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Discuss constructivist teaching
Discuss constructivist teaching
Use of technology in education
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Teaching is a profession that is considered to be a rewarding challenging and complex role. An effective teacher does not simply teach knowledge their students and instead aims to arm students with the knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes that will prepare students for life-long learning. The constructivist theories developed by Piaget and Vygotsky have impacted on the way that teachers teach and this has changed the approach of teaching to place a greater importance on the teacher instead to act as a facilitator of learning in an open, constructivist environment and providing students with the tools to challenge themselves to develop both academically and personally. The education of students within classrooms of today is important for the future as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are instilled by the teachers will determine the child’s future development, and an effective teacher utilises their skills to have a positive impact and to cement the foundation for life-long learning. Theory of Teaching An understanding of the development and teaching theorists is essential characteristics of an effective teacher, as these theories allow a teacher to understand the development of children, how they learn, interpret, comprehend information and this base is used to develop a working knowledge of how best to teach and generate a positive learning outcome. The Western Australian Curriculum Frameworkapproach to teaching and learning is based on the constructivism view and the new Australian Curriculum incorporates this learning theory and the constructivism theory is demonstrated in the Maths video classroom of Ms Poole (ACARA, 2012; Davies, 2008; Fetherston, 2007). The learning theory of constructivism i... ... middle of paper ... ...trieved from http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/geometry/translation-rotation-reflection-2_TZQTM.pdf TexTeacher. (2008). Transformations2 [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showpost.php?p=406052 Utah Lesson Plans. (2004). Slides, flips and turns. Retrieved from http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=11077 Walsh, J. A., & Sattes, B, D. (2005). Quality questioning: Research-based practice to engage every learner. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications Webb, P. K. (1980). Piaget: Implications for teaching. Theory into Practice, 19(2), 93-97. Retrieved from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0040-5841%28198021%2919%3A2%3C93%3APIFT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., & Nanlohy, P. (2010). Learning for teaching: Teaching for learning. South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning.
Piaget’s theory is consistent and has contributed to how we think about education. The theory supports the child’s need to explore and to practice trial and error in the process of learning (Mooney, 2000, p. 62). Piaget’s theory is weakened by his lack of rigorous scientific research methods and the lack of diversity by using his own children as test subjects. Piaget’s instructions for his tests were complicated and limited the possible outcomes (Lourenco & Machado, 1996,
Wood, K. "Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development," in M. Orey Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology, 2001.
John Dewey once said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” You may ask why John Dewey should be given merit for anything he says. In truth, John Dewey was one of the biggest supporters of constructivism in classroom. On a basic level, constructivism is described as learning by doing. This concept, while not necessarily new, is considered progressive. Today, we will explore the history and details of this concept, analyze how constructivism effects the modern classroom, and wrap it up with some concluding remarks.
The third stage is the Concrete Operational stage (7-11 years); this is when children are starting to solve problems mentally and develop concepts and are beginning to get better at understanding and following rules. Piaget’s fourth and final stage is the Formal Operational Stage (11 years and over); this stage is where the child is able to think not only as in the terms of the concrete, but also think in the abstract and is now able to think hypothetically. Piaget’s theory is one where children learn in a different manner to that of adults as they do not have the life experiences and interactions that adults have and use to interpret information. Children learn about their world by watching, listening and doing. Piaget’s constructivist theory has had a major impact on current theories and practices of education. Piaget has helped to create a view where the focus is on the idea of developmentally appropriate education. This denotes to an education with environments, materials and curriculum that are coherent with a student’s cognitive and physical abilities along with their social and emotional
Petty, G (2009). Teaching Today - A Practical Guide. 4th ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. p1-2
Brooks, J. G., Brooks, M. G. (1999). In Search of Understanding: The Case of Constructivist Classrooms, with a new introduction by the authors. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10078162&ppg=28
Lev Vygotsky developed his theory of learning in the 1920’s but it was not until the late 1960’s that his ideas about learning became popular and were used to contribute to “Constructivism” as a method of teaching. (Krause [et al.] 2010 p. p81).
