The Application of Constructivism Learning Principles in Classrooms - Assignment Example

Constructivism Constructivism is a theory in learning that shows how learners connect ideas and synthesize them in the attempt to understand the concepts by themselves. This is something that started in the 1980s but people lacked a word to describe their actions (Woolfolk 2001). This theory has been adopted in education to promote the understanding of concepts/ideas by students, especially in higher learning, considering that at that level students are meant to synthesizeand or hypothesize what they learn in class and use it practically. The idea is that people should understand that knowledge is not only gained by a teacher teaching students in a class, but the understanding of the students who actively participate in the development of their mentality toward any knowledge and meaning to anything they learn or discover (Ferron 2006). There are several principles that govern this theory; learning depends highly on what we already know, as new things come up as we embark on using the older ideas. Learning is all about innovation of idea or inventing of ideas, rather than accumulating thoughts from the past ideas. Learning is also more meaningful if an idea is developed or rethought into a different conclusion from the older idea. In this case, a constructive class should consist of learner based environment- where the learner is the main focus and there is active instructionto the learner, mostly from the teacher/ educator. The purpose of this is to allow the student to imagine, invent, manipulate several ideas into new ones, question older ideas, research on more ideas, and predict possible events from developingideas andhypotheses. The teacher's purpose is to ensure the process runs smoothly (Woolfolk 2001). Learning is mostly achieved through active construction of ideas in the mind/meaning, rather than listening or passive receiving concept or ideas. On most occasions, students have conflicting ideas in their minds; this may develop some imbalance in their understanding of the topic. The theory helps create some sort of balance in ideas by or incorporating the older ideas. Assimilation of new ideas from old ones brings our understanding and knowledge to a new level. This technique is quickly being adopted in the classrooms by the day (Ferron 2006). This theory is different from the traditionalist way of education, where a teacher would walk into a class and deliver information to the students, they would not think in depth about the topic. This technique wasreferred to as transitional curriculum while the latter is a transactional curriculum (Lehman 2005). The traditionalist teaching technique would not develop the learner's understanding of certain concepts, as the decisions made by the student depend highly on what the teacher or educator teaches. Constructivist teaching, on the hands, allows the students to actively participate in the development of new ideas and decision making. The traditionalist teaching does not give enough room for innovation. Constructivist learning makes students motivated to do more as they actively participate in the learning process. Constructivist environment allows students to construct a way of understanding things (Alexander 2003). This is technique has been advocated by many, in order to create learners who are more independent/ autonomous learners who are inquisitive learners who question ideas and reason for themselves. Constructivism is evident in today’s educational systems. The main characteristics of the constructivism include the interaction of students and real life environments for the learning of students (Woolfolk 2001). Methods Two classes were put under observation. This was grade one and four respectively. A checklist is also provided. The time taken is approximately two hours. For the grade one class, the teacher would pair up children ask them to match up shapes with their names in a chart. A good example is illustrated in the table below. Star Rectangle Triangle Circle Square One example has been illustrated above. This exercise was done and alternated with other similar exercises that involved the understanding the shapes more and their uses in daily living. The teacher also asked the students to identify the shapes and items used in daily life that had similar shapes. The children contributed in the discussion and mentioned some items that took up the shapes they had discussed. For fourth graders, the second classroom, the teacher grouped the children into groups of five and gave them topics to discuss in order to form a creative writing paper in the two hours provided. The groups were given topics like, my country, my best friend, my school, my home. The children all contributed to their respective discussions and formulated written papers at the end of the two hours. The teacher organized the students and let them face each other as they discussed the various topics. Below (see appendix)is the checklist based on Murphy’s checklist for constructivist learning (Driscoll 2000) Checklist Tick where appropriate Yes No Plan of activities Learning Objectives Negotiation and cooperative adopted Teaching. Students’ activity in exercise Students’ discovery of concepts. Students’ elaboration of prior knowledge Activities that involve problem solving Provision of resources for learning. Student’s participation in a task assigned. Students asked questions. Conducive environment for active participation in class Students’ adoption of own goals and means of assessment. The teacher taught for elaboration. Need created before any elaboration. Use life experiences Students discussed their activities Necessary teaching strategies adopted Assessment of student activities Objectives achieved by the teacher Active learning encouraged by instruction Content based teaching Conceptual interrelatedness Sources of data Scaffolding Considerations of errors There are couple more of learning theories that teachers use in teaching children they include behaviorist, cognitive and of course constructivist learningtheories. Of all the mentioned constructivism stands out to be the best approach to educate children. It acts as a foundation to the rest of the theories. Results The students in both classes managed to achieve the goal of the exercises they were assigned by their respective teachers. For the first graders who had been asked to match up shapes to their names managed to do just that. Alongside, that they gave examples of the shapes they meet in their everyday life(Lehman 2005). Some of the shapes the students mention were the tyres for cars or vehicles, the