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Constructivism Approach in Teaching Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTs) To

An Information Age Generation in Malaysia

Introduction
Nowadays, educators attempt to introduce higher-order thinking (HOT) skills
in the teaching and learning process in the classroom. Teaching children to think
critically and creatively has seems to become more and more challenging to most of
the educators for quite a long time. Since we are all living in an information age, the
technology has played an important role in changing the way the educators teach and
the children learn not only for the time being, but perhaps in the future as well.
Therefore, as an educator in this highly competitive global knowledge
economy, we play an important role in teaching and shaping our students so that they
will be able to possess the 21st century skills, such as creativity and critical thinking,
problem solving, and analytical reasoning in their learning process. In order to let the
students to acquire the 21st century skills, it is essential for the educators to teach
the students with higher-order thinking (HOT) skills. But, how are the educators
going to teach the higher-order thinking (HOT) skills among the students?
Under the Malaysia Education Development Plan (2013-2025), there are six
main features which need to be required by each of the student in order for them to
compete in a global level. The main features that need to be mastered by students in
the future are such as knowledge, thinking skills, leadership skills, bilingual skills,
ethical and spiritual values and national identity.

Overview of Psychological Foundations of Curriculum


In the process of developing the curriculum for the future generation, it is very
important for us to understand the meaning of psychology in education system. This
is because psychology had served as a discipline that influences the curriculum
decision making process. Undeniably, teaching the curriculum or learning the
curriculum is interconnected and psychology has playing an important role in
strengthening this relationship. Hence, by learning about psychology, it provides us
a basis for understanding the teaching and learning process. Psychology in general
and educational psychology in particular contributes to appropriate decision making
in curriculum regarding selection and organization of appropriate objectives, learning
experiences and methods of evaluation as well as decisions regarding the scope of the
curriculum (Syomwene, Kitainge & Mwaka, 2013).
As far as concerned, we can actually learn about the psychological influences
of curriculum through the theories of learning. Basically, there are four important
learning theories under the psychological foundations of curriculum. These learning
theories are behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism as well as humanism. Below
are the overviews of psychological foundations of curriculum:
a) Behaviourism
Behaviourism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of
learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through
conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment
(Cherry, 2014). The well known proponents of behavioural learning theories
are such as Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, Walter Bandura and Skinner.

Under this learning theory, most of the behaviourist believed that what
one learns is actually influence by their surroundings or environments.
According to Ornstein, Behar-Horenstein, & Pajak (2003) [as cited in
Syomwene, Kitainge & Mwaka, 2013], behaviourist emphasize on the learners
active engagement and reinforcements and rewards that encourage continuing
efforts over time. Consequently, from the perspective of behaviourism,
learning process will only begins when there is a response to a given stimulus.
The educators who use this kind of approach in the teaching and
learning process should plan for more practices in order to allow the students
to learn by carrying out various kinds of activities such as demonstrating,
doing experiments or role playing.

b) Cognitivism
Cognitive theories of learning deal with questions relating to cognition,
or knowing (Syomwene, Kitainge & Mwaka, 2013). This learning theory is
more emphasize on how an individual process information and how are they
going to monitor and manage their thinking. The famous proponents of this
theory are such as John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget.
According to the cognitive theories, children must experience
disequilibrium, or an imbalance between their current cognitive structures and
new information to assimilated, in order for them to move to a new stage of
development (Syomwene, Kitainge & Mwaka, 2013). In this case, the
educators as well as curriculum planners should always ensure that the
curriculum which designed for the students enable them to participate actively
throughout the whole teaching and learning process. As a result, students are

motivated when they become the active partners in the learning process and
finally, they will feel interesting about the new lessons that they are going to
learn.
Some of the cognitivism approaches that can be adopted by the
educators in teaching and learning process are such as gaining the students
attention from time to time, point out the important information during the
learning process, present the information in an organized manner and most
importantly, providing opportunities for the students to elaborate or explore on
the new information or knowledge.
c) Constructivism
Constructing simply means learning and constructivism plays a
dynamic role in the relationship between how teachers teach and how children
learn. Under this theory, children learn to construct their knowledge actively
rather that absorbing the ideas spoken to them by teachers (Lunenburg, 2011).
Constructivism suggests that the learner is much more actively involved in a
joint enterprise with the teacher of creating ("constructing") new meanings
(Atherton, 2013).
Basically, this learning theory argues that people often generate
knowledge and form the meaning based upon their experiences. According to
Jean Piaget cited in Chen (2006), the student does not passively take in
knowledge, but actively constructs it on the basis of his or her prior knowledge
and experiences. Hence, the educators who use this theory in the teaching and
learning process should always provide the learners with the opportunities to

test and find out his or her new conceptual understanding in a range of applied
conditions such as problem solving.
Some of the constructivism approaches that can be implemented by the
teacher in the classrooms are such as encouraging higher-level of thinking
among the students, provide opportunities for the student to engage in
experiences that challenge hypotheses, involving students in real-world
situations and so on.
d) Humanism
Humanism is a psychological approach that accentuates the study of
the whole person. Humanistic psychologists look at human behavior not only
through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the
behaving (McLeod, 2012). Hence, we can say that this theory is more
concerned with how the learners can develop their human potential in the
whole learning process. The famous proponents for humanistic psychology are
Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Arthur Coombs.
Despite of humanistic psychology, the learners has always been
regarded as the individuals with diverse needs. Therefore, it is vital for
curriculum planners as well as teachers to consider the needs and interests of
the learners in the curriculum decision making process. Rogers and Maslow
had regarded personal growth and fulfillment in life as a basic human motive
(McLeod, 2012). Hence, we can say that each individual will actually seek to
grow psychologically and continuously in order to enhance themselves in
different ways throughout the learning process.
Under the Humanism theory, teacher is often recognized as a facilitator,
mentor or catalyst for the learners. Hence, a teacher is actually someone who

learns together with the students in the teaching and learning process. A
teacher who using the Humanism approach also need to ensure that the lowerlevel needs of the students are satisfied, so that they are more likely to
function at the higher levels.

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