Holly O’Connor – CoP 3
To what extent can graphic design
have on the effective delivery of teaching in Primary Schools?
Introduction
This essay will
explore graphic design within primary teaching by looking at a number of
teaching theories, perspectives and approaches to teaching; specifically,
within the Primary Classroom. Looking at how these approaches to knowledge,
learning and teaching can be applied to Graphic media and these will be used to
analyse, explicitly when it comes to resources in schools and how much of the
design relates to theories in order to implement and reinforce children’s
knowledge. The aim of this essay is to explore the role that graphic design can
have on creating constructivist materials and resources for the classroom which
will make for effective learning. Looking and analysing visual examples as an
important part of this. There are many opinions and theories about the way
children should be taught and how they learn, as Pritchard writes in Ways of
Learning ‘There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to the questions ‘How do
children learn?’ and ‘How should teachers teach?’ (Pritchard, A 2005). Therefore, the question is not how to, but why and
which is the most effective, which can also be applied to the development of
visual learning materials. Looking at existing resources and how they will help
to understand what is already out there, what works well and how theories are
applied to this.
Introduction to Teaching Theories
Wray and Lewis (1997)
specify four key aspects of constructivist theory which was pioneered by both
Piaget and Vygotsky, those aspects being ‘Learning is a process of interaction
between what is known and what is to be learnt. Learning is a social process.
Learning is a situated process. Learning is a metacognitive process.’ However,
there are a number of different perspectives on what makes the most effective
learning, how children learn best and the different roles and responsibilities
of the teacher and child. Leaving constructivism for now and looking at some
contrasting theorists leads us to behaviourist theories, including Pavlov,
Skinner and Watson. Ideas such as ‘classical conditioning’ and ‘operant
conditioning which on a whole, suggests that learning is a passive activity
from responding to environmental stimuli. Meaning it is essentially a
cognitivist view, (David L, 2014). On one hand the behaviourist view of Skinner
and Watson believes that learning happens through changes in the environment, whereas
Piaget and Vygotsky have a constructivist view that knowledge is constructed by
the learner and then develop their own understanding through experience.
A different take on
learning, is the Montessori approach which Lillard discusses in ‘Montessori:
The Science behind the genius that ‘Underlying Montessori education is the
child as a motivated doer’ and the role of the teacher is stated in ‘The
Montessori Method’ that their role is limited to that of observer-helper of the
children. Montessori’s theories have some similar aspects to Piaget, one main
theme being the idea of children as active learners. (Lillard 2016). on the
other hand, a big difference is the emphasis on the role of the teacher, as
stated before Montessori believes the teacher is there to observe whereas
Piaget believes in teacher-based learning and instruction. One other area they
agree on is the importance of the environment, and how it should look and be
set up.
Another,
possibly more contemporary theory to look at is that of Reggio Emilia which
mirrors views of constructivism and those of Piaget and Vygotsky by suggesting
that ‘Children are capable of constructing their own learning’ Gribble, K,
2017). Although differences are implied through the social aspect of Reggio
Emilia’s approach, that children form an understanding of the world through
their interactions with others, whereas Piaget suggest it’s much more
individual. Seeing the differing approaches to teaching and how children learn,
constructivism is probably the a useful lens through which to explore effective
teaching in terms of graphic design, as it focuses on the environment, context
and problem based learning.
Focus on
Constructivism
Constructivism is referred to as a paradigm and the differing approaches
and ideas built upon these. Constructivism
as a paradigm or
worldview posits that learning is an active, constructive process. The learner
is an information constructor; people actively construct or create their own
subjective representations of objective reality. (David, 2014). Constructivism
is seen as a paradigm as there are many different approaches and opinions about
it and what constructivism concerns and represents.
