EME 2040 Group 5 Spring 2013 Leisy Violet Helaine Therese

1. CONSTRUCTIVISM
IN TEACHING
BY LEISY, VIOLET, HELAINE, & THERESE

2. KEY IDEAS
• Constructivism is based on the idea that
students’ learning is a process of taking past
learning and applying it to current education.
• Students learn through exploration of their
own experiences. Real world, hands-on
experimentation is believed to be the best
way to teach students.

3. KEY IDEAS
• COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISM:
how the individual learner understands things,
in terms of developmental stages and
learning styles.
• SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM:
emphasizes how meanings and
understandings grow out of society.

4. KEY PEOPLE
Jean Piaget
• Piaget believed that people learn through assimilation and
accommodation.
• Both of the principles use past knowledge that is applied to
current learning situations.
• Assimilation occurs when a student understands new
information by comparing it or applying it to past
education.
• Accommodation occurs when a student tries to modify
past education to relate to new learning.

5. KEY PEOPLE
John Dewey
• He believed that active learning can only be done through
experiential learning.
• Learning experiences must expand on education and
allow students to reflect on

6. KEY PEOPLE
LEV S. VYGOTSKY
Vygotsky believed that young children are curious and actively
involved in their own learning and the discovery and development of
new understandings/schema
• Theory of the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD) - the area
where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should be given -
allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own -
developing higher mental functions
• Theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental
role in the development of cognition
• The potential for cognitive development depends upon the "zone of
proximal development" (ZPD): a level of development attained
when children engage in social behavior

7. KEY PEOPLE
L. S. VYGOTSKY
ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT:

8. CLASSROOM IMPLEMENTATION
• Here is a step-by-step guide on how to handle
constructivism in the classroom:
• Discover your class, find out how they learn, what they
enjoy, etc.
• Find out how much time you have, if you have room
to do everything, will it fit into my schedule.
• Set a format that complements the whole class
• Set up a title and outline
• Develop questions you want your class to be able to
answer and ones your class may ask so you are
prepared

9. TEACHER’S ROLE
Constructivist teachers pose questions and problems,
then guide students to help them find their own
answers
• Prompt students to formulate their own questions
(inquiry)
• Allow multiple interpretations and expressions of
learning (multiple intelligences)
• Encourage group work and the use of peers as
resources (collaborative learning)
• The teacher coaches, moderates, suggests, but
allows the students room to experiment, ask
questions, try things that don't work.

10. TEACHER’S ROLE
Teachers create classrooms were:
• Learning is constructed
• Learning is active
• Learning involves reflecting on experiences
• Learning involves collaboration
• Learning is inquiry-based
• Learning is an evolving process
When assigning tasks to the students, use
cognitive terminology such as "classify," "analyze,"
"predict," and "create."

11. STUDENTS’ ROLE
• Their learning is constructed - they come to learning
situations with already formulated knowledge,
ideas, and understandings.
• Their learning is active - student is the person who
creates new understanding for him/herself.
• Learning activities require their full participation (like
hands-on experiments).
• An important part of the learning process is that
they reflect on, and talk about, their activities.
• They also help set their own goals and means of
assessment.

12. APPLICATION TO
PERSONAL TEACHING
• I believe that this type of teaching is ideal for subjects like
science, where hands-on learning is crucial for success.
Anatomy is best taught when students can see and find for
themselves bones and muscles, so they not only recall the
names, but remember the placement and feel of the parts
• I also believe that this type is great for English class. You
want the students to come up with their own questions and
be able to come up with different meanings and this all
applies to critical reading.

13. SOURCES
1. http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Piaget%27s_Constructivism
2. http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/inst335/docs/inst335_brooks.p
df
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assimilation
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(learning_theory)#Construct
ivists
5. Atherton J S (2011) Learning and Teaching; Constructivism in learning
[On-line: UK] retrieved 17 April 2013 from
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/constructivism.htm
6. http://www.ndt-
ed.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Constructivist%20_Learning.htm
7. http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/interdisciplinary/imple
mentation.html