to as a past experience that becomes their schema, which subsequently controls their future behavior, for example, the schema that allows you to always lock the doors wherever you are, will always make you lock the doors, hence, if you are in an office or a different place where the doors are not locked due to their schema and past experience, you will be uncomfortable because you feel they are not abiding to your schema or past knowledge of door closing, it will become difficult for you to change the pattern that organize your interaction with the environment, because your schema is a tool that enables you to learn about the world and it changes and expands all through our lives, according to Learning theory – Schema theory . (n.d.). In Education encyclopedia. Retrieved January 15, 2014 “In order to account for these findings, Bartlett proposed that people have schemata, or unconscious mental structures, that represent an individual’s generic knowledge about the world. It is through schemata that old knowledge influences new information.” In other words the past experience about door closing became a mental knowledge that controlled the future behavior.
In a learning psychology which is a continuous process, individuals tend to learn new things either through cognitive understanding or based on past experience, which helps them make critical decisions by categorizing or prioritizing or accepting a viewpoint, for example, whom to vote for, could be based on past experience or just a personal decision based on cognitive knowledge of the candidate, according to Theories of Learning in Educational Psychology. (n.d.). Jerome Bruner (1915 – )., “Bruner’s theories emphasize the significance of categorization in learning. “To perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorize.” Interpreting information and experiences by similarities and differences is a key concept.”
Compare one method of learning you have experienced that did not align with anything you knew or believed to a method that built on your existing schema (scaffolding).
The method of learning that I have experienced that did not align with anything I knew was casting a vote, although, I grew up with the perception for a particular party was irrelevant, because at the end of the day there would be a winner and a looser, however, my existing schema of voting, allows me to summarize reasons to vote for a particular candidate, which will based on their past performance or proposed ideas, According to Yang, (2015), “In acquiring reading and writing skills, students need to identify keywords or phrases from each paragraph, construct concept maps to decode texts, and integrate main ideas or key elements into organized and logical summaries.” In other words the schema helps the individual succeed or adapt cognitively in an ever changing world.
Thinking critically about the inherent differences in the outcomes in these two situations, what differences were there for you in the level of difficulty of remembering the material?
The difference that was there in the level of difficulty of remembering the material was the fact that voting is a civil responsibility that everyone was expected to participate in, however, after studying the information about the candidate and the importance of my vote, it helps me to decide who will be the best candidate to vote for. Therefore, creating an organized logical summary helps me to arrive to a positive outcome.
Analyze and comment on how this learning theory applied to these two real-life situations.
The learning theory which is the use my mental intellect and the influence of the environment to helps me succeed in the ever changing world, therefore, after realizing the importance of casting a vote and the change that it could make, I had to apply critical thinking by summarizing the ideas of the candidates before deciding whom to vote for.
What other differences you can think of?
The other difference I can think of is trying to learn a different or a new language other than the language that I grew up with, the schema of the language I learned growing up will always have influence over the new language I am learning.
How might you apply the principles of this theory when providing new information to a diverse group of individuals?
When providing new information to a diverse group of individuals, I will not allow my knowledge or understanding to influence their decision, rather, I will give them an opportunity to present their hypothesis and allow them to make their own mental decision, which will be based on their past experience and environmental influence, because as a diverse group their ideas will vary. Which will encourage learning development.
Reference
Learning theory – Schema theory . (n.d.). In Education encyclopedia. Retrieved January 15, 2014
from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2175/Learning-Theory-SCHEMA-THEORY.html
Theories of Learning in Educational Psychology. (n.d.). Jerome Bruner (1915 – ). Retrieved
from http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/constructivism/bruner.html
Yang, Y. (2015). Automatic scaffolding and measurement of concept mapping for EFL students
to write summaries. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 18(4), 273-286.
| Theory Versus Theory Versus Theory |
Prior to engaging in this discussion, please read the “Constructivism in Theory and Practice,” “Rona’s Story and the Theory of Symbolic Interactionism,” and “Symbolic Interactionism and Critical Perspective” articles, and review any relevant Instructor Guidance. This guidance can be very helpful as it may include strategies that support your preferred learning.
