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Constructivist teaching is based on constructivist learning theory. Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information. Learners are the makers of meaning and knowledge. Constructivist teaching fosters critical thinking, and creates motivated and independent learners. This theoretical framework holds that learning always builds upon knowledge that a student already knows; this prior knowledge is called a schema. Because all learning is filtered through pre-existing schemata, constructivists suggest that learning is more effective when a student is actively engaged in the learning process rather than attempting to receive knowledge passively. A wide variety of methods claim to be based on constructivist learning theory. Most of these methods rely on some form of guided discovery where the teacher avoids most direct instruction and attempts to lead the student through questions and activities to discover, discuss, appreciate, and verbalize the new knowledge.
Contents
1 History 2 Constructivist teaching strategies 2.1 Characteristics of Constructivist Teaching 2.2 Examples of constructivist activities 2.3 Role of teachers 2.4 Constructivist Learning Environments (CLEs) 2.5 Constructivist assessment 3 An example of a lesson taught with a Constructivist background 4 Constructivism for Adults 5 Arguments against constructivist teaching techniques 6 Specific approaches 7 See also 8 References 9 External links
History
Constructivist teaching methods are based on constructivist learning theory. Along with John Dewey, Jean Piaget researched childhood development and education. Both Dewey and Piaget were very influential in the development of informal education. Deweys idea of influential education suggests that education must engage with and enlarge experience and the exploration of thinking and reflection associated with the role of educators. Piagets role in the constructivist teaching suggest that we learn by expanding our knowledge by experiences which are generated through play from infancy to adulthood which are necessary for learning. Their theories are now encompassed in the broader movement of progressive education. Constructivist learning theory says that all knowledge is constructed from a base of prior knowledge. Children are not a blank slate and knowledge cannot
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be imparted without the child making sense of it according to his or her current conceptions. Therefore children learn best when they are allowed to construct a personal understanding based on experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.[1]
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The constructivist Classroom Begin with the whole expanding to parts Pursuit of student questions / interests Primary Sources / manipulative materials Learning is interaction building on what students already know Instructor interacts / negotiates with students Assessment via student works, observations, points of view, tests. Process is as important as product Knowledge is dynamic / change with experiences Students work in groups Source : Thirteen Ed Online (2004) Because existing knowledge schemata are explicitly acknowledged as a starting point for new learning, constructivist approaches tend to validate individual and cultural differences and diversity.
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Role of teachers
In the constructivist classroom, the teachers role is to prompt and facilitate discussion. Thus, the teachers main focus should be on guiding students by asking questions that will lead them to develop their own conclusions on the subject. Parker J. Palmer (1997) suggests that good teachers join self, subject, and students in the fabric of life because they teach from an integral and undivided self, they manifest in their own lives, and evoke in their students, a capacity for connectedness. David Jonassen identified three major roles for facilitators to support students in constructivist learning environments: Modeling Coaching Scaffolding[3] A brief description of the Jonassen major roles are: Modeling Jonansen describes Modeling as the most commonly used instructional strategy in CLEs. Two types of modeling exist: behavioural modeling of the overt performance and cognitive modeling of the covert cognitive processes. Behavioural modeling in Constructivist Learning Environments demonstrates how to perform the activities identified in the activity structure. Cognitive modeling articulates the reasoning (reflection-in-action) that learners should use while engaged in the activities. Coaching For Jonassen the role of coach is complex and inexact. She acknowledges that a good coach motivates learners, analyzes their performance, provides feedback and advice on the performance and how to learn about how to perform, and provokes reflection and articulation of what was learned. Moreover, she posits that coaching may be solicited by the learner. Students seeking help might press a How am I Doing? button. Or coaching may be unsolicited, when the coach observes the performance and provides encouragement, diagnosis, directions, and feedback. Coaching naturally and necessarily involves responses that are situated in the learners task performance (Laffey, Tupper, Musser, & Wedman, 1997). Scaffolding - Scaffolding is a more systemic approach to supporting the learner, focusing on the task, the environment, the teacher, and the learner. Scaffolding provides temporary frameworks to support learning and student performance beyond their capacities. The concept of scaffolding represents any kind of support for cognitive activity that is provided by an adult when the child and adult are performing the task together (Wood & Middleton, 1975).