In regards to child development, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are both highly regarded and well known for their theories. Some educators view themselves as Piagetian while others view themselves as Vygotskians. They see Piaget and Vygotsky as being vastly different. Then there are others who see similarities between the two and hold both Piaget and Vygotsky as correct in their theories. The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences between Piaget and Vygotsky and determine what can be gained by better understanding these theories.
Blake, B., & Pope, T. (2008). Developmental Psychology: Incorporating Piaget's and Vygotsky's Theories in Classrooms. Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Education, 1(1), 59-67. Retrieved November 4, 2017, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6c7b/9a7b4988df15c68a14434a5f162bef984723.pdf.
Constructivism is a somewhat new, but up-and-coming ideology that is progressing through education. In order to properly understand constructivism, one must understand the history. Then, building upon the history one begins to understand its progression through education. Then, building upon that knowledge we can begin to see the applications of constructivism in the modern classroom. In the process of establishing the layout this paper, a method of constructivism, also known as scaffolding, was shown. Scaffolding is the process of establishing what a learner's base knowledge is and then teaching them in a method that relates and builds upon that. This leads into the broader idea of Constructivism, which the view of learning is based upon the learner produces knowledge and form meaning based upon their experience. ("Piaget's Theory of Constructivism", 2006)
Everyone knows that when it comes to making a difference in a child’s academic and life achievements, their teachers play a large role. A teacher’s ability to relate to their students, and teach them to achieve both socially and academically contributes to how effective they are. What does it mean to be an effective teacher? Overall there seems to be an emphasis on teacher effectiveness related to how well their students are performing on standardized testing. As teachers we know there is more to being an effective teacher then just teaching our students based on tests. This paper will identify different definitions of an effective teacher along with how to assess teachers on being effective.
Swan, . "Pros & Cons of Inquiry Learning." Pros and Cons. Pro Con Inc., 21 Apr 2013. Web. 31 Jan 2014. .
Among many teaching styles and learning theories, there is one that is becoming more popular, the constructivist theory. The constructivist theory focuses on the way a person learns, a constructivist believes that the person will learn better when he/she is actively engaged. The person acts or views objects and events in their environment, in the process, this person then understands and learns from the object or events(P. Johnson, 2004). When we encounter a certain experience in our life, we think back to other things that have occurred in our life and use that to tackle this experience. In a lot of cases, we are creators of our own knowledge. In a classroom, the constructivist theory encourages more hands-on assignments or real-world situations, such as, experiments in science and math real-world problem solving. A constructivist teacher constantly checks up on the student, asking them to reflect what they are learning from this activity. The teacher should be keeping track on how they approached similar situations and help them build on that. The students can actually learning how to learn in a well-planned classroom. Many people look at this learning style as a spiral, the student is constantly learning from each new experience and their ideas become more complex and develop stronger abilities to integrate this information(P. Johnson, 2004). An example of a constructivist classroom would be, the student is in science class and everyone is asking questions, although the teacher knows the answer, instead of just giving it to them, she attempts to get the students to think through their knowledge and try to come up with a logical answer. A problem with this method of learning is that people believe that it is excusing the role of...
One hundred years ago, Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a young man developing new insights about learning. He was one of a handful of constructivist-minded writers and educational theorists of the time. Learning theories open educators up to new ideas. They are necessary to expand our knowledge of how learning works. Piaget’s work is a well-tested and educators around the world should be aware of Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive development in particular because it will improve the quality of their teaching. Once a teacher knows this theory, they can plan lessons appropriate to their students’ cognitive ability and build upon students’ earlier knowledge in a constructivist way.
We must first look at the need for a constructivist approach in a classroom, to do this we think back to our days in primary school and indeed secondary school where textbooks we like bibles. We were told to take out our books, look at the board, and now complete the exercise on page z. This approach in a class is repetitive, the teacher holds authoritarian power and learning is by no means interactive. “In a traditional classroom, an invisible and imposing, at times, impenetrable, barrier between student and teacher exists through power and practice. In a constructivist classroom, by contrast, the teacher and the student share responsibility and decision making and demonstrate mutual respect.” (Wineburg, 2001) This approach focuses on basic skills and strict adherence to the curriculum. Children are being forced to learn through repetit...