OVERVIEW
My article starts out with one of my favorite areas of
learning. How does an educator integrate the constructivist approach to an
online learning platform? The argument begins with the multiple roots of
constructivism found in psychological, philosophical, anthropological, and
sociological ones. Some say it is a learning theory while others argue that it’s
an epistemology. No matter the arguments…it can be assured that constructivism
has played a very critical role to that of instruction and learning. Many, if
not most educators have or will be applying constructivist approaches to their
classrooms (online or face-to-face) because of its value to making learning
more meaningful and authentic in promoting high learning transfer to students
(Driscoll, 2005, 2007; Jonassen, Cernusca, & Ionas, 2007). Brooks and
Brooks (1999) recommend five guiding principles of constructivism to provide
students with a meaningful experience in learning:
1. Emerging relevance to students by posing
problems: In one way or another, learning must be relevant to learners even
if they are not interested in learning. Relevancy is the key to helping
learners construct and understand concepts of learning based on their previous
knowledge.
2. Structuring learning around primary
concepts: “Learners at all ages are more engaged by concepts introduced by
the teacher and constructed by the learners from whole-to-part, rather than
part-to-whole” (Brooks & brooks, 1999, p. 49).
3. Students points of view must be sought
after and valued: The educator must be willing to ask pertinent questions
and listen intently to their students. The idea of students expressing their
opinions freely and revealing as well as reflecting upon their conceptions will
help them overcome any fears or trepidations.
4. Adapting curriculum to address students’
suppositions: When constructivist educators take learners suppositions
seriously, they will take the cognitive development, social context, and
assumptions into account as they design their instruction.
5. The context of teaching should assess
student learning: “Assessing through teaching, through participating in
student/teacher interactions, through observing student/teacher interactions,
and through watching students work with ideas and materials tells us more about
student learning than tests and externally developed assessment tasks” (p.97).
REFLECTION
It has been found that the constructivist-based approach to
online learning improves students’ learning, communication, self-responsibility
skills, critical thinking, and teamwork. If that isn’t enough improvement in human
performance, it also provides learners with in-depth knowledge and experience
with subject area, improves active and deeper learning, develops higher order
thinking, collaboration research skills, presentation skills, reflection, problem-solving
abilities, and finally improved and enhanced writing skills. My reflection
envisions students taking control of their learning while myself as the
instructor plays a very active supporting role. The instructor could introduce a new topic using audio, video, or animation. When guidance and support are necessary there is email, instant or text messaging, discussion boards, chat rooms, or even internet conferencing. I like the democratic associations of class discussions because this is a good way to elicit students responses. When an instructor sets up learning problems for the class to solve, this brings out the students points of view and their reasoning skills. There are studies that suggest
that constructivism is essential to the success of online learning. This is the
train I want to board. I want to help students learn more effectively, have fun
learning, and make sure they are successful in their education.
Chan, S.
(2010). Designing an Online Class Using a Constructivist Approach. Journal Of
Adult Education, 39(1), 26-39.
