1	Constructivism From Lenses on Reading: An Introduction to Theories and Models by Diane H. Tracey and Lesley Mandel Morrow, published by Guildford Press, 2006, pages 47-75
2	1920 to present Constructivism developed at about same time as Behaviorism Emphasizes active construction of meaning Learning occurs when INDIVIDUALS integrate new knowledge with existing knowledge Integration of new knowledge with existing knowledge can only happen if INDIVIDUAL learner is actively engaged in learning process Learning is by-product of active mental engagement Learning is natural and on-going state of mind
3	"Frank Smith," Frank Smith, a psycholinguistic, writes that “Learning is not an occasional event, to be stimulated, provoked, or reinforced. Learning is what the brain does naturally, continually.
4	Three Major Components Learning takes place through internal mechanisms that are often unobservable There may be no external observable indicators
5	"Learning often results from establishing..." Learning often results from establishing a hypothesis and testing that hypothesis through experience (hypothesis-testing through experience) Child may not know what a word is when reading but may take a guess and see if the guess makes sense. If sentences makes sense, the child will go on reading. If sentence does not make sense, then child will test a different hypothesis
6	"Learning results from a process..." Learning results from a process known as inferencing Inferencing is the process of filling in the gaps or reading between the lines Anytime reader figures out something that is not explicitly stated, reader is inferencing
7	Key Constructivists in Reading John Dewey Frank Smith Kenneth Goodman Louise Rosenblatt
8	Inquiry Learning Based on Unfoldment Theory (developed by Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel) John Dewey key figure Emphasized growth of the individual Inquiry learning Goal to produce involved citizens capable of successfully participating in and contributing to democratic society Curriculum emphasizes development of students’ cognitive abilities Reasoning Decision-making
9	Dewey Also Emphasized Problem-based learning Optimizing learning by having students formulate hypotheses, draw conclusions, and reflet on the original problem and thinking processes needed to solve it
10	"Cooperation," Cooperation, collaboration instead of competition Democratic style in education Interesting experiences to promote curiosity Small group work Teacher’s role was to create enticing curriculum and supportive environment
11	Schema Theory Explains how knowledge is created and used by learners People organize everything they know into schemas or knowledge structures People have schemas for everything in their lives Schemas for language include everything they know about their language(s)
12	"Everyone’s schemas are different" Everyone’s schemas are different Without existing schemas, it is difficult to learn anything Knowledge structures are always changing Term “schema” coined by Frederic Bartlett
13	Reader Response Theory Louise Rosenblatt (1978) Since every individual is unique, every reading experience is unique Efferent—fact oriented Aesthetic—personal and emotionally based BUT—whether a text is efferent or aesthetic depends on the reader, not the text
14	Rosenblatt says “Efferent meaning-making requires readers to personally disengage when reading, to obtain facts. Important in efferent reading response is what remains after the reading—the understanding acquired, the inferences made, the conclusions developed, the opinions generated.
15	"“”In contrast," “”In contrast, aesthetic meaning-making is subjective and personal…What readers are “living through”—what they see, hear, and feel—as they interact with the text is important. Rosenblatt calls this process of selecting ideas, sensations, feelings, and images and making something unique and personal with them “the literary evocation.” Readers who assume an aesthetic stance connect emotionally with the story or poem they are reading to become as one with it. They are—in the words of Judith Langer (1995)—envisioning “texts worlds in the mind.”
16	Rosenblatt Coined term “transactional” in terms of reading
17	Teachers When creating lessons with reader response theory in mind must remember that purposes for informational text are different than purposes for literary texts. But also must remember that whether a text is efferent or aesthetic rests with the reader, not the teacher
18	Reader Response is Constructivist Recognizes active role of reader Knowledge is often unobservable
19	Psycholinguistics Patrick Shannon writes “Psycholinguistics is the intersection at which the study of the language system meets the study of how humans acquire, interpret, organize, store, retrieve, and employ knowledge” (The Struggle to Continue: Progressive Reading Instruction in the United States, 1990, p. 133).