1. Demonstrate your understanding of the complexities of how we learn by evaluating the potential correlations between symbolic interactionism and constructivism.
2. Apply basic research methods in psychology to your post by synthesizing the principles from the articles in your own words with appropriate citations.
· Do not quote the articles directly.
3. Based on your course resources, scholarly articles, and the knowledge you have developed throughout the past four weeks, critically consider how/if these correlations might affect a person’s ability and/or willingness to learn new material.
· Consider the following in your analysis:
· Symbolic interactionism is actually a theory posed in sociological psychology. Do you believe this theory can be aligned with the framework of constructivism, which originates from learning psychology? Why, or why not? Support your statements with scholarly research and personal examples.
· In your opinion, what prevents (or substantiates) their correlation?
· Based on these theories, what possible needs should be considered when teaching skills to a group of diverse learners?
Demonstrate your understanding of the complexities of how we learn by evaluating the potential correlations between symbolic interactionism and constructivism.
The correlation between symbolic interactionism and constructivism is that language, symbols, and thought have been shown to be related and therefore, the act of representing objects, interactions, or meaning in an experience, within a medium such as language, paint and canvas, or pen and paper, appears to create a discussion that will benefit thought (Eisner, 1993). Simply put, each medium has its own constructs that has attributes and thus produces new variations on the embedded meaning, which is unique to each individual. In order to develop meaning, you must make sense of your experiences and doing so often requires dialogue and communication, which essentially relies on symbolic interactionism (Applefield, Huber, & Moallem, n.d.).
Symbolic interactionism is actually a theory posed in sociological psychology. Do you believe this theory can be aligned with the framework of constructivism, which originates from learning psychology? Why, or why not?
I do believe that the theory of symbolic interactionism can be aligned with the framework of constructivism, even though they are derived from two different types of psychology because they overlap in application. Symbolic interactionism is the thought that human interaction is guided by words, symbols, and other gestures, while constructivism is a learning theory that believes in the theory that we construct our own knowledge out of our experiences and interactions with others, the personal meaning we find in the lesson. As stated above, in order to develop meaning, you must make sense of your experiences and doing so often requires dialogue and communication, which essentially relies on symbolic interactionism (Applefield, Huber, & Moallem, n.d.). Therefore, symbolic interactionism is vital to the process of constructing our own knowledge.
One personal example would be a situation I encounter in my position with MiHope Michigan, which often times counsel’s families that lost children to overdoses. I had no existing schema on this subject matter until I became close to the mothers that had lost their children. They told me, in detail, about the experience of losing their child, I cried with them, held them while they sobbed, but their words, the pictures they showed me, the videos…The symbols. Moving forward, I could speak of the experience, teach others what I had learned or experienced, and now could attach my own meaning to the situation, that I would not have been able to gain if these women had not used the symbols, gestures, and dialogue that they did.
In your opinion, what prevents (or substantiates) their correlation?
In my opinion, it is the fact that symbolic interactionism is so vital to gaining the meaning needed to actively participate in constructivism that substantiates the correlation for me. Without the words, symbols, and gestures of others, meaning could not be gained in some situations therefore making the construction of knowledge impossible.
Based on these theories, what possible needs should be considered when teaching skills to a group of diverse learners?
As always, when teaching these theories to a group of diverse learners the instructor must be prepared for those that will have differing viewpoints as to the effectiveness of one theory upon the other or each theory individually. For example, if I do not subscribe to the theory of constructivism whatsoever, it will not be possible for me to view symbolic interactionism in relation to a theory that I do not believe is effective to begin with. I may discount all applications of that theory so it will be hard to see any other theories relating to it. I guess the bottom line will be, the instructor needs to prepare for different opinions, thoughts, and levels of comprehension when teaching these skills.
Applefield, J. M., Huber, R., & Moallem, M. (n.d.). Constructivism in theory and practice: Toward a better understanding. Retrieved from http://people.uncw.edu/huberr/constructivism.pdf
Eisner, E. (1993). Forms of understanding and the future of educational research. Educational Researcher, 22(7), 5-11.
