The constructivism theory is a theory that is relatable something students are interested in and to real life experiences. Students need to get excited every day about learning. It needs to be fun and relatable so they get and stay engaged. As teachers, we must focus on our students learning what we are teaching no matter what it takes. Keeping the students focused and excited about school important. This theory is great for all students, because it is more focused on the individual child; and because there are no two students that are alike and that learn in the same manner. After all, each child is their own person and they all learn and accept things in a different matter and God made each child special.
The constructivism theory is a theory that relates learning to something the students are interested in; for example,
(2001). Constructivism Examined. Oxford Review of Education, 27(1), 23-35. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/stable/10.2307/1050991?origin=api
Jia, Q. (2010). A brief study on the implication of constructivism teaching theory on classroom teaching reform in basic education. International Education Studies, 3(2), 197-199. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/821695932?accountid=12085
Liu, C. C., & Chen, I. J. (2010). Evolution of constructivism. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 3(4), 63-66. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196354565?accountid=12085
Naylor, S., & Keogh, B. (1999). Constructivism in Classroom: Theory into Practice. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 10(2), 93-106. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1009419914289#
Ramesh, B. K. (2013). Child psychology at advertisements and theory of visual constructivism. International Journal of Marketing & Business Communication, 2(4), 61-65. Retrieved from
While reading the Windschitl & Hirsch articles, I felt both informed and interested on the different positions on the main question. The main question asks about if schools should have their own educational constructivist approach. The article written by Windschitl agrees having an educational constructivist approach, while Hirsch on the other hand disagrees. Each other others did a wonderful job on elaborating their positions on the point, and provided excellent examples, and great detail. Each of these articles exhibited both similarities and differences regarding the main question.
You have taken a lead teacher position in a preschool program. A parent asks you to explain the program’s constructivist philosophy.
Powell, K. Kalina, C. (2009). Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing Tools for an Effective Classroom. Education, 130(2), 241-250. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1937522441&Fmt=7&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD. (Document ID: 1937522441).
The attitudes, beliefs and experiences of the student guide the intake of information, There are two forms of constructivism, social which is when others in a learner’s life put meaning to information. The students develop meaning and understanding on their own but depend on the interaction with classmate or teachers. Cognitive constructivism is the second form which is constructed by assimilation or accommodation. Assimilation is associated with a schema, whereas accommodation does not match the schema. The schema must be changed to accommodate this conflict. Activities are relevant to the learner and real world based. The weaknesses of constructivism are that experiences and attitudes vary with the learner. Constructivism is utilized when the learner takes control over their learning. Students have an understanding fo the importance of the problem, comprehend the relevance, and construct knowledge through their experiences. It tends to be more important to focus on the whole of the meaning rather than the individual
Empiricists and rationalists have proposed opposing theories of the acquisition of knowledge, which appear unable to coexist. Each theory holds its own strengths but does not demonstrate a strong argument in itself to the questions, “Is knowledge truly possible?” and “How is true knowledge obtained?”. Immanual Kant successfully merged the two philosophies and provided a convincing argument with his theory of empirical relativism, or what some may call constructivism. His theory bridges the gap between rationalism and empiricism and proves that empiricists and rationalists each present a piece of the full puzzle. In order to truly understand Kant’s epistemology, one must first review and understand both empiricism and rationalism on an impartial basis.
A. Behaviorism, constructivism and cognitivism are relatively common theories used in the classroom as ways to approach student learning. Behaviorism focuses on observable behavior, such as students answering questions correctly, or being able to follow directions to complete a task as instructed. Characteristics of a classroom that uses behaviorism might be memorization of facts, writing vocabulary words, or a token reward system to inspire the desired behavior and decrease undesired behaviors. Constructivism, as indicated by the root word “construct,” focuses on the construction of new ideas, or expanding on what is already known. Students in a classroom using constructivism as a means for learning might seem more actively engaged in the learning process; they often learn something new through applying what they already know about the content area, and exploring new matter to further their understanding. This type of classroom often uses hands on manipulatives to allow students to actually build, create, or experiment with what they are learning. A cognitivism approach to learning might be explained by the minds capacity to process information – such as how a learner might remember something, retrieve information, or store new concepts. Learning through this method often depends on how the student processes what the teacher is presenting. Classrooms using this approach might incorporate learning strategies that help students categorize and sequence information to assist with processing. Like constructivism, it can be an active style of learning.
