CONSTRUCTIVISM IN TEACHING

BY LEISY, VIOLET, HELAINE, & THERESE

KEY IDEAS
Constructivism is based on the idea that students learning is a process of taking past learning and applying it to current education.

Students learn through exploration of their own experiences. Real world, hands-on experimentation is believed to be the best way to teach students.

KEY IDEAS
COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISM: how the individual learner understands things, in terms of developmental stages and learning styles. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM: emphasizes how meanings and understandings grow out of society.

KEY PEOPLE
Jean Piaget
Piaget believed that people learn through assimilation and accommodation. Both of the principles use past knowledge that is applied to current learning situations. Assimilation occurs when a student understands new information by comparing it or applying it to past education. Accommodation occurs when a student tries to modify past education to relate to new learning.

KEY PEOPLE
John Dewey
He believed that active learning can only be done through experiential learning. Learning experiences must expand on education and allow students to reflect on

KEY PEOPLE

LEV S. VYGOTSKY
Vygotsky believed that young children are curious and actively involved in their own learning and the discovery and development of new understandings/schema Theory of the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD) - the area where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should be given allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own developing higher mental functions Theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition The potential for cognitive development depends upon the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage in social behavior

KEY PEOPLE
L. S. VYGOTSKY
ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT:

CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATION
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to handle constructivism in the classroom:
Discover your class, find out how they learn, what they enjoy, etc. Find out how much time you have, if you have room to do everything, will it fit into my schedule. Set a format that complements the whole class Set up a title and outline Develop questions you want your class to be able to answer and ones your class may ask so you are prepared

TEACHERS ROLE
Constructivist teachers pose questions and problems, then guide students to help them find their own answers Prompt students to formulate their own questions (inquiry) Allow multiple interpretations and expressions of learning (multiple intelligences) Encourage group work and the use of peers as resources (collaborative learning) The teacher coaches, moderates, suggests, but allows the students room to experiment, ask questions, try things that don't work.

TEACHERS ROLE
Teachers create classrooms were: Learning is constructed Learning is active Learning involves reflecting on experiences Learning involves collaboration Learning is inquiry-based Learning is an evolving process When assigning tasks to the students, use cognitive terminology such as "classify," "analyze," "predict," and "create."

STUDENTS ROLE
Their learning is constructed - they come to learning situations with already formulated knowledge, ideas, and understandings. Their learning is active - student is the person who creates new understanding for him/herself. Learning activities require their full participation (like hands-on experiments). An important part of the learning process is that they reflect on, and talk about, their activities. They also help set their own goals and means of assessment.

APPLICATION TO PERSONAL TEACHING

I believe that this type of teaching is ideal for subjects like science, where hands-on learning is crucial for success. Anatomy is best taught when students can see and find for themselves bones and muscles, so they not only recall the names, but remember the placement and feel of the parts I also believe that this type is great for English class. You want the students to come up with their own questions and be able to come up with different meanings and this all applies to critical reading.

SOURCES
1. http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Piaget%27s_Constructivism 2. http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/inst335/docs/inst335_brooks.p df 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assimilation 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(learning_theory)#Construct ivists 5. Atherton J S (2011) Learning and Teaching; Constructivism in learning [On-line: UK] retrieved 17 April 2013 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/constructivism.htm
6. http://www.ndted.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Constructivist%20_Learning.htm

7. http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/interdisciplinary/imple mentation.html