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.
Robert, I tool have a strong affinity to the constructivist approach to learning. I think the first guiding principle of constructivism is so important to motivate students in the need to provide relevant lessons and instruction. Students feel a strong connection to the real-world with the ubiquitous nature of technology. I think we must also encourage students to ask questions to use higher-order thinking skills to grow their own world of learning. You mention the democratic association of discussions and I have found collaboration is powerful in the classroom as student learn from each other. You are simply guiding the students as they “drive the train of learning.” We as educators must allow students to explore the world around them and build their knowledge upon prior experiences. I also believe we are all using a constructivist learning process in this class and all of our online courses. We are constructing our own knowledge as we collaborate and communicate about our readings and writings in our posts and responses.
ReplyDeleteBrian
Our group person for this class is Seymour Papert and Constructionism. I, too, am a big fan of inquiry based, project based learning which allows students to engage on their own level, motivate themselves, and to collaborate with different age groups. Technology is so easy to add into this method of instruction, too. I wish more teachers would follow this model and allow students to construct their own meaning.
ReplyDeleteRobert,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review very much. As I have learned about the different methods I have decided that I lean to the constructivist method. Thank you for listing the 5 guiding principles with a short summary of each.