Now for some concrete examples of constructivism in the

classroom! In this section we show you some actual programs and

activities that illustrate constructivism IN ACTION.
Constructivism in Action
In Classrooms
In Schools and Projects
At the Discover Lab
What Do Constructivist Lesson Plans Look Like?

Constructivism in Action
In Classrooms
We know there are many kinds of constructivist classrooms. What
common features do they share? What are things we will always see
in a constructivist classroom?

Jacqueline Grennon
Brooks talks about
constructivism.

Virginia Lockwood, a firstgrade teacher at P.S. 116 in

New York, talks about the
importance of her students'
creating their own knowledge.

The next three videos

demonstrate a particular
constructivist technique in
action -- the strategy of
"academic controversy," in
which students research and
gather information about a
controversy, advocate a
particular position using
evidence to support their
point of view, then generate a
consensus or compromise

among themselves that

merges the opposing
perspectives.
In the video to the right,
Peter Mason's class at Bayard
Rustin High School for the
Humanities in New York
debates a wildlife
conservation issue.

In Tim Simonds's sixth- and seventh-grade classes at the Sulk

School of Science in New York, students simulate an emergency
session of the U.N. Security Council to address a scenario the
teacher has constructed. The students have been studying the
history of the people, nations, and governments involved in a dispute
between Venezuela and Guyana. Both nations claim sovereignty over
the territory of Essequibo, a region in Northern Guyana. In order to
provide the context for "learning-by-doing," the teacher presents a
hypothetical scenario in which Venezuela attacks and occupies
Essequibo.

Students adopt the

role of U.N.
delegates
representing the
member nations. In
order to serve their
nation's interests
and understand the
nature of the
dispute, students
research "their
country's" historical
background as well
as the factors
leading to the
conflict they are
attempting to
resolve. During the
course of the
simulation, student
delegates present
and debate their
viewpoints, learning
how to negotiate a
compromise
resolution that will

be voted upon
during the session.
Following an initial
presentation of each
side's claims,
students switch
positions in order to
reformulate
arguments
according to the
opposing camp's
perspective. As a
result, students
learn to appreciate
diverse perspectives
on a given issue
because they are
compelled to
understand the
forces that drive an
opposing point of
view.

During the
caucuses, students
debate, justify their
claims, and try to
persuade other
delegates to vote in
favor of their
position. This
process allows
students to discover
and understand the
factors that
influence actions
and events in
history. After
student delegates
have argued their
positions, they are
prepared to vote on
a resolution.
Students are not
merely learning
history, they are
creating history by
experiencing the
multiple
complexities of

historical events.
The sciences are a particularly fruitful area for students to draw on
their previous knowledge and experience to conduct experiments
and construct knowledge about various scientific concepts.
Once again, rather than merely
reading about and being
"informed" by the teacher,
these eighth-grade students at
the Spry Middle School in
Webster, New York, try to
understand the interaction
between motion and speed
through the mechanisms that
drive a ride at an amusement
park. The first step is to
brainstorm ideas based on their
own experiences and other
related knowledge that they
already possess. These
assumptions are tested and
confirmed or rejected by
subsequent research the
students actually conduct.

A critical
knowledgebuilding step
entails
conducting
research in
order to draw
conclusions
that will help
students to
answer their
questions and
verify their
assumptions.
In addition,
students must
explain the
results of their
research, a
step that
engages the
students in the
critical thinking
process as they

draw their
conclusions.
They create
their own
mental models
in order to
explain their
results, draw
conclusions,
and
communicate
these
conclusions to
their peers.

Here, children are designing a

parachute in order to explore
the effect of shape, size, and
weight on the rate of descent.
In a traditional setting, the
teacher "teaches" these facts in
the classroom. However, a realworld design problem allows
children to discover the
interaction between these
variables. Through trial and
error and collaborative learning,
children attempt to figure out
which combination of conditions
will enable a parachute to
descend.

Virginia Lockwood
encourages her first
graders at P.S. 116 to
reflect on their
knowledge-creation
process.

