Constructivism
Constructivism views on learning.
In a constructuvist classroom students are given the opportunity to build knowledge through their experience. The focus of the teacher's attention is on learning in a comprehensible environment and with less emphasis on direct learning of specific skills. Technology and especially multimedia provides important tools that help to achieve education goals and enables teachers to create a learning environment that expands the background of concepts and experiences. A classroom filled with interesting things that need to be discovered encourages students to become active builders of their skills by exploring them spontaneously. Students are exposed to discussions, interactive research, electronic information resources and group projects. The teacher can use a variety of methods to support students to solve a problem, perform a task or achieve a goal which would be impossible with effortless assistance.
Two types of support that teachers build for students are :
*Division of duty into more manageable components. In this stage the teacher explains the procedures through the models and formulates understandable questions for the student to be able to solve the most difficult tasks.
*Keeping students at work until the goal is achieved. In this stage the teacher brings clear objectives identifies and corrects misunderstandings and motivates students to achieve the expected goal.
Constructivism views on learning.
Constructivism as a philosophy of learning is based on the idea that by reflecting on our experiences, we build understanding of world in which we live. Each of us has personal mental methods that we use to make sense of our experiences. One of the most important principles in the psychology of education is related to the role of the teacher and the student in the teaching process. According to Constructivists, the role of the teacher should not be simply defined in giving knowledge to the students. He/She should help and facilitate the students to build the knowledge in their mind,giving them the opportunity to discover and implement the ideas themselves as well as to consciously use their personal learning strategies. Constructivism is an epistemology, a theory of cognition and learning related to how we know ( acquire knowledge), what we know and what cognition is. They see recognition as something temporary, developing,built internally and connected to the socio - cultural environment. Since education in the school environment is interdisciplinary, a very effective way to assess learning is to make the assessment part of the learning process, bringing to students information about the quality of their learning which increases the role of the students to judge the personal progress in learning. Constructivist views have greatly influenced teaching as they suggest an active role of students in the learning process and teaching becomes more student-centered, where:
* Recognition is the product of active contruction by the subject ( the student builds his own thoughts, and not to preserve in memory the "correct answers" or repeat someone else's thoughts).
* Recognition is closely related to the concrete situation in which learning occurs (new knowledge is not only built by relying on what has been gained from past experience but it happens continuously).
* Recognition comes from social interaction and interpersonal communication ( the student, driven by personal interests and respective cultural background, builds the reality in a personal active way through a process that integrates many perspectives).
Influences and applications of Constructivism in the classroom.
Two types of support that teachers build for students are :
*Division of duty into more manageable components. In this stage the teacher explains the procedures through the models and formulates understandable questions for the student to be able to solve the most difficult tasks.
*Keeping students at work until the goal is achieved. In this stage the teacher brings clear objectives identifies and corrects misunderstandings and motivates students to achieve the expected goal.
Student-centered learning models
Intermediate learning.
In this model students should be given complex difficult tasks and then given sufficient help to accomplish them. This principle has been used in the classroom to support the use of projects, community exploration and other authentic tasks.
Research learning.
In this type of learning, the teacher raises issues or questions that aim to stimulate discussion and investigation of students. The content of the questions is related to the content of the subject or to the special interests of the students. The questions may be different according to the different levels of education. Thus,in the primary school the question may be : Why do the leaves fall when the autumn comes? while at higher level of education the question may be asked: What is the cause of of the outbreak of second world war ? - in these cases the teacher avoids immediate answers even if required by the students. He/She encourages them to search and investigate more about the answer. For example, by discussing for the leaf fall in the autumn, they can be encouraged to observe the trees in the autumn season, to gather information from the books that explain the biology of trees and leaves, etc.. Although the direction of the investigation depends heavily on the students, with the help of the teacher it is guaranteed that the student's initiatives are productive.If everything goes well during the search, students benefit in 2 directions :
* Students learn new knowledge from their research.
* They practice to learn in motivate and constructive ways which is applicable in a series of problems and tasks in school and outside it.
Problem - based learning.
Learning based on problem has to do with real life problems. The process of resolving them is difficult and complex. Students take a role in the problem scenario and go through a process in which:
* Rise questions, identify what do they need to know about the problem.
* List the problem issues according to the importance of the concepts and decide who will investigate each issue.
* Identify the necessary resources and where they may find them.
* Gather the most necessary information through individual and group investigation.
* Generate and assess possible solutions.
* Make the final decisions.
* Communicate the most appropriate results for problem solving.
Problem - based learning encourage students on :
* Intentional learning.
* Rational understanding.
* Critical thinking.
* Creative thinking.
* Effective cooperation.
* Multiple communication.
The transfer of learning experiences takes place in an environment where the activity is understandable, the direction is expert and the construction of knowledge is done in interaction.
Watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVMyHt5ULUA
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In this model students should be given complex difficult tasks and then given sufficient help to accomplish them. This principle has been used in the classroom to support the use of projects, community exploration and other authentic tasks.
Research learning.
In this type of learning, the teacher raises issues or questions that aim to stimulate discussion and investigation of students. The content of the questions is related to the content of the subject or to the special interests of the students. The questions may be different according to the different levels of education. Thus,in the primary school the question may be : Why do the leaves fall when the autumn comes? while at higher level of education the question may be asked: What is the cause of of the outbreak of second world war ? - in these cases the teacher avoids immediate answers even if required by the students. He/She encourages them to search and investigate more about the answer. For example, by discussing for the leaf fall in the autumn, they can be encouraged to observe the trees in the autumn season, to gather information from the books that explain the biology of trees and leaves, etc.. Although the direction of the investigation depends heavily on the students, with the help of the teacher it is guaranteed that the student's initiatives are productive.If everything goes well during the search, students benefit in 2 directions :
* Students learn new knowledge from their research.
* They practice to learn in motivate and constructive ways which is applicable in a series of problems and tasks in school and outside it.
Problem - based learning.
Learning based on problem has to do with real life problems. The process of resolving them is difficult and complex. Students take a role in the problem scenario and go through a process in which:
* Rise questions, identify what do they need to know about the problem.
* List the problem issues according to the importance of the concepts and decide who will investigate each issue.
* Identify the necessary resources and where they may find them.
* Gather the most necessary information through individual and group investigation.
* Generate and assess possible solutions.
* Make the final decisions.
* Communicate the most appropriate results for problem solving.
Problem - based learning encourage students on :
* Intentional learning.
* Rational understanding.
* Critical thinking.
* Creative thinking.
* Effective cooperation.
* Multiple communication.
The transfer of learning experiences takes place in an environment where the activity is understandable, the direction is expert and the construction of knowledge is done in interaction.
Watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVMyHt5ULUA
Thank you !
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