Piaget
is seen as a pioneer of constructivism, taking a look at his learning theory
and the four main stages which include; sensorimotor,
preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational (Piaget 1972). The
underlying idea is that teacher’s role is to facilitate learning by providing a
variety of experiences, which ‘discovery learning’ (Fosnot 1996) also comes
into, which helps to encourage new understandings. Vygotsky’s work explores
social interaction, knowledgeable others and looking at the zone of proximal
development. When looking at Vygotsky and Piaget’s views side by side one of
the main ways in which they contrast is the order of development and learning,
Piaget believes that development precedes learning, whereas Vygotsky felt that
social learning precedes development (David 2014). On the other hand, the
similarities are discussed by Fosnot that they both seem to have an overarching
similar concept that constructivism is creating new representations and models
of reality as a human meaning-making venture, with culturally developed tools
and symbols to encourage learning in the classroom environment (Fosnot 1996).
In Constructivism: Theory, Perspectives, and
Practice Fosnot writes about Piaget’s view of adaptation instead of
representation (Fosnot 1996) and how this stems from Biology and the adaptation
of animals and their characteristics and ways of behaving to their environments
around them, mirroring this to how children can learn and adapt in the
classroom and then apply what they have learnt to the real world. In Grennon’s
book, ‘In Search of Understanding: The Case for a Constructivist Classroom’,
she discusses the underlying aim and role of the teacher within the
constructivist theory, ‘the teacher searches for student’s understanding’, and
then as a result of this teachers then ‘create opportunities for students to
refine and revise those understandings’ through a range of actions (Grennon
1993).
The development of
constructivism, start by looking at behaviourist theories and how
constructivism has built upon these and advanced through differing opinions,
voices and stances on the topic. Kay C Wood says that ‘Piaget's
work provides the foundation on which constructionist theories are based’. Taking
his initial ideas and interpretation of constructivism refers back to genetics,
more specifically genetic epistemology or similarly evolutionary epistemology. Epistemology
is ‘the study of the origins or genesis of knowledge’. Within this concept,
Piaget believed that knowledge is formed from an individuals’ environment and
experiences and how ‘they have managed to evolve a fit or
their physical characteristics and their ways of behaving have so far proven
viable in their environment.’ (Fosnot
1996). Piaget also believes that intelligence is ‘the basic
mechanism of ensuring equilibrium in the relations between the person and the
environment.’. Within Piaget’s Stages of
Development Model, he discusses the ‘Preoperational Period’ where intelligence
is egocentric and intuitive,
and the ‘Concrete
operational stage’ where ‘Thinking becomes less egocentric with increased awareness of
external events, and involves concrete references.’
which are both most
appropriate to explore when looking at knowledge and learning within a Primary
School environment, especially so in the earlier years.
This idea of developmental
stages of learning is shown by Jaqueline Grennan in ‘In Search for
Understanding: The case for Constructivist classrooms’, where she discusses the
levels and depth of understanding and intelligence throughout a child’s school
life, ‘As human beings we experience various aspects of the world, such as the
beach, at different periods of development, and are thus able to construct more
complex understandings. The young child in may know that the taste of sea water
is unpleasant. As she grows, she might understand that it tastes salty. As a
teenager, she might understand the chemical concept of salinity. At some point
in her development, she might examine how salt solutions conduct electricity.’
(Grennan 1993).
Vygotsky
built upon Piaget’s theory by introducing a social element to constructivism, it
is seen as one of the foundations of constructivism. Introducing ideas such as
social interaction, more knowledgeable others and the zone of proximal
development. The main difference between these two theories is that ‘Piaget
believes development necessarily precedes learning whereas Vygotsky believes
that social learning precedes development’ (David L, 2014). This social aspect
of Vygotsky’s theory is discussed further in Constructivism:
Theory, Perspectives, and Practice, exploring the idea of the ‘classroom as a
mini society and a community of learns engaged
with activity, discourse, interpretation, justification and reflection.’ It’s
important to see that learning happens with the assistance of other people,
which brings in Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development which he describes in
detail as ‘a range of tasks that are too difficult for an individual to master
alone, but can be mastered with the assistance or guidance of adults or more
skilled peers’ (Vygotsky, L, 1962). This theory can then be applied into the
classroom in a number of ways, an example of this is pairing more academic
students with a student who is maybe less capable, therefore they can help each
other and children may use different and more understandable language to one
another rather than the teacher’s explanation. Peer marking and peer evaluation
is also an important aspect which shows Vygotsky’s theory placed in classroom
situations, which shows how much social interaction there is in an educational
environment.