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Jonassen has proposed a model for developing constructivist learning environments (CLEs) around a specific learning goal. This goal may take one of several forms, from least to most complex: Question or issue Case study Long-term Project Problem (multiple cases and projects integrated at the curriculum level)
Jonassen recommends making the learning goals engaging and relevant but not overly structured. In CLEs, learning is driven by the problem to be solved; students learn content and theory in order to solve the problem. This is different from traditional objectivist teaching where the theory would be presented first and problems would be used afterwards to practice theory. Depending on students' prior experiences, related cases and scaffolding may be necessary for support. Instructors also need to provide an authentic context for tasks, plus information resources, cognitive tools, and collaborative tools.[3]
Constructivist assessment
Traditionally, assessment in the classrooms is based on testing. In this style, it is important for the student to produce the correct answers. However, in constructivist teaching, the process of gaining knowledge is viewed as being just as important as the product. Thus, assessment is based not only on tests, but also on observation of the student, the students work, and the students points of view.[1] Some assessment strategies include: Oral discussions. The teacher presents students with a focus question and allows an open discussion on the topic. KWL(H) Chart (What we know, What we want to know, What we have learned, How we know it). This technique can be used throughout the course of study for a particular topic, but is also a good assessment technique as it shows the teacher the progress of the student throughout the course of study. Mind Mapping. In this activity, students list and categorize the concepts and ideas relating to a topic. Hands-on activities. These encourage students to manipulate their environments or a particular learning tool. Teachers can use a checklist and observation to assess student success with the particular material. Pre-testing. This allows a teacher to determine what knowledge students bring to a new topic and thus will be helpful in directing the course of study.[2]
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observations, from which they later build ideas and hypotheses which they then go on to test. The teacher acts to encourage this learning. If successful, students can use this lesson to understand the components of combustion, an important chemistry topic.[4]
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individual activities within print-rich classrooms. The teacher, after reading a story, encourages the students to write or draw stories of their own, or by having the students reenact a story that they may know well, both activities encourage the students to conceive themselves as reader and writers.
Specific approaches
Specific approaches to education that are based on constructivism include the following:
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Constructionism - An approach to learning developed by Seymour Papert and his colleagues at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Papert had worked with Piaget at the latter's Institute in Geneva. Papert eventually called his approach "constructionism." It included everything associated with Piaget's constructivism, but went beyond it to assert that constructivist learning happens especially well when people are engaged in constructing a product, something external to themselves such as a sand castle, a machine, a computer program or a book. This approach is greatly facilitated by the ready availability of powerful 'constructing' applications on personal computers. Promoters of the use of computers in education see an increasing need for students to develop skills in Multimedia literacy in order to use these tools in constructivist learning. Reciprocal Learning - Two teach each other. Procedural Facilitations for Writing Critical Exploration (Duckworth, 2006) The two components of critical exploration are curriculum development and pedagogy. In this method teachers find ways to encourage their students to explore the subject matter and express their thoughts on the material(Duckworth). Cognitively Guided Instruction - A research and teacher professional development program in elementary mathematics created by Thomas P. Carpenter, Elizabeth Fennema, and their colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its major premise is that teachers can use students' informal strategies (i.e., strategies students construct based on their understanding of everyday situations, such as losing marbles or picking flowers) as a primary basis for teaching mathematics in the elementary grades. Inquiry-based learning Problem-based learning Cognitive apprenticeships Various methods involving collaboration or group work Cooperative learning (reciprocal questioning, Jigsaw Classroom, structured controversies) Anchored Instruction (Bransford et al.) - Problems and approaches to solutions are embedded in a narrative environment. Cognitive Apprenticeship (Collins et al.) - Learning is achieved by integration into a specific implicit and explicit culture of knowledge. There are six features of cognitive apprenticeships: modeling of the performance, support through coaching/tutoring, scaffolding, students articulate knowledge, reflection on progress, exploration of new applications. (Woolfolk, 2010) Cognitive Flexibility (Sprio et al.) - A constructivist approach to curriculum design, in which the learning activities spelled out in the intended learning outcomes are built into the teaching methods and assessment tasks. The Silent Way - A constructivist approach to foreign language teaching and learning developed by Caleb Gattegno who worked with Piaget before WWII and in the late 1940s.
