Running Head: TEACHING AND LEARNING

A Constructivists View on Teaching and Learning

Angela Brown
St. Thomas University

TEACHING AND LEARNING

A Constructivists View on Teaching and Learning

I am a teacher who will be using the constructivist approach to teaching in my classroom
because I believe that students learn best when they work together. My philosophy stems from
Vygotskys cognitive development and Banduras theories of motivation and self-efficacy in
social cognition. Learning is an active process where teachers are facilitators of the learning and
students are given the tools they need to learn. My classes will revolve around a hands-on
learning environment with dialectic teaching and learning as discussion and interaction is so
important in learning and cognitive development. It will also centre around an endogenic
approach to learning where the teacher tailors content to benefit the individuals in the classroom
and provide an environment where active engagement is constant. Accommodations should also
be made everyday so all students benefit from what is being taught, whether one student needs
remediation or one needs a challenge. We all vary in our zone of proximal development and as
teachers we need to be mindful and aware of that.
My teaching philosophy is molded and has evolved from my experience in elementary
school. In kindergarten, the classroom was centred around play each day until halfway through
kindergarten I moved to a new province. They taught more reading and writing skills and
expected students to know quite a bit, and sit at their desks. I struggled to follow along and keep
up with what was expected of me. I was taken out of classes to learn something easier with the
special education teacher up until grade 3. Afterwards, I attended many other schools in 5
provinces where I had to adapt to different curriculum, and work hard to keep up with others. A
few teachers told me I would not make it to university, and academics were not in my future.
This is demotivation, and while I managed to use it to prove them wrong, teachers should never

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demoralize or tell a student that they do not have potential. Students need positive motivation to
continue working hard and to build a positive learning environment. Everything a teacher does
should be in the best interest of the child. A teachers job is to motivate students to learn and to
recognize their potential at all times.
As I consider myself a constructivist, I also believe that students need to work together
with as much hands-on activities as possible. Not only should students socialize with one
another, the teacher also needs to interact with his or her students. The teacher should provide a
classroom that is rich in stimulation and promotes the interaction of peers. We always learn best
when we can speak, ask questions, and bounce ideas off one another. In elementary school, I was
administered 3 deaf tests in the same year. I remember the lady saying every time in
astonishment or bewilderment that I passed with flying colours. I was simply bored of sitting
in rows and listening to instruction. I needed time to discuss with my peers and practice what
was being taught. Children in elementary school do not have a long attention span. It is about as
long as their age. Watching a long video, working independently at all times, and lecturing is not
natural. Students are people too, and most of them are dialectic learners who need to engage in
discussion to learn most effectively. In accordance with my view as an endogenous teacher of
learning I believe that it is through active engagement that cognitive skills are most fully
potentiated (Gergen). As babies we learn from our parents through active interaction, hearing
their voice and reacting to stimuli, which is why a dynamic classroom rich in engagement,
interaction, discussions, and hands-on learning is needed. Students will appreciate all efforts in
providing a positive and dynamic classroom.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

When you walk into my classroom, you should see students working collaboratively but
also independently on fun projects. All students learn differently and rewarding them with
positive feedback for their hard work is best. Stickers are fun to use as well, but this reward
system does not match with the behaviour. The key question to ask when deciding on rewards in
the classroom is do rewards motivate people? Absolutely. They motivate people to get
rewards (Kohn, 1993). It is okay to give them out once in a while, but not as a reward to
reinforce correct behaviour. The more you reward students and commend them on their good
behaviour, the more they will continue to do it so they will be rewarded not because they
understand the importance of good behaviour.
Another important ingredient in teaching is the grading system used. A teacher must
administer them appropriately and ensure the progress of all individuals is tracked everyday. A
student needs to know that what they did was really good, or needs improvement. A grade should
be given with helpful and informative feedback. The grade itself should not be as heavily
weighed as the feedback given in formative stages. We need to give students room to enjoy the
process of learning without worrying about a good or bad grade, which correlates to Alfie Kohns
view of grades. However, erasing grades altogether leaves the students without knowledge of
how they are progressing, and confused as to where they stand. Giving them a grade that is
always negative is demotivating and cruel, and not giving them any grades on their work, is not
providing them with the tools they need to assess themselves for success. Thus, grades should be
centred around the progress of the individual instead of comparing them to other learners.
Students need to be given a chance to succeed and letting them see and take charge of their
progress is important. When detailed feedback is given in the grading system, students will

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understand what they did well, where they could improve, and how they may go about
improving their learning.
According to Bandura, goal setting is important in the motivational process of learning
and encouraging students to self-regulate will not only help foster positive behaviour and also
help students keep track of their own learning (1997). Students need to be provided the
opportunity to take charge of their learning and set goals for themselves. Self-regulation ensures
that students reflect upon what they are about to do, and think critically about how they will go
about their learning and behaviours beforehand. It teaches students to think before they act and
allows them to realize that they can control their own behaviours with practice. One of the
hardest things in education for students is to focus on their learning without letting external
stimuli from their homes, friends, etc distract them from doing well. By giving students the tools
they need to goal set and manage their learning and behaviours, choices can also be given in the
classroom. The thing to remember with choices is that it must be done so that students are not
overwhelmed and all of the choices reflect the curriculum.
Every teacher has his or her own style of teaching. We all learn differently and a
classroom should reflect that. No matter where a child comes from, teachers are there to help
remind them that they can. Teachers are guides of the learning and learning should be an active
process for students to further their cognitive abilities and enhance their social skills through
collaboration. This is what is needed for students to truly learn the essentials and to develop
higher levels of self-efficacy before entering the real world of adulthood. Students are diverse
individuals and should be treated as such. Varying levels of efficacy will be present in the
classroom. Vygotsky once stated in 1983 that, A child whose development is impeded by a

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disability is not simply a child less developed than his or her peers; rather, he has developed
differently (Gindis, 1999). As long as students are doing their best, and working hard, it should
not matter that some students in the classroom have developed at a different pace. With
accommodation and awareness of differing depths in students zone of proximal development
and of cognitive and metacognitive potential learning will take place, which will promote the
positive increase in self-efficacy.
Teachers must prepare students to understand what they need, want, and aspire to as
learning is a continuous process that does not end when the classroom bell rings. Some students
will not have the tools needed when they head home, but if they have a positive and motivating
teacher, they will eventually learn how to goal set, self-manage and self-regulate in order to take
charge of their own learning. Maria Montessori once said, the greatest sign of success for a
teacher is to be able to say, the children are now working as if I did not exist, which will be
possible when students are given the tools, motivation, and interaction that they need to learn in
school.

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7
References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control.

Gergen, K. Social Construction and Pedagogical Practice. Swarthmore.edu
Gindis, B. (November 01, 1999). Vygotsky's Vision: Reshaping the Practice of Special Education
for the 21st Century. Remedial and Special Education, 20, 6, 333-40.
Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards. New York, NY. Houghton Mifflin Company, (pp. 49-67).

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