scholarly journals A theoretical journey from social constructivism to digital storytelling

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Lizzie Abderrahim ◽  
Mar Gutiérrez-Colón Plana

<p>Using the concept of a journey through time, this article examines the theoretical foundation underpinning the use of digital storytelling as a pedagogical tool in the language classroom. It describes the arguments developed by Dewey, Piaget and Vygotsky, which form the basis of social constructivist theory and the work of Kolb from which experiential learning theory was developed. It goes on to describe how these theories are reflected in pedagogical approaches to language learning, from Asher’s total physical response approach, to Blaine Ray’s TPR storytelling and finally to the development of digital storytelling by Lambert and Atchley. Along this journey, the reader is able to pause and consider progressive theories of education and to take account of cognitive development and sociocultural theory. The significance of experience in the learning process and the value of a physical response becomes evident and the benefits of  telling stories, whether these are told in the traditional way or through the use of digital technology is apparent.</p>

Author(s):  
Seda Khadimally

The purpose of this chapter is to explore whether social constructivism promotes mobile technology rich, student-centered learning/teaching practices, leading adult English as a second language (ESL) students to transform into self-directed learners. Under this theory, a shift from teacher-centered English language learning to a student-oriented approach to how students acquire basic English skills is promoted and students' possible transformation into independent and autonomous learners is fostered because, by use of mobile technologies, they may successfully transfer information from their previous experiences to their current knowledge. Incorporating mobile learning (m-Learning) into their instruction and making social constructivism an integral part of their curriculum, ESL teachers can contribute to their students transformation into self-directed learners as an active, knowledge-building community and in charge of their own learning processes, which explains that this theory is highly compatible with the principles grounded in what Knowles proposed as a progressive learning approach for adult education: andragogy.


Author(s):  
Janet Salmons

Social constructivism is an established educational theory based on the principle that learners and teachers co-construct knowledge through social processes. This chapter proposes an updated theory, e-social constructivism, that takes into account the milieu of electronic communications in which e-learning occurs. Thinkers such as Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner, who laid the theoretical foundations of social constructivism, wrote in a time when face-to-face interactions were the basis for instruction. The works of these writers are reviewed in this chapter. Together with the results of the author’s phenomenological study of collaborative e-learning, they form the basis of e-social constructivist theory. The author uses grounded theory and situational analysis to derive and support e-social constructivist theory. This chapter discusses the implication of that theory for research, teaching and instructional design.


2021 ◽  
pp. 191-219
Author(s):  
Georg Sørensen ◽  
Jørgen Møller ◽  
Robert Jackson

This chapter examines the social constructivist theory of IR. It first discusses the rise of social constructivism and why it has established itself as an important approach in IR. It then considers constructivism as social theory, and more specifically as both a meta-theory about the nature of the social world and as a set of substantial theories of IR. Several examples of constructivist IR theory are presented, followed by reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of the constructivist approach. The chapter proceeds by exploring constructivist theories of international relations, focusing on cultures of anarchy, norms of International Society, the power of international organizations, a constructivist approach to European cooperation, and domestic formation of identity and norms. The chapter concludes with an analysis of some of the major criticisms of constructivism and by emphasizing internal debates within constructivism.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riana Agustin Tindjabate

The purpose of this study was to find out secondary school students’ frequent choices of the IPs-LLS. The study was conducted as Sekolah Menengah Umum Gereja Kristen Sulawesi Tengah 2 Tentena (SMU GKST 2 Tentena), Central Sulawesi, with 75 students as the respondents. The primary data of this study was the students’ respondents on language learning strategy. In this study, all the respondents were asked to fill in the questionnaire containing of 50 questions concerning language learning strategy (LSS). Overall, the analysis results showed that the LLS were sometimes used by the students. However, there were two interactive patterns of the LSS that were reported frequently used, these were “I ask for correction when I talk” and “I ask for help from English speakers”. This study did not explore deeply the respondents’ meaning about which English speakers were. But, it revealed respondents’ needs towards other people when they learned English. To conclude, the findings of the study support the implementation of social constructivist theory in EFL classroom. It implies that English teachers should develop their strategy of teaching becoming more constructive and interactive.


2011 ◽  
pp. 1730-1743
Author(s):  
Janet Salmons

Social constructivism is an established educational theory based on the principle that learners and teachers co-construct knowledge through social processes. This chapter proposes an updated theory, e-social constructivism, that takes into account the milieu of electronic communications in which e-learning occurs. Thinkers such as Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner, who laid the theoretical foundations of social constructivism, wrote in a time when face-to-face interactions were the basis for instruction. The works of these writers are reviewed in this chapter. Together with the results of the author’s phenomenological study of collaborative e-learning, they form the basis of e-social constructivist theory. The author uses grounded theory and situational analysis to derive and support e-social constructivist theory. This chapter discusses the implication of that theory for research, teaching and instructional design.