See also
Learning theory Childhood development Progressive education Constructivist epistemology Constructivism in science education Constructivism (learning theory) Montessori method Inquiry-based learning
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References
1. ^ a b c d e f Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning (http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub5.html) 2. ^ a b Strategies for Constructivist Teaching (http://www.temple.edu/CETP/temple_teach/CM-struc.html) 3. ^ a b Jonassen, D. H. (1999). (http://www.moe.gov.sg/edumall/mpite/edtech/papers/d1.pdf) Constructing learning environments on the web: Engaging students in meaningful learning. EdTech 99: Educational Technology Conference and Exhibition 1999: Thinking Schools, Learning Nation. 4. ^ * Walker, M et al. (http://www.worlddeer.org/Markwalker/candle.pdf) (2008). "A bright spark: open teaching of science using Faraday's lectures on candles". Journal of Chemical Education 85 (1): 5963. doi:10.1021/ed085p59 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fed085p59). 5. ^ Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969). The Psychology of the child. New York: Basic Books, Inc. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: MA, Harvard University Press. 6. ^ Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969). The Psychology of the child. New York: Basic Books, Inc. 7. ^ Bain, Ken. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 8. ^ Applications and Misapplications of Cognitive Psychology to Mathematics Education (http://actr.psy.cmu.edu/papers/misapplied.html) 9. ^ a b c d e Should There Be a Three-Strikes Rule Against Pure Discovery Learning? (http://projects.ict.usc.edu/itw/vtt/MayerThreeStrikesAP04.pdf), Mayer, 2004, American Psychologist, 59(1), 1419 Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., and Clark, R. E. (2006). "Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: an analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquirybased teaching". Educational Psychologist 41 (2): 7586. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1207%2Fs15326985ep4102_1). Mayer, R. (2004). "Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? The case for guided methods of instruction". American Psychologist 59 (1): 1419. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.14 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2F0003-066X.59.1.14). PMID 14736316 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14736316).
Additional References Laffey, J., Tupper, T., Musser, D., & Wedman, J. (1997). A computer-mediated support system for project-based learning. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. Taber, K. S. (2011). Constructivism as educational theory: Contingency in learning, and optimally guided instruction. In J. Hassaskhah (Ed.), Educational Theory (pp. 39-61). New York: Nova. Available from https://camtools.cam.ac.uk/wiki/eclipse/Constructivism.html. Wood, & Middleton, (1975). A study of assisted problem solving. British Journal of Psychology, 66 (2), 181-191. Thirteen Ed Online (2004). Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching and learning. http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html
External links
Constructivist Teaching and Learning Models (http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/drugfree/sa3const.htm) SSTA Research Centre Report on Constructivist Teaching and Learning (http://www.ssta.sk.ca/research/instruction/97-07.htm) Constructivist Teaching (http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/project/teacher/construc.html)
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Association for Constructivist Teaching (http://www.odu.edu/educ/act/) Constructivist Teaching Practices: Perceptions of Teachers and Students (http://www.ed.psu.edu/ci/Journals/97pap32.htm) Constructivist Learning and Teaching (http://pirate.shu.edu/~muellemf/3006/Constructivist% 20Learning%20&%20Teaching.htm) Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning (http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub2.html) A follow up critique of constructivism by Eric Scerri (http://nzic.org.nz/chemed-nz/issuearchive/ChemEdNZ_Nov2010_Scerri.pdf) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Constructivist_teaching_methods&oldid=549388021" Categories: Learning theory (education) Educational psychology Constructivism
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivist_teaching_methods
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