Throughout our department we have been discussing the constructivist classroom and what that looks like. Most of us have the idea that in a constructivist classroom students are autonomous learners that "discover" all of the essential learnings. Where the teacher is only a facilitator. In some reguards, this is true. However, the more that I research the constructivist classroom, the more I am finding that it really is just "good teaching". I feel that although most articles on constructivist teaching state that the teacher is a facilitator, they continue to add that our role is much more. Even when we use direct teaching to give them essential facts or information, we need to then give the students an opportunity to digest, disect, use, analyze and internalize that information to create connections and meaning. Again, this is just good teaching and always has been. I liked this quote I found from one of the articles I recently read on the constructivist classroom:
"Constructivist classrooms are structured so that learners are immersed in experiences within which they may engage in meaning-making inquiry, action, imagination, invention, interaction, hypothesizing and personal reflection," Audrey Gray.
posted by bkitch @ 8:51 AM
1 Comments:
I think that's a common misperception of constructivism - that it equates directly with "discovery" learning only. We'll read an article later this year that addresses that directly. Rest assured, it does not mean that (although discovery learning at times is appropriate and powerful).
For now, just keep in mind that there is a difference between constructivism - a theory of how people learn - and different approaches to teaching (including discovery learning - which is just one of those approaches).
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