stars, the milk tetra pack packaging. The fourth graders also achieved the necessary results from their various group discussions. They managed to discuss their various issues. They spoke openly about the topics they were given. The teachers managed to achieve what was intended for both exercises (Woolfolk 2001).Plan of activities was well done for both groups, the children were well organized and showed how to handle each task appropriately. Learning Objectives of the first grade class was for the children to learn various shapes and identify them in their day to day living. This objective was met accordingly. The fourth grade class objective of the exercise was also achieved as they were to improve their language skills through interaction with other group members in the group and finish the task that had been assigned to them. Negotiation and cooperatively adopted in both fourth and first grade classes as they involved groups in both exercises(Barkin 2003). The teachers were keen to educate the students on the topics of discussion before they attempted the discussions. The students were aware of how best to handle the various exercises before they could even start on the group discussion. The necessary guidance was provided for the topic to be successful. The student’s participated actively in the various exercises they all contributed in giving examples of shapes and also matched up the shapes to their names. On the other hand, the fourth graders also identified the various contents of the creative essay exercises they had been given. They used their daily life situations to fill up the ideas in the essay. Students’ discovery of concepts was also evident as they all learnt from each other through the group exercise. They all learned something new from each other(Barkin 2003). Students’ elaboration of prior knowledge was evident. The first graders had been taught briefly on shapes. They used this knowledge acquired to identify the shapes in their daily lives. For example they mentioned tyres are circle shaped, windows are mostly shaped in squares or rectangles. Just to mention a few. The fourth graders had also learnt the various exercises in class. They now adapted the various aspects they had learnt in class into formulating creative writings as a group. The activities involved problem solving skills. As the children identified the various concepts, they were also required to solve certain problems. For instance, write and essay and filling up a chart and matching up diagrams with their names. The teachers provided resources for learning; rulers, pencils, sharpeners, erasers and paper, this further made learning quite easy. Student’s participation in a task assigned was tremendous as they all had to be part of the exercise as they were all grouped into teams with members that expected everyone to participate. Students asked questions where they did not understand(Adams 2007). The conducive environment provided for active participation in class. The students were comfortable being part of the exercise as they had been provided for with a friendly environment. For the exercise. Students’ adopted of own goals and means of assessment in order to finish up the exercise successfully. They all timed themselves and achieved the various targets the assignments required, they also assessed themselves made conclusions on the topics that had been issued. The teacher taught for elaboration of the topics in discussion. This was necessary, to give the students a rough idea of what was expected of them. The need created before any elaboration was also necessary in making the students understand the importance of the exercises they were part of. Students discussed their activities and used life experiences to understand the topics better. Necessary teaching strategies were adopted like group work and content based teaching. The teacher finally assessed the student activities and gave a conclusion to everything.Active learning encouraged by instruction was also evident as the teachers were present throughout the various activities by both classes (Adams 2007). Discussion The group’s activities focus on making the students understand the concepts they were learning better. The exercises focused on making the students widen their scope of understanding of the topics they were discussing. It nurtured the students’social skills, positive interdependence, individual accountability, face to face interactions, and group processing of information (Blankenship 2001). Positive interdependence enabled each group members’ efforts to be realized as indispensable especially in completion of the groups’ activity. All the activities were allocated a maximum of two hours for completion. All students worked within that time frame and finished the task. This contributed to their positive interdependence. It also emphasized the students’ individual abilities as a unique being and different ways of perceiving ideas (Driscoll 2000). On individual accountability the students made everyone realize they were capable of handling any issue in future alone without necessarily being in a group. The face to face interactions makes students have the ability to question themselves on whatever they study and also ask the fellow students on their opinion. It created room for challenging their ideas and those of others (Woolfolk 2001). Social skills like the use of languages improved due to their frequent use. When the students were paired up they had to use a common language to communicate, thus, they practiced on their language skill while doing so. The development of social skills also developed trust, respect and conflict management amongst the children. When the fourth graders were asked to talk about various aspects of their day to day activities thus they developed some trust in each other, as they realized they could relate various situations they were discussing about. Group processing also helped the students achieve the goals they wanted to attain in learning (Lehman 2005). They also helped them in decision making and also described what actions are acceptable and which ones are not acceptable. These activities also increased the retention abilities of students of ideas learnt in the classroom and outside the classroom. As the same constructivist approach is used in all their life situations and learning about new things. This active participation in classes enabled the students to develop their self-esteem and improve their oral communication skills. The more the constructivist approach was used the more academic achievement was attained (Riordan-Karlsson 2008). The benefits of a constructivist approach