The concept describes that our knowledge is something to be constructed internally rather than reflected from external realities. After the initial proposition of constructivism there came about the idea that “a reasonable conclusion is that at least three levels of constructivist advocacy appear frequently in contemporary educational literature”, according to Null 2004. Those three levels include epistemological constructivism, which focuses on issues like race, gender, and class and how issues like these need to be fixed. Next is instructional constructivism, which focuses on individual learning in the classroom. The last is prescriptive constructivism, which focuses on the relationship between teacher and student and proposes that teachers instruct with their students rather than at their students. No matter what level it is being taught, the basis of constructivism is to move away from the traditional practice of teaching the classroom through lecture primarily, and to adopt teaching the classroom through
Brooks, J. G., Brooks, M. G. (1999). In Search of Understanding: The Case of Constructivist Classrooms, with a new introduction by the authors. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10078162&ppg=28
Applefield, J M, Huber, R, Moallem, M 2001, ‘Constructivism in theory and practice: Toward a better understanding’, High School Journal, vol. 84, issue 2, p35, 19pp
Social constructivism is the theory that explains the idea of the changing world and the reality we are trying to understand, which is not merely something that exists, unrelated to us or different from us. Rather, it is something we are constantly taking part in, in the making of this world and production of our own realities through experiences and by attaching meanings to common acts, things and certain objects we use in our social worlds. In other terms, it is to say, we construct our own realities and social society by participating and creating these worlds through social construction. Speaking of which, social construction is the act of adding meaning to such objects, events, characters and other items surrounding us. To demonstrate,
Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences. The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct his or her own meaning, not just memorize the “right” answers and regurgitate someone else’s meaning. Since education is inherently interdisciplinary, the only valuable way to measure learning is to make the assessment part of the learning process, ensuring it provides students with information on the quality of their learning. Assessment becomes part of the learning process so that students play a larger role in judging their own progress.
Lutz, S., & Huitt, W. (2004). Connecting cognitive development and constructivism: Implications from theory for instruction and assessment. Constructivism in the Human Sciences, 9(1), 67-90. Retreived from: http://www.teach.valdosta.edu/whuitt/brilstar/chapters/cogdev.doc
Rhinehart Neas, Linda M., ed. "Constructivist Theory: Pros and Cons." Bright Hub Education. N.p., 6 Jun 2012. Web. 31 Jan 2014. <, eds. "Constructivist Learning Theory: Pros & Cons." Bright Hub Education. N.p., 6 Jun 2012. Web. 31 Jan 2014. . >.
Among many teaching styles and learning theories, there is one that is becoming more popular, the constructivist theory. The constructivist theory focuses on the way a person learns, a constructivist believes that the person will learn better when he/she is actively engaged. The person acts or views objects and events in their environment, in the process, this person then understands and learns from the object or events(P. Johnson, 2004). When we encounter a certain experience in our life, we think back to other things that have occurred in our life and use that to tackle this experience. In a lot of cases, we are creators of our own knowledge. In a classroom, the constructivist theory encourages more hands-on assignments or real-world situations, such as, experiments in science and math real-world problem solving. A constructivist teacher constantly checks up on the student, asking them to reflect what they are learning from this activity. The teacher should be keeping track on how they approached similar situations and help them build on that. The students can actually learning how to learn in a well-planned classroom. Many people look at this learning style as a spiral, the student is constantly learning from each new experience and their ideas become more complex and develop stronger abilities to integrate this information(P. Johnson, 2004). An example of a constructivist classroom would be, the student is in science class and everyone is asking questions, although the teacher knows the answer, instead of just giving it to them, she attempts to get the students to think through their knowledge and try to come up with a logical answer. A problem with this method of learning is that people believe that it is excusing the role of...
We must first look at the need for a constructivist approach in a classroom, to do this we think back to our days in primary school and indeed secondary school where textbooks we like bibles. We were told to take out our books, look at the board, and now complete the exercise on page z. This approach in a class is repetitive, the teacher holds authoritarian power and learning is by no means interactive. “In a traditional classroom, an invisible and imposing, at times, impenetrable, barrier between student and teacher exists through power and practice. In a constructivist classroom, by contrast, the teacher and the student share responsibility and decision making and demonstrate mutual respect.” (Wineburg, 2001) This approach focuses on basic skills and strict adherence to the curriculum. Children are being forced to learn through repetit...