Virginia Lockwood's first

graders express their
knowledge in their
presentation on sharks.

In Schools and Projects

The following schools and projects incorporate aspects of
constructivist theory:
Dalton School, New York
http://www.dalton.org/AboutDalton/about_plan.shtml
Well-known constructivist private school, considered to be one of the
most innovative reform models in education. According to the Web site,
"Inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the century,
educational thinkers such as Dewey began to cast a bold vision of a new
progressive American approach to education. Helen Pankhurst caught
the spirit of change and created the Dalton Plan." You can read about
such aspects of the school as the "House," the "Assignment," and the
"Laboratory."
Greater Brunswick Charter School, New Jersey
http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~charter/abouttxt.htm
A charter school based on "broad themes of child-centered learning in
the vein of constructivism" and other innovative approaches to learning
stemming from the work of Howard Gardner and Maria Montessori.
Students "direct their own learning" via Personal Education Plans.
Schools affiliated with the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow
http://www.apple.com/za/education/acot/acot.html
ACOT is a project in which international schools explore computermediated constructivist projects. The following are four of the sites:
Dodson Elementary School, Nashville, Tennessee
http://www.dodson-es.davidson.k12.tn.us/dodson.htm
The constructivist Dodson School "teaches academic and life skills. Its
curriculum is as vast as the world around us and as small as the needs
of a single child," according to its statement of philosophy. The school
also houses the Teaching and Learning with Technology Center that
serves the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. The Web site has good
links to projects.

Francis W. Parker School, Chicago, Illinois

http://www.fwparker.org/
Established in 1901, this independent school prides itself in the teaching
of "critical thinking, providing not only a framework for students to learn
about the world, but also a self confidence that will sustain them
through risk, challenge and uncertainty." This statement reflects the
constructivist approach to teaching and learning. Community building is
also a major emphasis of this school.
Foxfire Schools
http://www.foxfire.org/
Foxfire Schools are an exciting experiment in democratic and
constructivist learning in rural, Appalachian Georgia. Their thirty-year
history illustrates how schools in economically distressed areas can
excel based on participatory democracy. The mission of these schools is
"to teach, model, and refine an active, learner-centered approach to
education which is academically sound and promotes continuous
interaction between students and their communities so that students
will find fulfillment as creative, productive, critical citizens." The Foxfire
projects became a model for schools nationwide to implement learning
strategies that build minds, communities, and inroads to historical and
cultural continuity. One of the most famous is Rabun Gap-Nacoochee
School, Rabun Gap, Georgia
(http://www.rabungap.pvt.k12.ga.us/Rabun%20Gap/RGNS_Frame.htm)
-- the school where students have preserved the historical traditions of
Appalachia through Foxfire writing projects that have gained national
prominence.
Reggio Emilia Schools, Reggio Emilia, Italy
http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/info/reggio.html
Schools in the community of Reggio Emilia, Italy, are based on a childcentered philosophy developed there. They emphasize a wholistic
approach to critical and creative inquiry, with themes drawn from the
works of John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, and Jerome Bruner.
These include "approaching old activities in newer ways," "exploring
hundreds of languages," and "collaborative learning." Reggio Emiliastyle schools have sprung up elsewhere. The Web site is unofficial, but
schools submit explanations of their teaching pedagogy there.

At the Discover Lab

Jacqueline Grennon Brooks, EdD. (this CONCEPT TO CLASSROOM

workshop's content expert), Cathy Bennett, and the Center for Science,
Mathematics and Technology Education run the Discover Lab at SUNY
Stony Brook. The Discover Lab features classrooms-in-a-classroom
where education students teach K-12 students while learning about
constructivist teaching.

Following are some examples of the type of activities going on

there.

Last year, many people were

wondering about the Y2K
problem and whether many
services we take for granted
would really break down. The
Discover Lab developed a
curriculum (one among many)
called "Starting from Scratch,"
designed to start students
thinking about what people
would need to know if we
really had to start from
scratch. Below are some of its
components, as described by
Jacqueline Grennon Brooks:

Photo by Catherine Bennet

. Communicating
We don't have anything to use
for writing. But we do have
some soil and wax. Could we
make our own crayons? How
hot do we need to get the wax
for it to melt? Does it always
melt at the same temperature?
How do we mix the soil and the
wax to get the smoothest color
crayon?