Other
advances on constructivism consists of the discussion of radical constructivism
from Ernst von Glaserfeld. In his book ‘Radical Constructivism: A way of
knowing and learning’, he describes the paradigm of constructivism as ‘a theory
of knowing that provides a pragmatic approach to questions about reality,
truth, language and human understanding.’ Within his book he also discusses
behaviourist views and how he tends to pit his own ideas against those of
behaviourists, describing the behaviourist movement as ‘passé’ but believes
that ‘some of its central notions are still very much alive, both in psychology
and education.’ (Glaserfeld, E 1995). Constructivism is a theory based on
complexity models of evolution and development, (Fosnot 1996). The theory is
still constantly evolving and being built upon, especially with more
contemporary ideas, as Glaserfeld and many others have done with the basis of
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s discussions and interpretations.
Role
of the Teacher
The
role of the teacher, the extent to which teachers should be a part of within
the learning process is something that differs across the theories and
paradigms. Piaget believes and therefore, discusses in his book that the role
of the teacher, ‘is to facilitate
learning by providing a variety of experiences’ (Piaget 1972). Which coincides
with Fosno’s idea that within constructivist classroom ‘the teacher assumes more of a facilitators role and
learners take on more ownership of the ideas’ (Fosnot 1996). Which differs from
Montessori’s idea of the role of the teacher, where Montessori discusses the
idea of the teacher as an observer, where children dictated their own learning
journey.
Furthermore, Vygotsky discusses the role of
the teacher in creating a more social classroom environment in saying that ‘teachers use
cooperative learning exercises where less competent children develop with help
from more skilful peers.’ Suggesting that children can learn from one another.
Firstly in terms of learning from more knowledgeable others, but also being
able to explain ideas strengthens understanding. Also less academic children
may see and understand things differently which may open the eyes to more
academic children to think about things differently. Especially when the
teacher allows and creates opportunities for this to happen. Glaserfeld also picks up in
his book that ‘The task of the educator is not to dispense knowledge but to
provide students with opportunities and incentives to build it up,’ (Glaserfeld
1995), which reinforces this idea of the teacher as an opportunist.
Katz (1985) stressed that emphasis on
performance usually results in little recall of concepts over time, while
emphasis on learning generates long-term understanding. Similarly, Grennan also
discusses that ‘Teachers who value the child’s present conceptions rather than
measure how far away they are from other conceptions, help students construct
individual understandings important to them’, (Grennan 1993). Which also links
to Piaget’s view of idiosyncrasy within children and that an analysis of meaning always leads to
individual experiences. Therefore, Vygotsky’s social learning theory brings
children together so that they share these experiences and can as discussed
previously, learn from one another, but it’s up to the teacher to provide these
opportunities.
Grennon
also discusses the idea of pupils and children having suppositions, which are
formed from their previous experiences and environment which is part of
Piaget’s genetic epistemology. The role of the teacher in this aspect is to
adapt curriculum tasks to address these suppositions, therefore what children
are learning is relatable and something they are already aware of so that they
can build up on their knowledge, which again refers back to Piaget’s statement
of adaptation instead of representation sharing
and teaching knowledge in a way that relates to children’s experiences and
isn’t necessarily a copy of reality. The teacher also needs to show genuine
interest in these suppositions and knowing more about what they think and why,
seeking to understand student’s points of view. From doing this allows students
to ‘follow trails of interest’ as discussed by Fosnot (1996), if students are
actually interested and feel acknowledged they are more likely to be engaged
and then perform better and maintain more knowledge, even outside of the
context of the classroom.