Author(s):  
Seda Khadimally

The purpose of this chapter is to explore whether social constructivism promotes mobile technology rich, student-centered learning/teaching practices, leading adult English as a second language (ESL) students to transform into self-directed learners. Under this theory, a shift from teacher-centered English language learning to a student-oriented approach to how students acquire basic English skills is promoted and students' possible transformation into independent and autonomous learners is fostered because, by use of mobile technologies, they may successfully transfer information from their previous experiences to their current knowledge. Incorporating mobile learning (m-Learning) into their instruction and making social constructivism an integral part of their curriculum, ESL teachers can contribute to their students transformation into self-directed learners as an active, knowledge-building community and in charge of their own learning processes, which explains that this theory is highly compatible with the principles grounded in what Knowles proposed as a progressive learning approach for adult education: andragogy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Ana Sevilla-Pavón ◽  
Belén Serra-Cámara ◽  
Ana Gimeno-Sanz

<p>Digital Storytelling is a powerful pedagogical tool for both students and educators, which started to be used for teaching and learning purposes a few years ago, becoming more and more popular over time. The use of digital storytelling in non-specific language learning contexts has been widely explored, as shown in the literature. However, its use in technical-scientific contexts of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has not been so widely studied. This paper explores a project of digital storytelling for ESP carried out at the Universitat Politècnica de València, in Spain. The methodology was divided into several stages: completing a pre- and a post-survey, learning about digital storytelling by doing a WebQuest, making decisions about their digital stories (topic, plot, software and media), sharing their stories with their classmates through the PoliformaT LMS, watching their classmates' digital stories, using the forum to write their comments about their digital stories and their classmates', keeping a log and preparing and presenting their “making of” in front of the class, and assessing both their peers’ digital stories and their oral presentations. The overall results were very positive, as students were highly satisfied with their progress in learning and developing different skills, these being mainly linguistic, research, writing, organisation, digital, presentation, interpersonal, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.</p>


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacia Beverley Johnson

The need to use and integrate digital literacy tools is critical in the current landscape of advanced language learning. Microblogging (e.g. Twitter) is one such tool that fosters student interaction and collaboration among language learners. This article will conceptualize the practice of tweeting, in relation to social constructivist theory and to new literacies, in senior high school language classes using CEFR’s B1 and B2 proficiency level tasks. The perceived benefits of using Twitter for language learning will be listed. Guides to getting educators started with Twitter, suggestions for tweet tasks and connections for CEFR C1 and C2 advanced language learners will also be included.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huanan Su

This article gives a brief theoretical view on the implementation of PAD-based instruction in Chinese college students爷English language learning. The article first introduces the situation of English language learning in the present China, especially the learning amongst Chinese college students. And then it informs the readers of the rise of PAD-based instruction, including the three phases of PAD-based instruction in English language learning. Finally, the article focuses on a theoretical view on PAD-based instruction, including the view of the social constructivist theory, the view of the collaborative learning theory and the view of the sociocultural theory. A brief theoretical view on PAD-based instruction in the article will help readers understand how the theories are fundamentally employed to carry out the procedures of PAD-based instruction in English language learning amongst Chinese college students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Farzana Sharmin Pamela Islam

As 21st century is the era of modern technologies with different aspects, it offers us to make the best use of them. After tape recorder and overhead projector (OHP), multimedia has become an important part of language classroom facilities for its unique and effective application in delivering and learning lesson. Although in many parts of Bangladesh, a South Asian developing country, where English enjoys the status of a foreign language, the use of multimedia in teaching and learning is viewed as a matter of luxury. However, nowadays the usefulness and the necessity of it are well recognized by the academics as well as the government. The study aims to focus on the difference between a traditional classroom void of multimedia and multimedia equipped classrooms at university level by explaining how multimedia support the students with enhanced opportunity to interact with diverse texts that give them more in-depth comprehension of the subject. It also focuses on audio-visual advantage of multimedia on the students’ English language learning. The study has followed a qualitative method to get an in-depth understanding of the impact of using multimedia in an English language classroom at tertiary level. For this purpose, the data have been collected from two different sources. Firstly, from students’ written response to  an open ended question as to their comparative experience of learning  lessons with and without multimedia facilities; and secondly, through  observation of English language classes at a private university of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The discussion of the study is limited to  the use of multimedia in English language classroom using cartoons, images and music with a view to enhance students’ skills in academic writing, critical analysis of image and critical appreciation of music. For this purpose, cartoons in English language, images from Google and music from You Tube have got focused discussion in this paper.


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