How do we learn?

Constructivism

Learning is a complex, and often difficult to understand subject. As a species we've been trying to wrap our heads around how learning works for millennia! Recently, there have been a number of philosophers, psychologists, and educators around the world who think they've got a pretty good theory about how people learn best. It starts with recognizing that students are people, each with rich histories and cultures. If we don't acknowledge those when teaching we are only hurting the advancements of learners everywhere.

This new theory is called Constructivist learning theory, and it's actually pretty simple! The theory states that people learn best in a mentally engaging environment. Basically through activities that are hands-on. Turns out getting into the nitty gritty of a subject is the best way to truly understand it! Hands-on can mean a lot of things, and can have lots of applications. It can be anything from using blocks and note cards to organize information, to just having a discussion about a subject with others who are interested in. As long as you are thinking openly and critically about the subject, you are learning! The important thing is that the student, no matter their age, is actively building their own understanding of a subject.

Historically in education, people have assumed that students are blank slates. When they walk into a classroom they know nothing about the subject, and that just isn't true! Everyone has a plethora of past experiences that inform their understanding of all kinds of subjects, and as an educator it's impossible to guess what your student already knows, and whether their knowledge is even accurate. So constructivist learning theory recommends lots of pre-assessment to understand what you actually know about something. That way you can create a motivation to learn more. Learning works best if there is a dissatisfaction in the learner about what they know. You want to create a disequilibrium in them!

Disequilibrium is what we call it when our understanding of the outside world is in conflict with our mental model. Inside our heads we all have a set of building blocks that make up how we interpret the world. When we get new information that doesn't align with what we already knew, we have to restructure those blocks to fit the new information. Theres always a chance that we'll take the lazy way out though, and just reject the new information.

What does that mean for me?

As a learner you can help yourself immensely, whether your in school, training for a job, or teaching yourself a new language. If you keep in mind that learning is always an individualized process, and force yourself to actively think about how new information is connecting in your mind you can actually form stronger mental bonds with new information.

It can also be a huge help to recognize that knowledge doesn't even exist outside of your mind. It's non tangible, so technically speaking until you create the knowledge for yourself it doesn't even exist. If you frame things like this it can help you avoid being discouraged when learning, because it is a difficult process! You are MAKING knowledge! Try out different ways of understanding and connecting to other knowledge, use the new information in exciting and unconventional ways! There is no reason to stick to one script of learning because you are unique, and your learning should be too.