The
idea of nonlinear learning is also an important part of constructivism, as it
allows students to control and construct their own learning when there isn’t
specific targets or topics to cover. ‘Knowledge is not linear’ (Fosnot 1996),
each point of learning is a temporary intellectual stop along the path of ever
increasing knowledge. As Grennan discusses, ‘constructivist teachers allow
student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies and alter
content’ (Grennan 1993). Therefore, the teacher plays a role in allowing
children to take charge of their own learning and giving them the resources
which will guide and help them to do so the teacher’s responsibility is to
create educational environments that permit students to assume the
responsibility that is rightfully and naturally theirs. Which also allows
children to create and select their own unique problem- solving approaches and
then use these to construct new understandings (Fosnot 1996). Pritchard also
discusses the importance of the teacher’s own understandings and experiences
especially of processes of learning and how it is ‘essential for those who
intend to develop activities and resources that will have the potential to lead
to effective learning taking place in classrooms’ (Pritchard 2005).
Role of Learning Materials
The
role of learning materials within the classroom, in terms of constructivism is
mainly to bring context into the classroom. It brings Piaget’s ideas that the
environment influences and is the main aspect of knowledge and learning,
‘knowledge is constructed based on personal experiences’ (Fosnot 1996).
Therefore, the role of resources and in turn the role of the teacher is to give
pupils and children the opportunity to put their experiences in perspective to
help them further their knowledge and understanding in specific areas. Which
also formalises learning experiences, meaning that children will get and learn
more from them, meaning they are much more enriching.
Another
aspect is that of sociability and the role of resources in terms of bringing
pupils together and also in terms of Vygotsky’s social development theory where
he suggests that children firstly develop and learn at a social level before
the individual level of understanding (David 2014). This idea of social
learning is also discussed by Clements
and Battista (2009) where they state that ‘Learning is a social process in which children grow into the
intellectual life of those around them’, therefore resources need to be
inclusive and are seen as an anchor to allow for discussion sand group
activities, also any games should be more than one player so that pupils can
interact with one another to help with both their social knowledge and
individual learning journey. Within this report they also discuss the role and
negative impact of paper and pencil exercise saying that they can cause ‘social
isolation’, mechanical repetition and a form of dependence on the teacher to
know if the answer is correct. Therefore, these kind of activities need
replacing with two different kinds of activities be that games or situations in
everyday living.
Resource
Analysis
One
resource from Math sphere shown in Figure 1 can be used as an example of how
learning can be put into context within the classroom, whilst at the same time
children are learning about daily, real life activities. Teaching children
about money, with illustrations showing this in context. In terms of Piaget’s
ideas, this does follow his idea of constructivism, however he probably would
suggest to take it one step further to use actual money, rather than working
from a 2D worksheet. As when Piaget’s and Montessori’s ideas are compared, one
thing they had in common was the belief that if you
were to read a class a book about farm animals they both agree that you should
then take your class to a farm so they can see, smell, and touch these animals.
This idea is also discussed by Fosnot the idea that constructivist teachers use
raw data and primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive and physical
materials.
When analysing and looking at the
disadvantages of this resource and where it doesn’t fit with constructivist
approaches, is the firstly the social isolation aspect. The resource doesn’t
really allow for group work or discussions and could be viewed as repetitive
and unengaging. Another aspect which is missing is imagination and freedom of
thinking, as the worksheet really only allows for one way of working and only
the correct answers. This way of working is discussed by Grennan where she
states that constructivism should ’encourage pupils to think’ (Grennan, 1994)
rather than to just be able to compute with paper and pencil. As this written
aspect interfered with pupil’s freedom to think and to remember addition and
subtraction of numbers. This resource, similar to figure 2, introduces
knowledge which children are already aware of and are most likely to have seen
and responded to outside the classroom, it brings it into a mathematical
learning context which they are therefore more likely to engage with. Children potentially learn more when learning in
context rather than in the classroom, therefore context needs to be brought
into the classroom for learning to be more beneficial and create long term
understanding.
Twinkl – Case Study – Visual Analysis
Beginning to look at
constructivism and design within a specific subject this visual example looks
at KS1 Maths Resources from Twinkl, which is an online
educational publishing
house, producing teaching and educational materials. Founder of
Twinkl Jonathan Seaton discusses in a recent article that Twinkl is ‘empowering
a new way of teaching’. The resources recognise that children of the future
need to have the ability to problem solve, think creatively and pattern spot.
