in the Classroom
By Valerie Mattes
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What is Constructivism? |
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When Constructivism and Technology Meet |
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Constructivism and Technology in the Classroom |
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Resources and Web Links |
What is Constructivism?
An underlying principle of constructivism is that learners actively construct knowledge for themselves. Rather than simply absorbing ideas spoken at them by teachers, or internalizing them through redundant practice, the constructivist approach encourages learners to try out ideas for themselves and see where they work and where they don't. The models that a learner constructs in his or her mind are crucial to understanding or nonunderstanding. Learners assimilate new information by relating it to pre-existing knowledge, and modify their understanding in light of newly learned information. In the process, their ideas evolve into higher level thinking. With appropriate guidance the learner gains insight into how they think and what they know about the world as their understanding increases.
Constructivist approaches to teaching and learning have evolved from the works of the following people:
John Dewey
Jean Piaget
Lev Vygotsky
Jerome Bruner
David Ausubel
Take a brief quiz on Constructivism.
When Constructivism and Technology Meet
Technology serves as a powerful tool for constructivism's underlying principle that students learn by doing. Computers, video, and other technologies engage learners in their learning experiences. Technology can be integrated into the constructivist classroom so that it supports the deeper, more self-directed activity learners must use if they are to be competent adults in the future.
The characteristics of learners acting technologically include their ability to make pragmatic decisions and to analyze information by using existing knowledge, direct observations, and practical experience. In technology education learners should be encouraged to work and learn in a manner that fosters discovery and creativity.
Learners today, called the Net Generation, are using technology to make learning relevant and effective. Digital media has created a move in education to more student-centered learning by: providing more interactive and nonsequential information, allowing the learner to construct and discover knowledge, focusing the learning experience on the student, providing a link to lifelong learning, customizing learning to each individual learner, and permitting learning to become a social activity facilitated by the teacher.
Technology has had positive effects on the instructional process, on basic and advanced skills (Kosakowski, 1998). The constructivist approach is made easier by technology in that it promotes collaborative, interactive and student-centered learning. Technology has a positive effect on learners' attitudes because they feel more successful, are motivated to learn and have better self-confidence.
Telelearning can bring resources into the classroom to facilitate active, problem-based, collaborative learning. This use of advanced technology provides real-world experiences from which the learner can relate and form deeper levels of knowledge. The digital age is providing teachers and students with new ways to collaborate, engage, and experience real-world situations with peers throughout the world.
Technology is a multi-dimensional field of inquiry (Twyford & Ja-rvinen, 2000). Technology is a valuable tool in education today. For example, the use of authentic experiences in working out problems and creating solutions, as found in web quests and problem-based learning activities, substantiate the constructivist approach.
Constructivism and Technology in the Classroom
In a Constructivist Classroom...Student autonomy and initiative are
accepted and encouraged. The teacher asks open-ended questions
and allows wait time for responses. Higher-level thinking is encouraged. Students are engaged in dialogue
with the teacher and with each other. Students are engaged in experiences
that challenge hypotheses and encourage discussion. The class uses raw data, primary
sources, manipulatives, physical, and interactive materials. These suggestions are quoted from SEDL - SCIMAST Classroom Compass - Constructing Knowledge in the Classroom at http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n03/1.html |
Examples of Technology in a Constructivist Classroom...Problem-based learning activities provide opportunities for the students to solve authentic problems cooperatively. Hypermedia gives students an avenue to assimilate and present newly learned information. WebQuests and independent studies engage learners in active problem solving with knowledge that connects to their world. Web Boards, e-mail, monitored chat rooms, interactive video allow for collaboration between different groups of learners and first-hand accounts from experts in the field. The Internet provides the students with immediate access to a wide source of information in which they develop retrieval and organization of information in meaningful ways. |
Resources
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Andrews, K., & Marshall, K. (2000). Making learning connections through telelearning. Educational Leadership, 58, 2, 53-56.
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Web Links
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Association for Constructivist Teaching - ACT
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