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Introduction
Adult education and learning are specifically created to promote learning among people whose age, social status, or self-perception characterize them as adults. There are five factors used to describe an adult learner. First is a strong sense of independence, the ability to guide their learning, and a wealth of life experiences that may be valuable resources for learning (Mukhalalati & Taylor, 2019).
Furthermore, Mukhalalati and Taylor (2019) assert that adult learners are problem-focused, engaged in the immediate application of information, and have learning demands that are strongly tied to changing social roles. Finally, learners are driven to learn by internal rather than external forces. Adults who begin any learning engagement bring their own life experiences, employment experiences, learning experiences, performance affecters, and contextual variables such as time between learning encounters and aging (Abedini et al., 2021). Cognitive and constructivism are two learning theories directly related to adult learning. This research paper aims to compare and contrast cognitivism and constructivism learning theories as it pertains to an adult learner, along with providing applications of both theories to online and brick-and-mortar settings.
Constructivism and Cognitivism for Adults
Constructivism
The constructivist ideology has a long history of usage in early childhood education programs, although it is less typically applied in adult learning settings. Although cognitive adaptation and social mediation are lifelong processes that enable learning, peoples capacity to reason logically about their experiences alters qualitatively as they mature (Dennick, 2016). The core idea of the constructivist school of thought is that information is not imparted but acquired via personal, meaningful real-world experiences and discussing those experiences with others.
Adult constructivism refines the constructivist experiential learning approach, which fosters problem-solving via discovery, inquiry, experimentation, and reflection in an authentic context, for more epistemologically sophisticated learners. In conjunction with adult learning and transformational learning theories, which support learner engagement and contextualized settings, constructivism criticizes the impersonal, decontextualized, and wasteful use of behaviorist and cognitivist models. Adult constructivisms central driving force is encouraging active learning among students instead of the more passive objectivist approach (Dennick, 2016). The ideal environment for deeper learning also includes altering the teachers function to that of a facilitator, promoting peer discussion, and utilizing formative assessment.
Constructivism Strategies and Application in the Classroom
Using constructivist learning theory in the classroom necessitates avoiding direct advice from students. Xu and Shi (2018), argues that teacher creates a learning environment that allows students to see, articulate, express, explain, understand, and apply new information with little monitoring. Constructivist learning strategies include hands-on exercises, idea mapping, jigsaw puzzles, role-playing, and real-life simulation (Xu & Shi, 2018). For example, in role-playing, students can be assigned to play numerous book characters, prominent historical and current affairs personalities, bodily organs, plant parts, and sports materials. By doing so, the students will be better able to appreciate the depth and significance of these individuals and entities.
Cognitivism
On the other hand, cognitivism considers learning an internal intellectual process encompassing features such as insight, information processing, memorization, and forming an opinion about what has been learned. Cognitive learning primarily concerns the internal structure that allows learning (Sala & Gobet, 2019). This is critical in adult education since the model must be relevant to adults internal systems. It must be remembered that adults have many thoughts, and the learning paradigm adopted must match their intellectual structure.
According to cognitivist philosophy, educations objective is to increase the ability and competence to learn better by establishing the required environment to internalize what is learned. This is the foundation of every learning process since what is learned must first be comprehended and absorbed before it can be performed. According to Clark (2018), the educators responsibility is to arrange the learning process and topics so that the learning group understands them effortlessly. This is a critical notion in adult learning since what is taught must be delivered in a way that is relevant to the learners circumstances. The learning model chosen must evaluate how the information will benefit the learning group and its requirements. This is due to the focus on adult learning, which strongly emphasizes the learners cognitive growth throughout the adult learning process. The instructional material should be simple enough for the students to comprehend. Adults can readily learn independently; hence, the employed learning paradigm should support this.
Cognitivism Strategies and Application in the Classroom
A cognitive strategy is a form of learning method students use to study more effectively. These memory techniques include re-teaching, categorizing new vocabulary, summarizing meaning, inferring meaning from context, and employing imagery (Al-Jarrah et al., 2019).
All of these techniques purposefully use language to enhance learning. The ideal method to implement cognitivism in the classroom is for the instructors to pose questions that will assist the students in clarifying their ideas and identifying any potential mistakes. Alternatively, a teacher might use previous information to challenge an existing belief (schema) and develop lessons geared toward amplifying or changing such schemata. Examples may be found in online games and practice exercises like flashcards and sorting games. These games frequently offer past knowledge schema in a novel way, resulting in disequilibrium and the need to adapt and acquire new information to progress.
Differences Between Cognitivism and Constructivism
The Learning Process and How It Occurs
Cognitive theories stress the acquisition of knowledge and internal mental structures and, as such, are closer to the rationalist end of the epistemology continuum. According to Badyal and Singh (2017), learning is compared to discrete knowledge changes rather than response likelihood variations. Cognitive theories concern how students conceptualize their learning processes and how the mind receives, organizes, stores, and retrieves information (Badyal & Singh, 2017). Learning focuses more on what students know and how they learn than on what they do. Acquiring knowledge is a mental activity requiring the learner to code and organize information internally (Badyal & Singh, 2017). The learner is seen as a highly engaged participant in the educational process.
Contrarily, the constructivist philosophy views learning as deriving meaning from experience. The notion that knowledge is mind-independent and may be mapped onto a learner is not shared by constructivists and cognitivist. Constructivists do not dispute the reality of the real world, but they argue that peoples perceptions of it are based on their interpretations of their experiences (Gallardo-Alba et al., 2021).
