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Constructivism

Definition

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. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.

Discussion

There are several guiding principles of constructivism:

  1. Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the issues around which students are actively trying to construct meaning.
  2. Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts. And parts must be understood in the context of wholes. Therefore, the learning process focuses on primary concepts, not isolated facts.
  3. In order to teach well, we must understand the mental models that students use to perceive the world and the assumptions they make to support those models.
  4. The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct his or her own meaning, not just memorize the “right” answers and regurgitate someone else’s meaning. Since education is inherently interdisciplinary, the only valuable way to measure learning is to make the assessment part of the learning process, ensuring it provides students with information on the quality of their learning.

How Constructivism Impacts Learning

Curriculum–Constructivism calls for the elimination of a standardized curriculum. Instead, it promotes using curricula customized to the students’ prior knowledge. Also, it emphasizes hands-on problem solving.

Instruction–Under the theory of constructivism, educators focus on making connections between facts and fostering new understanding in students. Instructors tailor their teaching strategies to student responses and encourage students to analyze, interpret, and predict information. Teachers also rely heavily on open-ended questions and promote extensive dialogue among students.

Assessment–Constructivism calls for the elimination of grades and standardized testing. Instead, assessment becomes part of the learning process so that students play a larger role in judging their own progress.

Reading

Jacqueline and Martin Brooks, The Case for Constructivist Classrooms.




The content on this page was written by On Purpose Associates.

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  1. I have never seen more typos on an educational site in all my life - but what do you expect from those who spout the delusion of constructivism as something to celebrate?

    In life there are absolutes and there is no bearing on how you FEEL in regards to those things.

    The number three will always be the number three no matter how you feel about it! And your misspellings are WRONG even if it makes you sad that you are WRONG.

    This country is full of meaningless PCisms and it’s from the likes of people like you - yes, you - who hold the blame.

    It’s nice to relate a lesson to your life. But your life experience does not alter reality.

    Sadly, too many Progressives (from the White House down) run things. But you know, I bet Barak Obama’s daughters aren’t learning Constructivism in school . . . you want to know why? Because even Obama can recognize truth - he’ll open the eyes of his children while blinding the country . . . .

    Christina A. Whitlatch posted the following on October 12, 2009 at 12:02 pm.

  2. I have always found constructivism to be a very helpful philosophy for my learning process. Anytime theres ever a deffinition or a concept to be learned I always draw my own mental picture of it. I VERY seldom write down the deffinition I am given. Instead, I write down my own deffinition that best represents my take on the concept or idea. Then when its time to recall that concept or deffinition, I have something that is relevant to me, something that I understand personally, wether from past experience or a mental picture. I can then, more often than not, find the “right answer” by comparing MY take on the concept to the choices offered or relating my mental picture to the subject at hand. I deffinitely think its better to LEARN it in my own terms and be able to retain it forever, rather than memorize someone elses terms or concepts and be able to recall them for a short period of time. Even if I missed just a little bit of the concept by putting it into my own perspective, I still feel that it is a success being that I WILL retain some of the concept as opposed to completely fogetting someone elses perspective. Because thats all educators give is their perspective. I mean who REALLY knows what the author of a poem meant except for that poet. Unless the poet gave a word for word analysis of the poem, nobody REALLY knows what he/she meant. We try and analyze the poem, but in escence, there is no ‘bad interpretation’ of the poem or poetry because thats what its meant to do, provoke thought; the beauty of poetry is interpretation, not someone being right or wrong.

    Matt Brown posted the following on June 20, 2009 at 11:03 am.

  3. I like this page it has alot of information about contructivism, i would like to see more about the different theories, like Jean Piaget and Vygotsky, and how models like these can be used or best practiced in teaching a class.

    Charles posted the following on May 5, 2009 at 10:38 pm.

  4. this is a really good page, it helped me to understand the whole concept of constructivsm.

    Keish posted the following on May 4, 2009 at 11:51 am.

  5. Thanks to this site because it helps me a lot in doing my thesis proposal…

    mAry gracealba posted the following on May 2, 2009 at 5:32 am.

  6. I loved this site. It helped me prepare for my comprehensive exam. Thanks for your help.

    Jennifer posted the following on March 26, 2009 at 8:18 pm.

  7. I love your page.. it is very comprehensive, this page helped me a lot in my report about the constructivism.. keep it up guys… thanks a lot….

    edison bolongaita posted the following on January 2, 2009 at 7:53 pm.

  8. Hi, I work in Oaxaca Mexico and I’m very interested in finding more about constructivism and english teaching in kindergarten, elementary and secondary grade levels. I’m also interested in the Significant Learning strategies for the teachers to apply in their classrooms. Please send me any information related about this issue.
    Thank you and I love your site.

    sylvia posted the following on December 27, 2008 at 1:01 pm.

  9. Thanks for the comment Remesh. Please go to the home page - http://www.Funderstanding.com and look for the post called ‘Poetry and Constructivism, and Better Learning.’ I hope this helps.

    admin posted the following on November 29, 2008 at 8:35 pm.

  10. Hai

    I like your page. I’m a teacher of English. I’m quite interested in constructivism. I want to know more about how it could be implemented in the poetry class.

    If you have any article please forward the same to me

    Remesh

    remeshnk@yahoo.co.in

    Remesh posted the following on November 29, 2008 at 4:10 pm.