Understanding Epistemologies

One of the key factors influencing learning design decisions is epistemology. The use of different epistemologies could help facilitate a proper match between the learner, context, and strategies.

• Empiricism believes that experience is the primary source of knowledge.

• Rationalism thinks that knowledge derives from reason without the aid of the senses.

• In Behaviorism’s view, learning is accomplished when a proper response is demonstrated following the presentation of a specific environmental stimulus. There is this externally verified truth in behaviorism: correct responses will receive positive feedback, while wrong ones will receive negative feedback.

• Cognitivism views knowledge acquisition as a mental activity that entails internal coding and structuring by the learner. Feedback from learners is crucial for instructors to support the process of making accurate mental connections.

• Constructivism equates learning with creating meaning from experience, focusing heavily on the learner’s interaction with the environment.

• Similarly, constructionism focuses on meaning-making, particularly through the creation of tangible and meaningful products in the world.

Reflecting on my undergraduate education, the most salient method applied in my major courses is constructionism. As an Industrial Design major, most of our courses were Project-based, where we worked for a real client or on a real-life problem and designed a solution as a team. There wasn’t a single ‘correct answer” for our learning outcome; instead, we developed our own understanding of what constitutes “good design” through the process. For our instructors, learning was demonstrated through the completion of these projects.

Nevertheless, things were quite different when I was learning a sport or a language. When learning French, feedback and practice played a very important role, aligning with the characteristics of behaviorism. What I had learned was directly shown through my external actions (e.g., my ability to read, write, and speak), on which positive or negative feedback was given. For the instructors, what qualified as learning was our ability to perform correctly. This was especially the case when I was just a novice in French. As I moved up the ladder from a novice to more advanced stages, I started to deliberately encode the input and structure my understanding of the language and the culture, which aligns with cognitivist principles. At this stage, the instructor began to use feedback to track my mental stage to provide support for my meaning construction, also scaffolding my process of deliberate practice.

However, does that mean that domains should dictate epistemological approaches? Can we learn a language through a constructivist approach? Can we become an industrial designer after being taught through a behavioral approach? Not necessarily no.

“The learning process itself is constantly changing, both in nature and diversity, as it progresses.” - Ertmer and Newby, 1993

I believe there is no “correct” epistemology, only what works best for specific learners and context. A blending use of multiple approaches can often be effective in achieving learning outcomes. Just as the quote above, learning designers need to be flexible and adaptable in applying these theories based on instructional goals and specific learning design frameworks(e.g. ADDIE, Backward design).

References

1. Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspectiveLinks to an external site.. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50–72.

2. Oyarzun, Beth, and Conklin, Sheri, (2021) “Learning TheoriesLinks to an external site.,” Design for Learning: Principles, Processes, and Praxis, Jason K. McDonald Richard E. West, eds.

3. Graduate Student Instructor (nd). “Social ConstructivismLinks to an external site..” University of California Berkeley.

4. Falbel, Aaron. (nd) “Constructionism: Tools to build (and think) with.Links to an external site.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

5. https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/cognitive-science/about.html

6. https://loosedrawing.com