Encouraging Constructivism in Today's Classroom

1956 Words4 Pages

Laptops, I-pads, I-pods, tablets of all types, smart phones, technology in general is the era that me as an upcoming primary school teacher is coming up in. These technologies whether we believe it or not our young children ages 4- 12 which is the age range that students are in the primary school are all using them to their fullest capacity. Therefore, when we as teachers go in the front of the students to teach it cannot be watch and write anymore, because most children do not learn that way anymore. When you begin to engage your students in your lesson you find out that these children have experiences that we can use to bring the information alive with to them so that they better understand what we are talking about. One thing that all teachers must realize when considering how to teach a lesson is that all students do not learn in the same way. Hence, the theory where students just regurgitate what was fed or taught to them should be placed aside and I feel like constructivism learning theory should be given a try in the classroom.

Learning according to the free dictionary is the act or process of experience of gaining knowledge or skill. This knowledge or skill is gained through schooling or study. (The Free Dictionary by Farlex). Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. (Constructivism, 2014). In other words constructivism is a type of learning theory that seeks to explain how human learn. It basically tells us that people make their own interpretation, understanding and knowledge of the world around us. Humans take what they already know along with prior experience and construct their own theory of ...

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...cognitive dissonance, application of new knowledge with feedback, and reflection on learning (Baviskar et al., 2009, p. 543). A teacher can obtain prior knowledge of a particular concept by asking the students informal questions, writing in journals or by developing some form of a pre-test. It is important for teachers and students to share their ideas on a particular concept so that the teacher have the opportunity to clear up any misconceptions that a student may have about the particular concept. Next, a teacher must be able to create cognitive dissonance; this can be achieved by making the students aware of the difference between their prior knowledge and the new knowledge being taught. Group discussions allow for students to make connections between their prior knowledge and new knowledge, ultimately leading to a successful transfer of permanent knowledge.

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