Mirroring the ideas of constructivism these resources have a
main focus on jobs and careers that children will be able to identify with and
recognise. Which is an aspect that Grennan discusses in her book that children
don’t usually connect the information they receive in school to interpretations
of the world around them, (Grennan 1993), however this piece shows how
children’s current knowledge can be used to make sense of new knowledge, which
is essentially the underlying idea of constructivism that ‘Knowledge is constructed
based on personal experiences and hypotheses of the environment (David 2014).
A criticism of the piece is that it doesn’t encourage social
interaction and learning, it is designed more for individual learning, which
contradicts Vygotsky’s social learning theory and the idea of the ‘classroom as
a mini society and a community of learners engaged with activity’ (Fosnot 1996).
This style of independent learning fits more into the Montessori teaching
method that caters for children by ‘adapting the curriculum to the taste of
individual children’ (Hunt 1964). The sharing of and cooperation which is
important to learning comes from Paul Cobb’s idea of ‘taken as shared’ and the
fact that ‘the mutual compatibility in our use of words and language is the
result of social interaction’ (Fosnot 1996), therefore implying that children
help each other learn through sharing their different experiences.
Figure 2 also is an example of the teacher trying to grasp
how and what the children in the class already understand, and how ‘learners
need enough previous knowledge and understanding to enable them to learn new
things’ it’s an example of the teacher using resources as a tool to ‘help make
links with new and previous knowledge explicitly’ (Prichard 2005).
Spinner Game
Figure
3 is a more interactive resource which can be used both independently and in pairs.
It is also a lot more interactive and moves away from using just paper and
pencil, it creates a different learning experience. It is also an activity that
can be done without the teacher’s involvement which fits with Piaget’s idea of
the role of the teacher as a facilitator, the children being taught the basic
knowledge, then the pupils are then putting what they have learnt into practise
with materials that the teachers as given to them and created. Which follows
Grennan’s idea that was discussed earlier, where it’s said that teachers ‘create
opportunities for students to refine and revise those understandings’ through a
range of actions (Grennan 1994). Which also relates to the ideas of constructivism discussed in Catherine Fosnot’s
book ‘Constructivism:
Theory, Perspectives, and Practice’ that new ideas and representations of
reality are constructed with ‘culturally developed tools and symbols’. Giving
children the tools they need to figure out reality and the knowledge
themselves.
What figure 3 fails to do is put learning into
context as well as Figure 1 and 3, as it only uses numbers. Clements suggests
that students care more about real-life situations
and think much harder about these questions than about those in workbooks. As learning in context as a way of learning, fits
alongside Grennan’s words that ‘constructivism is a nonlinear learning process’
and that children can ‘make connections’, between the different parts of theory
and knowledge that they have learnt, which is a much more realistic picture of
how the world works, and how they can take their learning outside of the
classroom as discussed in ‘Building Skills for Effective Primary Teaching, that
‘Context can impact on learning too, a child might be able to do something within
the classroom but may not see how to use this learning in a different context
or environment.’ Which also coincides with Piaget’s theory of
‘discovery learning’ and how ‘knowledge is constructed when children create
products or artefacts’ (Piaget 1972).
Design of a Board/Card Game – Visual Analysis
Figure 3 shows a card game
which helps children to learn different Maths concepts. Designed by the Green
Board Games. The game is said to be ‘innovative and imaginative, and designed
to bring people together, increase knowledge, aid learning and also be great
fun.’ All of those ideas are all important aspects of constructivism. Beginning
to look at the idea of how games can help children to learn which is discussed by
Clements and Battista (2009) in their report of ‘Constructivist Learning and
Teaching’. Within this report they consider that games can be used as a
fundamental form of instruction, they also allow for students to discuss or
agree and disagree with one another. They also state their opinion that games
are proven to be effective within the classroom, especially when older, maybe
more old fashioned well known games are manipulated or modified, for example a
version of Old Maid where children try to make a sum of ten with two cards. These
ideas coincide with Prichard’s discussion (in Ways of Learning) where he
suggests ‘when learning is made up of authentic tasks, there is a greater
possibility of engagement’ (Pritchard, 2005), which also fits together with the
ideals of the resources discussed in Figure 1 and 2 of tactile and active forms
of learning. An important aspect of Constructivism is that learning comes from
real life situations and children’s environment around them, more specifically
and enriching outside of the classroom activities such as taking attendance,
voting, collecting money and writing letters.
