How is schema are related to constructive processing?

In a psychological setting, schema is used to constructively process situations and events because of the nature of what it is. Everybody uses schema in their everyday experiences because it is the way that we interpret the world, so we need to constructively process what we see and experience in order to make sense of it.

• Schemata

Our experiences build up a subconscious number of schemata that we use constantly in order to make sense of what goes on around us. We have conceived ideas, brought about through our experiences, of how things will pan out, or how something will happen, and so we constructively process the events that are unfolding before us in order to understand them.

• Constructive processing

Because we do this we are able to make decisions, or to plan how we are going to behave or react in any given situation because we believe, by our constructive processing, that we know, to a degree what will occur: If a + b occurs, then c is bound to be the result.

• If things do not work out as we expect

If things do not work out as we expected them to, or a situation unfolds in a way that we really did not that it would, then it is human nature to believe that the event or circumstances are at fault, and not that our constructive processes, and therefore, our interpretation of the available schemata is at fault, and so we find it easy to explain the situation away.

• Who is responsible for these theories?

Originally, Frederic Bartlett, a British Psychologist first suggested that people use schemata to make sense of situations, but his ideas were expanded upon by Jean Piaget, R. C. Anderson, and then later on by other psychologists.

Usually, schema will be used to assist with the early processing of words on a page; for example, people who are getting ready to learn to read (generally young children) will be exposed to pre-reading schemas that train their minds and make their brains more receptive to learning. This sort of constructive processing can facilitate the actual teaching process and make children (or anyone who needs to learn reading) learn more quickly, while also helping them to retain more knowledge. These sorts of schema have their roots in educational psychology, which is the study of the brain as it relates to learning.

• Teaching methods vary

Throughout the decades, new teaching methods have come into vogue and then passed out of fashion again - often, the really effective teaching methods continue to prove worthwhile, and they become the foundation, or gold standard, that most teachers choose to embrace while educating children or peers in a classroom. The connection between psychology and education is strong, since the way the brain receives information may affect the ability to understand and retain data. Therefore, teachers and educational administrators may give a lot of weight to processes such as constructive processing through pre-reading schemas.

• Is psychology accurate?

The more a teacher or educational facility believes in psychology, the more likely they will be to use it in their teaching. For example, schools run by the Church of Scientology (such as the Apple School in Los Angeles) will never use this form of teaching, because they don't believe in psychology. 

To learn more about psychology and how it affects teaching and constructive processing of schema, consider picking up a book on child psychology or teaching methods for children who want to learn reading. There are a host of skilled teachers and psychologists out there, and many of them work in their fields, while also writing books about their methods and experiences.