Constructivism In Special Needs Classroom

This article talks about how teachers use the constructivism theory in a special needs classroom and are able to engage students who might otherwise not be engaged. The author writes how teachers use constructivism in special needs classrooms effectively. Most of the examples within the article relate to children with special needs, although there were a few examples of use in a mainstream classroom. In the article it talks about the need for teachers to let the students initiate conversations within the classroom and also allow students more time to answer questions posed in class. The author explains how the conversation can flow uninterrupted by the teacher and the students gain ideas from other students while conversing. Teachers also encourage

students to think about answers before speaking and gave them time to answer. Another point that was made in the article was how in constructivism classroom teachers encourage hands on activities. This was done in a special classroom where the students had trouble verbalizing their thoughts. The use of materials in order to make something substantial encouraged them to use their minds and hands to figure out the best way to make the project work. All of the ways mentioned in the article gave students a chance to actively participate in every aspect of their learning.
The greatest strength I found in this article was how constructivism was used effectively in a special needs classroom setting and how the students responded to the classroom environment.

The weakness in the article would be that I would have like to have seen examples of how students with more severe learning problems could benefit from this theory.

The article was very effective in showing what a great benefit a constructivism classroom can be to students with learning disabilities. The appropriateness of using special classrooms to show effective constructivism teaching was a great way to showcase a different learning style. For students with learning disabilities it can be difficult to find a teacher strategy that works. This article shows how constructivism can be very effective for these students.

In both the textbook and article by Watson it talks about using constructivism in all subjects and allowing the students to be actively engaged in their learning. This is done in the article by examples of teachers allowing students to use their hands to create things and their voices to share their opinions with other students and create dialog amongst each other in the classroom. The textbook also talked about students being given the chance to be involved in their learning and being able to learn not just in the classroom but outside of it as well. Which was also stated in the

article.
This article was fascinating and encouraging to me as a future teacher. To read about special needs classrooms and how constructivism was used and the response of the students was encouraging to see. I was encouraged to see the effect on students when they were given the chance to talk more and do more hands on activities. I believe after reading this article that the constructivism approach can be used effectively in both a mainstream or special needs classrooms as needed to facilitate learning more effectively.