CONSTRUCTIVISM

Learning experience 2:

I remember learning how to develop a practical skill, which was screenprinting. This was for my art GCSE, in order to produce a patterned textile based on the artists William Morris to produce evidence for my exam including a range of interior design objects such as tiles, wallpaper etc. I was learning to do this with my art teacher Mr Bates. I learnt the information through looking at examples of the artist's work, looking at book containing examples of the process, producing a range of design ideas, developing them, testing them as a repeat pattern and then producing small test prints. I then created the final stencils and produced the final piece.

I believe this learning experience is constructivist in nature due to the way in which the teacher was there to provide initial guidance, combined with my guided research and prior experience, to form new experiences. This process is also known as assimilation. After this initial learning he then stepped back to allow me to experiment on my own increasingly until I produced the final product on my own. This way of learning fits the scaffolding approach in nature.

"Assimilating causes an individual to incorporate new experiences into the old experiences"

(Teachnology.com, n.d.)

There was also a large element of exploration and analysis in looking at whether the design and techniques were successful and I was an active participant in my learning, through this exploration and experimentation. When a connection was made between the process, the design idea and a solution of the best way forward was reached, this also represents a connectivist approach.

The sessions in which I produced this project were also very social as we were a small group of students who had elected to take GCSE art in our own time and were very collaborative in our sharing of skills and approach to research. We would share the results of experiments, reflect on our work and share ideas. This social element reflect social constructivism.

" ...constructivism acknowledges the learner's active role in the personal creation of knowledge,

the importance of experience (both individual and social) in this knowledge creation process,

and the realization that the knowledge created will vary in its degree of validity as an accurate representation of reality."

(Constructivism and online education., n.d.)

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Constructivism Learning Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2018, from http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/constructivism/

Constructivism and online education. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2018, from http://www.trainingshare.com/resources/doo2.htm