Figure 3 is also an example
discussed previously in the essay from Glaserfeld about how the teacher’s role
is to provide children with opportunities and incentives to build up their
knowledge and learning skills. Breaking down ideas further discussed in
Constructivist Learning and Teaching, firstly Clements suggests that ‘Paper and
pencil exercises cause social isolation, mechanical repetition and dependence
on the teacher’ (Clements 2009) and therefore ideas and tasks need to be put in
place to stop this from happening, therefore one idea is to ‘replace these
tasks with games and situations in daily living’. Which is also suggested in
Grennan’s book, where she writes that ‘Constructivist teachers use raw data and
primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive and physical materials’
(Grennan 1993). The use of engaging and real materials, gives way to children
understanding and putting what they are learning into context, so that they’re
knowledge doesn’t just stop when they leave the classroom.
The design of Figure 3 also
allows pupils to interact with one another, which means that Vygotsky’s ideas
and views of constructivism are implemented and embedded within the game and
resource itself. This social aspect of learning is also discussed in Clements
and Battista’s report, where they state that the role of a constructivist
classroom and teacher within it is to ‘encourage pupils to exchange points of
view, rather than reinforce correct answers and correct wrong ones’, meaning
that pupils can learn from each other and share new ideas and experiences as
Piaget’s ideas suggest that every pupil is individual and have very distinctive
and specific ways of perceiving and conceiving (Fosnot 1996).
Conclusion
In Ways of Learning, Pritchard writes that ‘Effective
learning is learning which is lasting and capable of being put to use in new
and differing situations.’ (Pritchard, 2005). In relation to this Grennan
discusses the emphasis on learning as helping to create long term
understanding, ‘emphasis on performance usually results in little recall of concepts over time, while emphasis on learning generates long-term understanding.’
(Grennan, 1994). Therefore, using existing concepts and contextual
understandings makes it easier and more effective for children to understand
and learn from.
In Piaget’s terms; constructivism is
ultimately about children constructing new knowledge from building on current
knowledge. Therefore, effective resources engage children by encouraging them
to remember their existing knowledge and placing it into context with new knowledge,
combining the two together to produce a better understanding.
The resources which were analysed all
show the role of the teacher in terms of being a facilitator and providing the
tools and symbols for children to most efficiently learn from, some being seen
as more effective than others. Those that used illustrations an imagery makes
it easier for children to situate the knowledge into a context that they
understand as it’s easier for them to see something visual rather than purely
written.
In conclusion
the most effective design for learning materials in a primary classroom
consists of an element of group learning, allowing for discussions, social
learning and which in turn leads to enquiry, curiosity, and dialogue with the
both the teacher and most importantly between one another. Another important
aspect of effective learning materials is the right combination of context and
physicality. Placing learning within contexts that children will understand, or
in better terms as Fosnot describes, ‘valuing children’s present conceptions and
suppositions’. These effective learning materials also encourage children to
think a lot more than just writing correct answers using paper and pencil. As in
constructivist teaching, there is a big focus on knowing more about what
children think and why and also the importance of understanding children’s
points of view. As Fosnot discusses that, ‘A constructivist framework challenges teachers to create environments in which they and their students are encouraged to think and explore,’
and resources have an important part to play within this framework.
In conclusion graphic design can play a significant
role on the effectiveness of the delivery of teaching in a primary school
environment, by having an impact on the creation of resources. Firstly, making them
innovative and engaging, helping to communicate to the right audience and
playing on pupil’s own experiences and suppositions. Secondly, creating
resources which encourage interaction and group activities, part of this can be
done by initiating discussions through games or activities. Graphic design can
therefore ultimately help within Piaget’s main point of constructivism of discovery learning, ‘providing
opportunities for learners to explore and experiment, thereby encouraging new
understandings’.
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