Constructivism 4

CONSTRUCTIVISM:
CONCEPT, PRINCIPLES &
BENEFITS
By K.ARUMUGAM
ZIET MYSORE
SELF STUDY- I

What is Constructivism?
• Constructivism is about how
people learn.
• People construct their own
understanding and knowledge
through experiencing things and
reflecting on those experiences.
• We must ask questions, explore
and assess what we know.

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.

 Constructivism is a philosophy of learning
founded on the premise that, by reflecting
on our experiences, we color and construct
our own understanding of the world we
live in.
Each of us generates "rules" to make sense
of our experiences.
Learning is adjusting our rules to
accommodate new experiences.
Students can learn different meanings from
the same lesson.

Information
received is
reshaped inside
the learner’s
mind to fit within
his or her frame
of reference.

It is a theory of learning based on
the historical works of Dewey,
Piaget and Vygotsky.
It is learning using prior knowledge
and connecting it to new
information.
It challenges the learner to construct
their own knowledge and test their
understanding of the material.

HISTORICAL PERSEPECTIVE
Lev Vygotsky Jean Piaget
John Dewey Jerome Bruner

Constructivism views knowledge as
“assimilated” into existing schema.
Idea largely based on Swiss
Biologist Jean Piaget’s
research on child development
& learning.
Piaget’s theory states that
children learn by creating
“mental maps” or schemes.
These maps or schemes are
added to and adapted as
needed to help them
understand their environment.
Structure becomes more
complex as child develops.

Lev Vygotsky
Russian psychologist
& philosopher in 1930’s
usually associated with
Social Constructivism.
Social Constructivism
emphasized the effects
of one’s environment
(family, friends, culture
& background) have on
learning.

Jerome Bruner most
recent contributor.
1966-1990 Has
incorporated social and
cognitive aspects .
These ideas originated
from a conference for
math and science
learning.

• During the math and science conference, a modified
lesson plan was developed with Bruner’s assistance.
The five E’s:
ENGAGE
EXPLORE
EXPLAIN
ELABORATE
EVALUATE
“I shall take it as self-evident that each generation must define afresh the
nature, direction, and aims of education to assure such freedom and
rationality as can be attainted for a future generation. It is in this sense that
education is in constant process of invention.”
--Jerome S. Bruner, 1966

In a Constructivist Classroom,
Learning is….
• Constructed
• Active
• Reflective
• Collaborative
• Inquiry-Based
• Evolving

Constructed
building upon
previous knowledge
to create new knowledge
Active
the student experiments,
asks questions,
and sets goals
Reflected
students discuss learning
experiences and reflect
upon understandings
Collaborative
students work together
and learn from one another
Inquiry-based
exploration of questions
Evolving
ideas are change
throughout process
of learning
THE CONSTRUCTIVIST
CLASSROOM

 CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSTRUCTIVIST
LEARNING & TEACHING
 Multiple perspectives and representations of concepts is
encouraged.
 Goals and objectives are derived by the student or in
negotiation with the teacher.
 Teachers serve in the role of guides, monitors, coaches,
tutors and facilitators.
 Activities, opportunities, tools and environments are
provided to encourage metacognition, self-analysis, self-
regulation, self-reflection & self-awareness.
 Learning situations, environments, skills, content and tasks
are relevant, realistic, authentic and represent the natural
complexities of the 'real world'.

 Primary sources of data are used in order to ensure
authenticity and real-world complexity.
 Knowledge construction and not reproduction is
emphasized.
 This construction takes place in individual contexts and
through social negotiation, collaboration and experience.
 Learners are provided with the opportunity for
apprenticeship learning in which there is an increasing
complexity of tasks, skills and knowledge acquisition.
 Knowledge complexity is reflected in an emphasis on
conceptual interrelatedness and interdisciplinary learning.
 Collaborative and cooperative learning are favored in
order to expose the learner to alternative viewpoints.
 Assessment is authentic and interwoven with teaching.

 The learner's previous knowledge
constructions, beliefs and attitudes are
considered in the knowledge construction
process.
 Problem-solving, higher-order thinking skills
and deep understanding are emphasized.
 Errors provide the opportunity for insight into
students' previous knowledge constructions.
 Exploration is a favored approach in order to
encourage students to seek knowledge
independently and to manage the pursuit of
their goals.

Traditional vs. Constructivist
 Basic skills emphasized
 Materials are textbooks and
workbooks
 Learning based on repetition
 Teacher disseminates
information to students
 Assessment is through
testing
 Students work alone
 Big concepts emphasized
 Student questions and
interests are valued
 Learning is interactive
 Teacher’s role is
interactive
 Variety of assessment
 Students work in groups

THE JOB OF THE
CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHER
 The teacher must enter the
classroom believing that all
students have different
backgrounds from experiences and
cultural practices.
 The teacher has to meet the
students at there current level and
help them connect and expand to
the material.
 Taking these two factors into
account ensures that the material
will be meaningfully related to the
students.

 Tailor Strategies To Student Responses.
 Encourage Analysis, Interpretation, Prediction.
 Use Open-ended Questions And Discussion.
 Connect Past Experiences With New Learning.
 Use Project-based Learning.
 Use Problem-based Learning.

PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTIVISM
 Knowledge is actively constructed by
the individual.
 Learning is both an individual an a
social process.
 Learning is a self-regulated process.
 Learning is an organizational process.
 Reality represents an interpretation.
 Learning is a socially situated activity.
 Language plays an essential role in
learning.
 Motivation is a key component in
learning.

IMPACT ON INSTRUCTION
 Teacher as
facilitator/guide rather
than authority
 Focus on making
connections between
facts
 Experimentation, open-
ended questions,
extensive reflection,
dialogue among
students

IMPACT ON ASSESSMENT
 Ongoing assessment
during instruction.
 De-emphasizes
traditional grading
methods.
 Self-assessment,
learner articulates
growth through
projects and reflection.

IMPACT ON CURRICULUM
Less standardized
curriculum.
Customized to
connect to learner’s
prior knowledge.
Emphasizes hands-
on problem- solving.

BENEFITS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM
 Constructivism concentrates on learning how to think
and understand.
 Constructivist learning is transferable. In
constructivist classrooms, students create organizing
principles that they can take with them to other
learning settings.
 Constructivism gives students ownership of what they
learn, since learning is based on students' questions
and explorations, and often the students have a hand in
designing the assessments as well.
 Constructivist assessment engages the students'
initiatives and personal investments in their journals,
research reports, physical models, and artistic
representations.

 By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-
world context, constructivism stimulates and engages
students. Students in constructivist classrooms learn to
question things and to apply their natural curiosity to
the world.
 Constructivism promotes social and communication
skills by creating a classroom environment that
emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas.

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF
CONSTRUCTIVISM
 It's elitist.
 Social constructivism leads to "group think." Critics
say the collaborative aspects of constructivist
classrooms tend to produce a "tyranny of the
majority," in which a few students' voices or
interpretations dominate the group's conclusions, and
dissenting students are forced to conform to the
emerging consensus.
 There is little hard evidence that constructivist
methods work. Critics say that constructivists, by
rejecting evaluation through testing and other external
criteria, have made themselves unaccountable for
their students' progress.

THANK YOU
K.ARUMUGAM .
 ZIET MYSORE

Constructivism 4

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