to learning enables the students to promote knowledge at a higher level than the usual competitive way. The reasoning becomes very superior and the same applies to their critical thinking techniques (Barkin 2003). The constructivist approaches used in this discussion were both social and cognitive. The teachers involved created a problem for the students to solve. In other words they created a need for the students to think critically about what they were being taught. They also fostered knowledge acquisition in the children. They also created a social environment for the students to interact especially by pairing them and or grouping them to solve the problems they had created for them. The exercises also gave the students time to synthesize the concepts they learnt by discussing them and challenging each other through the group exercises (Woolfolk 2001). Conclusion Constructivism is focused on creating learners who can solve problems independently that is why it is student based. Constructivism is more student oriented it is aimed at allowing the student to get a more precise understanding of the topic.The traditionalist techniques would not let children develop their skills to their highest potential. The constructivist technique on the other hand, allows for children to tap into their potentials thoroughly and eventually achieve all their goals in life successfully. Constructivist techniques instill some level of pride in students that their thoughts also count and that they are able to adapt their own thoughts into the day to day activities (Riordan-Karlsson 2008). It encourages interactions amongst children and collaboration as it in cooperates negotiations in solving class problems. It also models and nurtures the skills of students. The constructivist technique also motivates students to learn more as they feel more involved in the exercise in the classroom. They reflect more on what they learn and thus perform better in their various exercises. They achieve more academically than those who used traditionalist techniques (Riordan-Karlsson 2008). References Adams, John. (2007)Educational Theories. London: Ernest Benn. Barkin, Samuel. (2003): "Realist Constructivism." International Studies Review 5.3 325-42. Blankenship, Colleen, and M. Stephen Lilly (2001). Mainstreaming Students with Learning and Behaviour Problems: Techniques for the Classroom Teacher. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Driscoll, Marcy Perkins. (2000) Psychology of Learning for Instruction.Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Ferron, O. M. (2006) Classroom Psychology. Alice: Lovedale. George, Paul S., and William M. Alexander. (2003) The Exemplary Middle School. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Hoy, Anita Woolfolk (2001). Educational Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Lehman, Eleanor R., and Barbara Louise Hopkins Grabowsk (2005) Constructivism: Its Foundations and Applications : A Selected Bibliography. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Educational Technology Publications. Riordan-Karlsson, Mary.(2008)Constructivism. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials. Santrock, John W. (2000) Educational Psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Slavin, Robert E.(2008)Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. Appendix1 : Constructivism Psychology on the Internet (Updated March 2013) Journals and Newspapers Constructivist Chronicle (CPN newsletter): http://www.constructivistpsych.org/newsletter Constructivist Foundations: http://www.univie.ac.at/constructivism/journal/ Journal of Constructivist Psychology: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/tf/10720537.html PCP News Blog: http://www.pcp-net.de/info/news.html Personal Construct Theory & Practice: http://www.pcp-net.org/journal Appendix 2: Observation sheets First graders Yes No Plan of activities X Learning Objectives X Negotiation and cooperative adopted X Teaching. X Students’ activity in exercise X Students’ discovery of concepts. X Students’ elaboration of prior knowledge X Activities that involve problem solving X Provision of resources for learning. X Student’s participation in a task assigned. X Students asked questions. X Conducive environment for active participation in class X Students’ adoption of own goals and means of assessment. X The teacher taught for elaboration. X Need created before any elaboration. X Use life experiences X Students discussed their activities X Necessary teaching strategies adopted X Assessment of student activities X Objectives achieved by the teacher X Active learning encouraged by instruction X Content based teaching X Conceptual interrelatedness X Sources of data X Scaffolding X Considerations of errors X Fourth graders Yes No Plan of activities X Learning Objectives X Negotiation and cooperative adopted X Teaching. X Students’ activity in exercise X Students’ discovery of concepts. X Students’ elaboration of prior knowledge X Activities that involve problem solving X Provision of resources for learning. X Student’s participation in a task assigned. X Students asked questions. X Conducive environment for active participation in class X Students’ adoption of own goals and means of assessment. X The teacher taught for elaboration. X Need created before any elaboration. X Use life experiences X Students discussed their activities X Necessary teaching strategies adopted X Assessment of student activities X Objectives achieved by the teacher X Active learning encouraged by instruction X Content based teaching X Conceptual interrelatedness X Sources of data X Scaffolding X Considerations of errors X Appendix 3: Lesson Plans First grade class Lesson Instructions and suggestions Materials Lesson 1 Shapes e.g. Triangle, rectangle, circle, squares and stars. Activity #1 Draw a chart of basic shapes for children and ask them to match the shapes draw to their respective names. They should then point out life experiences that they discovered new shapes or things in life that appear like the shapes they have learnt. Papers, coloured pencils, rulers, erasers/rubbers and sharpeners Fourth grade class Lesson Instructions and Suggestion Material Lesson 1 Creative writing Group the children into groups of five. Let choose a topic from the list of topics you have created to suit the exercise, e.g. my home, my school, my class, my best friend Allow them to ask each other questions Guide them through how many questions each of the groups should answer in their compositions Discuss the importance of the exercise to the children in real life situations. Pencils, papers, rubbers and rulers. Read More