Constructivism is a view of learning based on the belief that knowledge isn't a thing that can be simply given by the teacher at the front of the room to students in their desks.
Piaget (1977) asserts that learning occurs by an active construction of meaning, rather than by passive recipience. He explains that when we, as learners, encounter an experience or a situation that conflicts with our current way of thinking, a state of disequilibrium or imbalance is created. We must then alter our thinking to restore equilibrium or balance. To do this, we make sense of the new information by associating it with what we already know, that is, by attempting to assimilate it into our existing knowledge. When we are unable to do this, we accommodate the new information to our old way of thinking by restructuring our present knowledge to a higher level of thinking.
A good website that offers a summary of thesis statements about constuctivism:
Summary for the constuctivist theory:
Constructivist Learning Design Outline
1. Situation (you arrange for the students to explain.)
2. Groupings (of students and materials.)
3. Bridge (between what students know and what they might learn.)
4. Questions (you will ask or anticipate students will ask.)
5. Exhibit (of student explanations for others to understand.)
6. Reflections (by students on their process of explanation.)
My view: Constructivist learning is an interesting theory that allows us to understand that students must build on there prior knowledge. They are not simply a clean slate for teachers to wrtie on, but a human full of knowledge from there past experiences. From there, students develop on there skills they have learnt from the past. This theory enables me to enter teaching with an understanding that students do already have knowledge and it is my job to build upon this.
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