Transcript The Constructivist Approach to teaching and learning

The Constructivist Approach
to teaching and learning
Cat Allen
Instructional Technologies in
Education
What is Constructivism?
• A view of learning based on the belief that knowledge
isn't a thing that can simply be given by the teacher at
the front of the room to students in their desks.
• Students learn by fitting new information together with
what they already know
• Learners are the builders and creators of meaning and
knowledge
• Knowledge is constructed by learners through an
active, mental process of development
Our many thanks go out to…
Jean Piaget, 1896-1980
• Piaget believed learning occurs by an active
construction of meaning, rather than by
receiving it passively.
• He states," when we, as learners, encounter an
experience or situation that conflicts with our
current way of thinking, a state of imbalance is
created”
• We must alter our thinking to restore
equilibrium or balance
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To do this, we must associate it with what we
already know
The developing child must build cognitive
structures through the use of …..
Mental maps
Concept maps
Concept maps help us begin with
information we are familiar with and
branch out to build new ideas.
To further Piaget’s thinking....
• We must alter our thinking to restore balance or
equilibrium
• To do this, we must associate it with what we
already know
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Development
are…
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Sensorimotor stage: (birth-2)
Preoperational: (2-7)
Concrete Operations: (7-11)
Formal Operations: (11-15)
During all development stages, the child experiences his/her
environment using whatever mental maps he or she has
constructed so far. If the experience is a repeated one it fits
easily. For example:
• http://www.coe.uga.edu/epltt/Piaget.htm
• Please visit this site for two examples relating to Piaget’s stages
of development (scroll down!)
Lets move on, shall we? Can any one
tell me one reason why
constructivism is important?
• Fosters critical thinking
• Creates active and motivated learners
• Students are able to learn through constructing
their own understandings
• This approach frees teachers to make decisions
which enhance and enrich student’s
development.
How does the constructivist teacher
make this style work?
• He/she is flexible
• She/he creatively incorporates ongoing
experiences with real-life situations
• Students work in small groups
• Students work individually
• Interactive activities become main focus (if
materials can be related to an interest of the
child, they are more apt to remember them)
What does student-centered mean?
• The students are the center of attention, not the
teacher
• Children are placed in groups, they work
together to find meaning
• Each student takes on a different objective or
part of the assignment or project
• They become “experts” on their subject
• Students teach one another to become experts
on their “piece of the puzzle”
• Together, as a whole, the group becomes experts
from one another
• The teacher = facilitator, guide on the side NOT
mentor in the middle
What about the constructivist
classroom?
"Students should be presented with real life problems and then helped to
discover information required to solve them" John Dewey
• As we now know, the environment is a studentcentered one
• Students are empowered by a teacher who operates as a
“guide on the side” vs. a “mentor in the center” or
“sage on the stage”
• Classrooms are structured so that learners are
immersed in experiences with in which they may engage
in meaningful………
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Inquiry
Action
Imagination
Invention
Interaction
Hypothesizing
Personal reflection
Important roles of the Teacher
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Watching
Listening
Asking questions to learn about students
Having the ability to observe and listen to one’s
students and their experiences in the classroom
contributes to his other ability to use a
constructivist approach
• A constructivist approach contributes to one’s
ability to observe and listen in the classroom.
In conclusion…
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I believe in teaching through constructivism
because…
Allows for students to become engaged with
one another
Cuts out the “talking head”
Children learn through own experiences based
on their lives
Remember information down the road of life
instead of memorization
Resources
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Piaget, J. (1977). The development of thought: Equilibration of cognitive structures.
(A. Rosin, Trans). New York: The Viking Press.
Rosenblatt, L. (1978). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the
literary work. Carbondale, !!: Southern Illinois University Press.
Smith, K. (1993) Becoming the “guide” on the side. Educational Leadership, 51 (2),
35-37.
Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (1993). Best practice: New standards for
teaching and learning in America’s schools. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Twomey Fosnot, C. (1989). Enquiring teachers, enquiring learners: A constructivist
approach for teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.
McNeil, L. (1986). Contradictions of control: school structure and school knowledge.
New York: Routledge.
Mezirow, J. and Associates. (1990). How critical reflection triggers transformative
learning. In J. Mezirow and Associates (1990), Fostering critical reflection in
adulthood: A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass Publishers