Constructivist teaching methods: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Overview aboutof constructivist teaching methods}}

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'''Constructivist teaching''' is based on [[Constructivismconstructivism (learningphilosophy theoryof education)|constructivist learning theoryconstructivism]]. 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 [[passive learning|passively receiving information]].

==History==

Constructivist approach teaching methods are based on [[Constructivism (learning theory)|constructivist]]Constructivist [[learning theory (education)|learning theory]]. Scholars such as Ernst von Glasersfeld trace the origin of this approach to the philosophies of [[Immanuel Kant]], [[George Berkeley]], and [[Jean Piaget]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Matthews|first=Michael R.|title=International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching|date=2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-94-007-7653-1|___location=Dordrecht|pages=1024}}</ref> There are those who also cite the contribution of [[John Dewey]] such as his works on action research, which allows the construction of complex understanding of teaching and learning.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kincheloe|first1=Joe L.|title=The Praeger Handbook of Education and Psychology|last2=Horn|first2=Raymond A.|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33123-7|___location=Westport, CT|pages=491}}</ref>

Dewey and Piaget researched [[childhood development]] and education; both were very influential in the development of informal education. Dewey's idea of influential education suggests that education must engage with and enlarge exploration of thinking and reflection associated with the role of educators. Contrary to this, Piaget argued that we learn by expanding our knowledge by experiences which are generated through play from infancy to adulthood which are necessary for learning. Both theories are now encompassed by the broader movement of [[progressive education]]. Constructivist learning theory states that all knowledge is constructed from a base of prior knowledge. As such, children are not to be treated as a blank slate, and make sense of classroom material in the context of his or her current knowledge.<ref name="thirteenorg">[http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub5.html Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning]</ref>

The development of constructivist models of teaching are specifically attributed to the works of [[Maria Montessori]], which were further developed by more recent by theorists such as [[David A. Kolb]] , and Ronald Fry, among others.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Totten|first=Christopher W.|title=An Architectural Approach to Level Design|date=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4665-8541-6|___location=Boca Raton, FL|pages=167}}</ref> These theorists have proposed sensory and activity-based learning methods. It was Kolb and Fry who were able to develop a methodology for experiential learning that involves concrete experience, observation and reflection, forming abstract concepts, and testing in new situations.<ref name=":0" />

==Activities==

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* '''Films:''' These provide visual context and thus bring another sense into the learning experience.

* '''Class discussions:''' This technique is used in all of the methods described above. It is one of the most important distinctions of constructivist teaching methods.<ref name="templeedu">[http://www.temple.edu/CETP/temple_teach/CM-struc.html Strategies for Constructivist Teaching] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050920023123/http://www.temple.edu/CETP/temple_teach/CM-struc.html |date=September 20, 2005 }}</ref>

* '''Campus wikis:''' These provide learners with a platform for curating helpful learning resources.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pascoe|first1=Michael|last2=Monroe|first2=Forrest|last3=Macfarlane|first3=Helen|date=2018-06-14|title=Taking Constructivism One Step Further: Post Hoc Analysis of a Student-Created Wiki|journal=JMIR Medical Education|language=en|volume=4|issue=1|pages=e16|doi=10.2196/mededu.9197|pmid=29903697|pmc=6024102|issn=2369-3762 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Constructivist approaches can also be used in online learning. Tools such as discussion forums, wikis and blogs can enable learners to actively construct knowledge. 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pagán|first=Brian|date=2006-02-28|title=Positive Contributions of Constructivism to Educational Design|url=http://ejop.psychopen.eu/article/view/318|journal=Europe's Journal of Psychology|volume=2|issue=1|doi=10.5964/ejop.v2i1.318|issn=1841-0413|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Assessment==

Traditional testing is only one facet of constructivist assessment of student success. Assessment also consists of personal, thorough interpretation of students' performance in the context of what their out-of-school life.

Non-traditional constructivist 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.

* '''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.<ref name="templeedu"/>

==Arguments against constructivist teaching techniques==

{{Main article|Constructivism (learningphilosophy theoryof education)}}

Critics have voiced the following arguments against constructivist based teaching instruction:

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* One possible deterrent for this teaching method is that, due to the emphasis on group work, the ideas of the more active students may dominate the group's conclusions.<ref name="thirteenorg"/>

While proponents of constructivism argue that constructivist students perform better than their peers when tested on higher-order reasoning, the critics of constructivism argue that this teaching technique forces students to "[[Reinventing the wheel|reinvent the wheel]]". Supporters counter that "Students do not reinvent the wheel but, rather, attempt to understand how it turns, how it functions."<ref name="thirteenorg"/> Proponents argue that students &mdash; especially [[elementary school]]-aged children &mdash; are naturally curious about the world, and giving them the tools to explore it in a guided manner will serve to give them a stronger understanding of it.<ref name="thirteenorg"/>

