6 Core Views of Constructivist Learning
As an advisor of Science and English teachers (grade 4-9- soon to become ICTJ) I do not work in a class everyday but I do create opportunities to implement constructivism while coaching and mentoring the teachers as well as encouraging them to use constructivist strategies in their classrooms.
1) Learning outcomes depend not only on the learning environment but also on the knowledge of the learner.
Justifications-we begin the year by teaching the teachers how to use diagnostic assessment data to inform their teaching and learning programs (creation of groups, IEPs, differentiation techniques), we also give PD on creating effective classroom environments that are rich in ‘kid-friendly’ resources and display student work. The combination of both enable the teachers to (sometimes) plan for and deliver lessons that use problem-based and inquiry type activities
Barriers- constructivism is ideal when there is more freedom with regards to what to teach and when. Unfortunately, the curriculum is still quite structured so the opportunities for constructivism are few and far between and/or hit or miss.
2) Learning involves the construction of meanings. Meanings constructed by students from what they see or hear may not be those intended. Construction of a meaning is influenced to a large extent by our existing knowledge.
Justifications-teachers use a lot of concept maps/KWL charts to trigger prior knowledge, groups will often work together in cooperative jigsaws, think-pair-shares and bus-stop activities to build meaning together. Teachable moments often result from situations where the students have constructed an inaccurate meaning- this makes for a rich learning process
Barriers- time! There is the additional issue with the language barrier. The teacher is expected to work towards teaching in English (yet the teachers and students are not remotely close to being fluent).
3) The construction of meaning is a continuous and active process.
Justifications-focus on skills development ensures that students are always improving and learning to adapt to make situations more meaningful. These skills are referred to continuously no matter what the content they are currently learning.
Barriers- Specialist teachers means students are seen by the teacher infrequently so follow up can be dodgy at best. Occasionally (around exam time), all good intentions go out the window in favour of rote learning because the exams are mostly still content driven. Last term we actually had a skill based exam where the students were given an investigation and had to predict the results, identify the controls/variables, then interpret some ‘pretend’ data. It was so alien to them that they did not do well!
4) Meanings, once constructed, are evaluated and can be accepted or rejected.
Justifications-students have the opportunity in Science and English to construct their own meanings and these are accepted by both teacher and student until further teaching/learning will be hindered. Teachers design lessons and plans together so strategies are challenged and it forces teachers to think about how their lesson suits the learners rather than their timetable/preferences
Barriers- Time! Teachers need time to check for meaning of their students and students need time to construct meanings based on strong foundations so they can explain them. A 45 minute lesson is certainly not conducive to this.
5) Learners have the final responsibility for their learning.
Justifications- the teachers have received PD on rubrics and create these to use with self-driven inquiry activities and rich authentic English tasks. This is beginning to seriously impact the way the students and parents are viewing education here. When the students know what they need to do to be successful, they can go through processes, including inquiry, which more personal responsibility and they take ownership of their learning.
Barriers- Time! Parents ‘helping’ too much because of lack of time to complete at school. A culture that is completely focused on marks makes constructivism difficult to implement. The greatest shift thus far is with the different type of assessments given Emirate wide. Also, many students don’t know how they learn so a focus on ‘learning to learn’ is seriously needed- without it, student metacognition is poor
6) There are patterns in the types of meanings students construct due to shared experiences with the physical world and through natural language.
Justifications-we immerse science and English lessons with culture and heritage whenever possible to promote meaning making. Authentic and culturally based activities are a huge benefit for certain types of meaning making. Through the discovery process with their peers, students use their natural language to make meaning and achieve great successes.
Barriers- Field trips are ‘fun days’ even when meant to be educational. This is not ideal for all subjects, difficult to engage community members to take part in school activities, male/female issue in school