Photo by Catherine Bennet

. Maintaining a Garden
We have a garden on a hill and a pond
below it. We want to use the pond to
water the garden. But, water always
seems to flow down. We could carry
buckets. But, there must be an easier
way! We have some siphoning tubes, an
aquarium aerator, and materials to make
water wheels and aqueducts. Will any of

these items be useful to help us solve our

problem?
. Feeding Ourselves
Pasta is a comfort food for lots of people.
Without any boxes of spaghetti around,
could we make our own? Take out the
flour and water and a little olive oil, if
you're lucky, and let's find out how much
flour you need with how much water to
get a dough that's not too sticky, but not
too dry. After we make our dough, we
need to determine how big to make the
pasta pieces. We can use the pots of
boiling water to cook the pasta. But, there
are so many of us, we each only get five
minutes of boiling time. Does the size of
the pasta matter in how long it takes to
cook?
. Appreciating the Life around Us
In the movie THE LION KING, Mufasa told
Simba that, in the end, we're all food for
earthworms. Maybe we need to learn a
little about earthworms to know what that
means? We have some questions: Do
earthworms prefer the light or the dark?
Can they swim? Can they hear? It appears
that asking them won't give us an answer.
So, how else can we find out? We have the
earthworms. What else do we need, and
what do we need to do to find out the
answers to our questions?

. Expressing Our Artistic Selves

We have some cloth we can use to make
Photo by Catherine Bennet
clothes. But, it's too plain and we like color.
A friend told us that we could get the
orange out of yams, the red out of beets,
the purple out of cabbage juice, and the
green out of spinach, and then we could
use the color to dye the cloth. But, how do
we go about doing that? Do we chop or
grind the vegetables? Can we mix them
with water? Does the temperature of the
water make a difference? Another friend
said that vinegar somehow helps. What
does it do?
. Keeping Our Property Clean
We found a huge collection of old pennies. But, they're so grimy that the

bank wouldn't take them. The bank tellers told us that the dirty pennies
would jam the counting machine. We need to clean them, but we have
no cleaning supplies, only some leftover items from the refrigerator and
kitchen cabinet: ketchup, salt, oil, some lemons, vinegar, baking soda,
and chili sauce. Will any of these items help solve the cleaning problem?

Photo by Catherine Bennet

. Learning about Other Ways to Grow

Plants
We've heard of hydroponics many times,
the science and art of growing plants
without soil. The seeds and the plants
that grow from them need some type of
support and a way of getting the water
and fertilizer that they need. With the
materials on the table or others that you
need and we can get for you, design a
system whereby your plants can grow.
One major challenge to hydroponic
gardeners is the wicking system that
brings the water to the plants. We have
three different types of wicks. Which is
the "best"? How do you know? What is
your proof?

Let's look at a student response to the last lesson on hydroponic

gardening.

What Do Lesson Plans That Use

Constructivist Ideas Look Like?
The following are four lesson plans that illustrate constructivist teaching
and learning opportunities. Since there are many different themes in
constructivist philosophy, ways of applying the theory, and even clashing
"camps" of constructivists, these lessons offer you just a few examples
of the many styles used successfully.

Constructivist Expert Lesson Plan Examples

Elementary (3-6)

Middle (5-8)

Unit on the Underground

Railroad developed by Anna
Chan Rekate of the
Manhattan School for
Children.

Lesson on tessellations by
National Teacher Training
Institute Master
Teacher Dory Marcus,
adapted byJacqueline
Grennon Brooks, Ed.D.

High school (9-12)

High school (9-12)

Lesson on earthquakes
developed by Alexandar
Sabatino, Jr., a National
Teacher Training Institute
Master Teacher.

Lesson on DNA
Fingerprinting byNancy
Morvillo, Assistant Professor
at Florida Southern College.