Construction In Communication

Mechanism and state are the two layers of the existence and development of an object. Mechanism is the"internal"part, while state is the"external"one. In terms of reform, state is the frame of reference, while the basis is the mechanism. Therefore, when we ponder upon the existing difficult situations and possible solutions of college teaching activities, we are in fact analyzing the teaching activities from the"external"to the"internal".Social constructionism, as an important branch of constructivism, is not only regarded as a theory, but also a widely adopted methodology. Its basic proposition, core category, and methodology are of great importance for the research into the formation principles of college teaching activities. Its basic proposition can be summarized as"construction in communication"."Communication"refers to the inter-subjective spiritual activities. It uses language and the social history and culture as medium, with equal dialogue as basic form, and takes inter-subjective understanding and meaning construction as its purpose;"Construction", to the contrary of"predaterminate", refers to the interactive and formative practice between the subject and objec(tespecially between the subjects and object). It means that knowledge, meaning and inter-subjective relationships are not"predeterminate", but come into being and develop in practice. The logic of the viewpoint outspreads with some core categories of inter-subjectivity, life-world, structuralism, etc.We can get the formation principles of college teaching activities from the perspective of social constructionism. That is, the teacher and student, as the subject, act upon the teaching resources in the process s of spiritual communication to carry out cultural construction, with the aim of recognizing the objective world and promoting their subjective world. This cultural construction in the spiritual communication between teacher and student, which is abbreviated as"construction in communication"as well, contains four layers of meanings. First, fundamentally teaching activity is a kind of special social practice, it is"for man"in its value orientation, and"of man"in its nature of activity; different from common social practice, teaching activity is a kind of special cultural construction, which takes recognizing the objective world and promoting the subjective world as its ultimate purpose. Second, teaching activity is an interactive process among the three key factors: the subject, teacher and student, and the object, teaching resources. The subject-subject relationship functions upon the subject-object one conditionally, and the subject-object relationship functions upon the subject-subject one structurally. Third, the spiritual communication between teacher and student is the existing form of teaching activities. Forth, teaching activity is the interaction and formation between the subject, teacher and student, and the object, teaching resources. The subject, teacher and student are also being constructed structurally in the process of understanding, comprehending, and constructing the object, teaching resources. The purpose and process of the activities themselves, and the knowledge, meaning, and relationship in effect, are all the formative connotation of teaching activity.Whether people have noticed it or not, college teaching activity is a kind of cultural construction in the communication between teacher and student. So the state of"construction in communication"in reality may be conscious, or may be unconscious."Consciousness"refers to man's perceptual knowledge of his existence as a subject, and the rational knowledge of his self-subjectivity. Once the either party of the teacher or the student cannot consciously recognize the existence of himself as a subject, or cannot recognize the subjective position of his own in the objectification activity, or cannot actively play his subjective role in the teaching activity, the teaching activity turns to be a kind of unconscious"construction in communication". The"unconsciousness"of existing teaching activities displays in two aspects. The first is the unconsciousnesss and unilateralism in communication. The subject, the teacher or the student, lacks the conscious sense of the individual subjectivity and the mutual sense of their inter- subjectivity, and is short of consciousnesss and initiative in mutual communication, as well as mutual emotional communication. The second is the passivity and unilateralism in construction. Being"oppressed"by"knowledge", both the teacher and the student lack in the initiative in construction. For they are being engaged in knowledge construction (especially the knowledge input-output), they neglect the practice of meaning construction. The hidden deep crisis of unconscious"construction in communication"is that it conceals the practical and cultural nature of teaching activity.Having the"construction in communication"from unconsciousness to consciousness, is not only the practical goal and rational requirements of college teaching activity, but also the rational choice on the basis of teaching activity's key elements relation and formation principle, so it should be the guideline for teaching reform. To be specific, the value orientation of teaching should turn from"cultivation of object"to"formation of man", life concern should be infused into the reformation of the dominating teaching system, and spirit-free environment should be fostered in the mutual communication between teacher and student.