20	Key Figures Ken Goodman Frank Smith
21	Key Components Readers rely on language cueing systems to help them rapidly read text Syntactic—grammatical structures that allow readers to predict what words are coming next Semantic—meanings of words and phrases that allow reader to predict the next words Graphophonic—visual patterns of letters and words and their corresponding sounds that allow readers to predict the next words
22	"After children internalize these cueing..." After children internalize these cueing systems in their oral language they are able to use these cueing systems to guide their reading
23	"Readers use knowledge about language..." Readers use knowledge about language and the world in general to guide their thinking as they construct meaning from text Readers make predictions about what the text will say If text is consistent with what readers think it will say, reading is efficient If text isn’t consistent, then reading is less efficient
24	"“The more familiar a..." “The more familiar a reader is with a given topic, the less she needs to rely solely on the printed text. The readers’ knowledge of the topic and her language competence allow her to predict information and rely less on print (A. W. Heilman, T. R. Blair, W. H. Rupley, 1986, Principles and practices of teaching reading (6^th ed.), Columbus, OH: Merrill, p.38)
25	"Prediction is key element in..." Prediction is key element in psycholinguistics Reader makes predictions (hypothesis) and tests them Prediction happens quickly and reader is not necessarily aware that process is taking place Reader is able to read quickly by sampling words and comparing them to his/her predictions rather than reading every word Claim reading every word on the page is cumbersome even for slow readers Ken Goodman (1967) describes reading as “psycholinguistic guessing game”
26	Whole Language “Whole language is a concept that embodies both a philosophy of language development as well as the instruction approaches embedded within, and supportive of, that philosophy. This concept includes the use of real literature and writing in the context of meaningful, functional, and cooperative experiences in order to develop in students’ motivation and interest in the process of learning”( p.319) (B. S. Bergeron, “What does the term Whole Language mean?: Constructing a definition from the literature,” Journal of Reading Behavior, 22(4),301-329)
27	"Whole language suggests that reading..." Whole language suggests that reading is a natural process that children acquire when immersed in a literate environment There is no single RIGHT way to teach in a whole language environment. Children read a vast variety of texts Center based activities take up a lot of class time Large blocks of time set aside for reading and writing Major objective is to develop child’s desire to read and write Assessment is on-going and growth oriented often using portfolios and conferencing
28	Metacognition Process of thinking about one’s thinking Based on concepts introduced by John Flavell (1976) and Ann Brown (1978) who studied children’s abilities to control their own cognitive processes
29	"D." D. Durkin’s research concluded that the techniques teachers usually used to develop reading comprehension didn’t work because they weren’t effective in helping students to think and read independently Traditional method: introducing reading selection, guiding the reading of the selection, and then discussing Approach used in many current basal series This leaves students in a teacher-dependent state
30	"Proficient readers set goals" Proficient readers set goals Monitor comprehension Adjust when they don’t comprehend Also called strategy instruction, strategic instruction, transactional strategy instruction
31	"Goal of metacognition is to..." Goal of metacognition is to help readers become more aware of their own thinking processes as they read Teachers provide explicit instruction on metacognitive techniques or strategies Instruction must take place through a gradual transfer or “release” of responsibility from teacher to student Gradual release happens through explicit description of strategy, modeling, and explanation of why strategy is used Over time students gradually become able to independently initiate and use target strategy Once strategy is in use, teacher can teach a different one
32	Engagement Theory Engaged readers are those who are intrinsically motivated to read Engaged readers are mentally active, use metacognitive strategies Frequently social, often talking with others about what they are reading and learning Same as Metacognitive Theory but adds element of motivation and social aspects of learning
33	"Engaged reading can overcome traditional..." Engaged reading can overcome traditional barriers to reading achievement, including gender, parental education, and income (Guthrie, 2004, p. 5) (J. T. Guthrie, “Teaching for literacy engagement. Journal of Literacy Research, 36 (1), 1-29.)
34	"Advocates" Advocates Use of themes in reading instruction Emphasis on student choice Hands on activities Availability of wide variety of text genres chosen to interest students Integration of social collaboration into reading response activities
35	"Research suggests that students in..." Research suggests that students in this kind of environment have increased motivation to read, increased use of metacognitive skills, and increased gains in conceptual knowledge