What is Constructivism?

”A teaching theory based on a type of learning in

which the learner forms, or constructs, much of what he or

she learns and comprehends.”

• Learning is active, social, and contextualized –meaning children learn best by figuring things out on their own or with the help of their peers, and that what you learn is related to you (your fears, prejudices, & existing knowledge).

• Learning takes time! You learn through experiences as you grow. During each stage of development, a student has certain capabilities, and these must be the driving force behind your assignments.

• Learners should be actively involved in their learning - They should be more and more responsible for their learning as they grow older. They build their own path!

• Children add to their knowledge,

or change their previous

thoughts, as they take

in new experiences in a

process called

accommodation.

• Piaget believed children

needed an exploratory

environment to experiment and learn in.

• The more active a student is in their learning processes, the more they’ll absorb – thus, lectures aren’t the main focus in such classrooms.

Teachers should pose as facilitators, as

opposed to “teachers.” This means they

should not just lecture or give out facts on

top of facts, but provide the student with

opportunities to teach themselves through

computerized assignments/scavenger

hunts, experiments, projects, and other

hands-on activities.

• http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/demonstration.html#1

• http://pkab.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/hmm_constructivism.gif

• http://www.uoregon.edu/~moursund/Math/expertise.htm

• http://faculty.weber.edu/pstewart/6030/6030.html

• http://socialconstructionism.pbworks.com/Web+2-0+and+Constructivist+Theory