Mayer (2004)<ref name="Mayer">[http://projects.ict.usc.edu/itw/vtt/MayerThreeStrikesAP04.pdf Should There Be a Three-Strikes Rule Against Pure Discovery Learning?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215142158/http://projects.ict.usc.edu/itw/vtt/MayerThreeStrikesAP04.pdf |date=2015-02-15 }}, Mayer, 2004, ''American Psychologist, 59''(1), 14–19</ref> developed a literature review spanning fifty years and concluded "The research in this brief review shows that the formula constructivism = hands-on activity is a formula for educational disaster." His argument is that [[active learning]] is often suggested by those subscribing to this philosophy. In developing this instruction these educators produce materials that require learning to be behaviorally active and not be "cognitively active".<ref name="Mayer" /> That is, although they are engaged in activity, they may not be learning (Sweller, 1988). Mayer recommends using guided discovery, a mix of direct instruction and hands-on activity, rather than pure discovery: "In many ways, guided discovery appears to offer the best method for promoting constructivist learning."<ref name="Mayer" />

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=== Guided instruction ===

A learning approach in which the educator uses strategically placed prompts, cues, questions, direct explanations, and modeling to guide student thinking and facilitate an increased responsibility for the completion of a task. (<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher &|first=Douglas Frey,|title=Guided instruction : how to develop confident and successful learners |date=2010 |publisher=Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) |others=Nancy Frey |isbn=978-1-4166-1173-8 |___location=Alexandria, Va. |oclc=693781086}}</ref>

=== Problem-based learning ===

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=== Cooperative learning ===

A variety of educational approaches focusing on individuals working together to achieve a specific learning outcome (Hsiung, 2012).

==== Reciprocal Peer Teaching ====

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==== Jigsaw ====

{{main article|Jigsaw (teaching technique)}}

A highly structured cooperative learning approach which is implemented in four stages: introduction, focused exploration, reporting and re-shaping, and integration and evaluation. In the introduction stage, the class is divided into heterogeneous 'home' groups consisting of between three and seven students (Karacop & Doymus, 2013). Upon establishing the 'home' groups, the teacher will discuss the subtopics pertaining to the subject matter (Karacop & Doymus, 2013). In the focused exploration stage, each student within all 'home' groups selects one of the subtopics (Karacop & Doymus, 2013). Students from each 'home' group that have selected the same subtopic will form a 'jigsaw' group (Karacop & Doymus, 2013). It is in the 'jigsaw' group that students will explore the material pertaining to the subtopic and will prepare for teaching it to their 'home' group, the reporting and re-shaping stage (Karacop & Doymus, 2013). The approach concludes in the fourth stage, integration and evaluation, wherein each of the 'home' groups combine the learning of each subtopic together to create the completed piece of work (<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Karacop &|first1=Ataman |last2=Doymus, |first2=Kemal |date=April 2013) |title=Effects of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning and Animation Techniques on Students' Understanding of Chemical Bonding and Their Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10956-012-9385-9 |journal=Journal of Science Education and Technology |language=en |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=186–203 |doi=10.1007/s10956-012-9385-9 |issn=1059-0145|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==See also==

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issue=2|

pages=75–86|

doi= 10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1|hdl=1820/8951 |s2cid=17067829 |url=http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/16899 |hdl-access=free}}

* {{cite journal|

author=Mayer, R.|

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doi= 10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.14|

pmid=14736316|

citeseerx=10.1.1.372.2476}}|

s2cid=1129364}}

{{refend}}

* 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.&nbsp;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), 181-191181–191.

* 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

* Durmus, Y. T. (2016). Effective Learning Environment Characteristics as a requirement of Constructivist Curricula: Teachers’Teachers' Needs and School Principals’Principals' Views . International Journal of Instruction, 9(2).

* Durmus, Y. T. (2016). Effective Learning Environment Characteristics as a requirement of Constructivist Curricula: Teachers’ Needs and School Principals’ Views . International Journal of Instruction, 9(2).

* Cross, K. P. (1987). Teaching for learning. AAHE Bulletin, 39(8).

* Winkler, T., Kritzenberger, H., & Herczeg, M. (2002). Mixed Reality Environments as Collaborative and Constructive Learning Spaces for Elementary School Children.

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[[Category:Learning theory (education)]]

[[Category:EducationalConstructivism psychology(psychological school)]]

[[Category:Constructivism]]