Why is constructivism important in the classroom

Curriculum emphasizes big concepts, beginning with the whole and expanding to include the parts. Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is highly valued. Pursuit of student questions and interests is valued. Materials are primarily textbooks and workbooks. Materials include primary sources of material and manipulative materials. Learning is based on repetition.

Learning is interactive, building on what the student already knows. Teachers disseminate information to students. Students are recipients of knowledge. Teachers have a dialogue with students, helping students construct their own knowledge. Teacher's role is directive, rooted in authority. Teacher's role is interactive, rooted in negotiation. Assessment is through testing and correct answers.

Assessment includes student works, observations and points of view, as well as tests. Process is as important as product. Knowledge is seen as inert. Knowledge is seen as dynamic, ever changing with our experiences. Students work primarily alone. Students work primarily in groups. Essential components to constructivist teaching.

Lessons, therefore, require eliciting relevant prior knowledge. Provide multiple sources, statistics, and graphics from which students can select in order to build a complete report. Example: The Blue Planet Report in BioBeyond asks students to assess the veracity and intensity of climate change using evidence collected from various sources.

This freedom can help students develop research skills that will be important to their success after even they complete your course. Example: Use the hyperlink widget to display a link in an aesthetic way. When the student selects the button, a new tab will open with the link. Metacognition is an important skill in the classroom and in the workforce.

And when we provide students with time and space to be aware of their own knowledge and their own thinking, student ownership increases. Example: Ask the student to reflect on how their opinion has changed after learning more about a certain topic.

In addition, there are many constructivist pedagogical practices that you can use to frame your lessons. Here are a few:. Adding constructivist activities to your lesson will be a great way to make more active experiences, promotes student agency, and develop advanced skills such as critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, and creation.

The general term for this type of learning activity is situated learning. The anchored instruction approach is an attempt to help students become more actively engaged in learning by situating or anchoring instruction around an interesting topic.

The learning environments are designed to provoke the kinds of thoughtful engagement that helps students develop effective thinking skills and attitudes that contribute to effective problem solving and critical thinking. Anchored instruction emphasizes the need to provide students with opportunities to think about and work on problems and emphasizes group or collaborative problem solving.

Constructivists believe that assessment should be used as a tool to enhance both the student's learning and the teacher's understanding of student's progress. It should not be used as an accountability tool that serves to stress or demoralise students. Within social constructivism particularly there is greater scope for involving students in the entire process:.

Brooks and Brooks state that rather than saying "No" when a student does not give the exact answer being sought, the constructivist teacher attempts to understand the student's current thinking about the topic. Through nonjudgmental questioning, the teacher leads the student to construct new understanding and acquire new skills. Driscoll, M. Psychology of learning for instruction. Hill, W. Knowledge is constructed. This is the basic principle, meaning that knowledge is built upon other knowledge.

Students take pieces and put them together in their own unique way, building something different than what another student will build. People learn to learn, as they learn. Learning involves constructing meaning and systems of meaning. For example, if a student is learning the chronology of dates for a series of historical events, at the same time they are learning the meaning of chronology.

If a student is writing a paper about history, they are also learning principles of grammar and writing as well. Each thing we learn gives us a better understanding of other things in the future. Learning is an active process.

Learning involves sensory input to construct meaning. Learners need to engage in the world so they are actively involved in their own learning and development. Learning is a social activity. Learning is directly associated to our connection with other people.

Our teachers, our family, or peers, and our acquaintances impact our learning. Educators are more likely to be successful as they understand that peer involvement is key in learning. Progressive education recognizes that social interaction is key to learning and they use conversation, interaction, and group applications to help students retain their knowledge.

Learning is contextual. The things we learn and the points we tend to remember are connected to the things going on around us. Knowledge is personal. Because constructivism is based on your own experiences and beliefs, knowledge becomes a personal affair. Each person will have their own prior knowledge and experiences to bring to the table.