People cannot get a preset, proper interpretation of any event since there are several different meanings to draw from it. Al-Jarrah et al. (2019) state that learners construct individualized interpretations of the world based on their unique experiences and interactions rather than transferring knowledge from the outside world into their memory. As a result, the internal representation of information is constantly changing; there is no objective reality that learners attempt to understand. Knowledge arises in environments where it is relevant. Therefore, the actual event must be studied to comprehend the learning that has occurred within a person.
Factors Influencing Learning
Cognitivism stresses the importance of environmental factors in aiding learning. Explanations, demonstrations, illuminating examples, and matching non-examples are all seen to help facilitate student learning. Similarly, the need for practice with corrected feedback is emphasized. The cognitive approach centers on the learners mental activities leading to response and acknowledges mental planning, goal-setting, and organizational strategies (Winn et al., 2019). According to cognitive theories, environmental cues and instructional components alone cannot account for all the learning that occurs in an educational scenario. Learners ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and values are also assumed to impact learning (Winn et al., 2019). The cognitive approachs primary goal is to change the learner by encouraging him or her to employ suitable learning techniques.
On the other hand, the constructivist believes learner and environmental factors are essential since the unique interplay between these variables produces knowledge. Constructivism learning contends that the environment influences adult learners behavior (Fernando & Marikar, 2017).
Similar to how exposure to and subsequent engagement with new vocabulary terms in context helps students learn those words, topic information must be integrated into the context in which it is utilized. According to Fernando and Marikar (2017), circumstances and activities genuinely co-produce knowledge. Each action is seen as an assessment of the current circumstance based on a history of prior encounters (Fernando & Marikar, 2017). Similar to how different word meanings constantly alter a learners present understanding of a word, ideas change with each new application. Due to this, it is essential that learning takes place in authentic environments and that the chosen learning assignments apply to the students real-world experiences.
Similarities
Like cognitivism, constructivism emphasizes learner knowledge and the need for social interaction to mediate outside assistance and involvement. Furthermore, it emphasizes internal mental processes and meaning-making, much like cognitivism. Additionally, the two theories are also similar in emphasizing meanings. The foundation of constructivism is engaging with the knowledge to create meaning for it. According to the principle of cognitivism, it is essential to communicate knowledge clearly so that adult learners may understand it better.
Application of Constructivism and Cognitivism Learning to Online and Brick-and-mortar Settings
Online Setting
Constructivism works well in online learning since many of the students are adults. Adult learners bring distinct demands and experiences to a learning environment. Adults attending online classes can present new dynamics, requiring online educators to be adaptable. During weekly online conversations, a constructivist approach can provide new perspectives from peers, boost learner confidence, and leverage peers for technical help (Cilliers, 2020).
Adult students have high expectations of their teachers as well. Online learning expands access to education for working people while also allowing for flexible and practical training based on adult constructivism (Secore, 2017). Constructivism stresses student participation to attain learning (Cilliers, 2020). Constructivists think that because students generate meanings, their conceptual knowledge may differ.
Cognitivism on the contrary places a premium on aiding learning through organized, systematic, and straightforward presentations. Cognitivism thinks that a student can be encouraged to learn by external factors. Cognitivism engages learners by providing motivating, intriguing, and appealing education. Winn et al. (2019) stressed the need for cognitive style knowledge to aid trainees in improving their self-reflections. Gallardo-Alba et al. (2021) argue that unlike other instructional theories emphasizing intrinsic motivation, constructivism holds that individuals must construct meaning to learn, whereas andragogy tries to empower adult learners. Cognitivism differs from the preceding theories in that it asserts that all learners can be productively engaged in the learning process regardless of motivation (Winn et al., 2019). To engage online learners, cognitivism believes that building organized systematic online learning activities, videos, and forums is critical to boosting learners interests and engagement.
Online educational scenarios provide opportunities for adult learning through reflection. When beginning class discussion, traditional classroom settings often use an instructor-centered approach. Critical reflection in an online setting may be an excellent technique to elicit peak performance from students and foster profound, long-term learning (Winn et al., 2019). Winn et al. (2019) emphasized that online teaching frequently incorporates asynchronous discussion activities that allow students to evaluate the work of their peers and reflect on their writing before participating in the conversation. According to Winn et al. (2019), a high-level, provocative educational style in the online classroom would allow adult students to join a community of adult online learners.
Brick-and-Mortar Settings
Cognitive theories provide useful schemas for understanding and, in certain situations, modifying teacher-student interaction patterns, particularly in a brick-and-mortar setting. Teachers can analyze their attitudes toward students and why they succeed or fail at the tasks assigned (Glenn, 2018). Teachers can modify the assignments they assign, the learning environments they establish, and their verbal interactions with their learners based on the results of these analyses.
Constructivism on the contrary suggests that students consider how prevailing power systems impact their knowledge of themselves and others. Teachers, in turn, serve as facilitators in the classroom, assisting students in connecting their experiences and encouraging them to be introspective as they absorb new material (Dennick, 2016). Students develop knowledge by investigating, interpreting, and comparing their experiences to others (Dennick, 2016). Furthermore, Dennick (2016) states that verbal and nonverbal feedback increases academic progress and reduces anxiety among brick-and-mortar learners.
Conclusion
In conclusion, cognitivism and constructivism learning theories are both distinct and, at the same time, similar when applied to adult learners. Adult learners are self-independent, more problem-focused, and motivated by internal rather than external factors. Cognitivism differs from constructivism mainly in terms of the learning process, how it occurs, and the factors that influence it. On the contrary, these theories are similar in emphasizing learner knowledge and the need for social interactions and internal mental processes. Finally, the application of these two theories differs in online and brick-mortar settings due to each theorys merits and demerits.
References
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