I. CONSTRUCTIVISM
"Constructivism is a theory about learning, not a description of teaching.” (Fosnot & Perry,1996, P. 27) The learner refers to epistemic subjects, to be more precise, robust theorists passive to their change. The learners gain experience by inner-drivenly and curiously interacting with the world.
Knowledge is not “out there”waiting to be absorbed by passive students, otherwise, it's the outcome of a social process of active learning. It's actively constructed by the child in interaction with her world” (Ackermann,2001, P. 1) Piaget's Equilibration explains the process balancing assimilation and accommodation: knowing is any action on the part of a subject gives rise to schemes of assimilation and can go hand in hand and with an aspect of accommodation of the schemes to the situation. These all are results of the internal, self-organizing behavior of the learner(Piaget, 1977,P. 1)
In the model of schooling, the classroom needs to be seen as a “community of discourse engaged in activity, reflection, and conversation. (Fosnot, 1989). The learners (rather than the teacher) are responsible for defending, proving, justifying, and communicating their ideas to the classroom community.
II. CONSTRUCTIONISM
Constructionism shares the same idea with Constructivism that learners have cognitive potentials and are robust theorists passive to their change. However, “Papert's constructionism, in other words, is both more situated more pragmatic than Piaget's constructivism” (Ackermann, 2001, p. 5) The difference lies in learners are also consciously engaged in constructing with tools and like to get in tune with others and with situations (Ackermann, 2001, p. 9).
Model of self-directed learning is that learners “dive into”situations rather than look at them from a distance and to invent for themselves the tools and mediations that best support the exploration of what they most care about(Ackermann, 2001, p. 4) Therefore, the model of knowing stresses a lot on the importance of externalizations as a means to augment the unaided mind(Ackermann, 2001, p. 5)
"To Papert, knowledge, even in adult experts, remains essentially grounded in contexts, and shaped by uses, and the use of external supports and mediation remains, in his mind, essential to expand the potentials of the human mind—at any level of their development.”(Ackermann, 2001, p. 5)
In the model of schooling, Constructionism stresses the importance of tools, media, and context in human development” (Ackermann, 2001, p. 1),through which children are situated to build concrete thinking and that helps figuring out things than merely in mind.
III. CRITICAL PEDAGOGY
Under critical pedagogy, learners are not conscious beings, “merely in the world, not with the world or with others”(Freire, 2000, P. 5)Normally, they are oppressed, adaptable and more easily to be dominated.
Learning in Paulo Freire’s words is "banking" concept of education, in which students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat knowledge(Freire, 2000, P. 2). The teacher justifies his own existence and the whole process is oppressed by him.
In this case, “knowing is getting the deposit and knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention.”(Freire, 2000, P. 2) Critiques are the banking approach will never propose to students that they critically consider reality(Freire, 2000, P. 4)
Therefore, this kind of schooling fails to perceive that the deposits themselves contain contradictions about reality makes it not fully human. Since reality is really a process, undergoing constant transformation.(Freire, 2000, P. 5)
Additionally, Freire talks about the "Problem-posing" education. So the learners are the essence of consciousness and are critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher(Freire, 2000, P. 11) Learning becomes acts of cognition, as the practice of freedom — as opposed to education as the practice of domination. Schooling is raise consciousness of the human being through the problematization of his/her existence, reducing naiveté, and becoming more critical about his/her reality.(Freire, 2000, P. 9)
