Constructivist Learning

Constructivist learning is method of showing children the world that has intrigued me since before I knew there was a name for it, and I am quite excited to find that it is something that is actually studied and practiced, and not simply the crazy idea my parents had that happened to meet our family's educational wants and needs. That aside, the video "How Can We Believe Our Eyes" does an excellent job of illustrating some aspects of constructivist learning. These include:

Discovery Learning: Students in the classes utilizing constructivist learning were given lightbulbs, wires, batteries, and various other supples, and were then essentially told to figure out how the lightbulb works, instead of simply reading about electricity in the textbook and then being told how to build a completed circuit step by step.

Guided Discovery: The teacher in each of these classes acted as more of a learning coach, a term often used in Unschooling communities, instead of a step-by-step instructor. Students' with questions were guided towards the answers as was necessary, but never simply told what to do next. The teachers very deliberately let the students find their own way, and this would allow for a much more thorough understanding of both what works and why it works.

Inquiry-based Learning: The teachers in these classes asked the students open-ended questions, and encouraged them to think not just about what is working, but why it seems to work while other techniques do not.

Social Constructivism: Class discussion was an important part of the constructivist learning used in these classes. Students shared their ideas about why certain attempts to light the bulb were successful, and built on the discoveries of their peers as needed.

Cooperative Learning: Students worked on the lightbulb activity in small groups, facilitating thinking aloud as students reasoned through problems in a friendly environment where they can learn from their mistakes, as well as from their peers.

I've always believed that learning by doing, by figuring out the solution to the puzzle, as it were, yeilds the most powerful results, for me at least. After viewing these videos and coming to understand the concept of constructivist learning from an academic perspective had lead me to consider my postsecondary teaching, as well as the task of homeschooling my future children, in new ways. When teaching my children, I'll need to be careful how I explain new concepts, and ever aware of what my children are taking away from the lesson. Did they soak up irrelevent details, or do they understand the underlying concept as a gestalt? Do they see the trees, or the forest? In the Psychology classroom, I will need to make sure that my lectures focus not on Psychology as a series of set-in-stone rules for the mind, but rather on Psychology as a series of questions whose answers are constantly being built upon by new discovery. I should not, for example, simply tell my students how classical conditioning works, but let them reason their own way through why Baby Albert is terrified of little white mice and what this has to do with learned behaviors.

Constructivist Learning

· What are features of constructivist learning?

Constructivism is based on the idea that students construct their own knowledge through information they gather from their interaction with the other people and with the world around them.This view learning takes into consideration the fact that, usually, students don’t share the same background experiences and, accordingly, interpret new information in different ways.

· Using the case of how electricity works to light a light-bulb, describe at least 5 aspects of constructivist learning/teaching that are demonstrated in Can we believe our eyes?

Relinquishing control of student learning: In this video the teacher doesn’t state concepts to be understood and memorized but offers students questions for consideration. In this process, the student controls the pace at which they gain knowledge and pretty much control the overall pace of the course.

Allowing students’ interests to drive the process of knowledge construction: In this video students are motivated through a hands on activity with tangible results to succeed at learning the concept. These students feel they are facing a challenge they can solve and become interested in getting to the bottom of the problem in search for an answer.

Letting students make intellectual choices for themselves: As the students are given questions and guidance to solve the problem instead of straight answers, they have to use their creativity and recall previous knowledge in order to lean a new concept. The teacher offers guidance but the ultimate choices of what tools or ideas to try and in what order lies on the students’ hands.

Students learn from others: In this video the students are not asked to figure out the solution by themselves. Sharing information is not seen as cheating but as collaboration. Also, students are not placed on a competitive track where the first to find the solution is a winner but are given the chance to assist each other and learn from others’ mistakes and ideas.

Students actively construct their knowledge: These teachers give the students a problem that is appropriate for their age, the tools to figure out the concept and enough guidance without giving away definitive answers. This makes the students accountable for gathering data and constructing a concept all by themselves. In the process, they (i.e. students) look at the problem from different angles, recall past experiences, share ideas and use other strategies as they gather elements that would become a final answer and concept.

· Based on what you learned from all the videos, what socio-cognitive and constructivist ideas might you need to consider when planning your own lessons within your own domain of knowledge?

The library is full of chances for independent work and for building new knowledge from past experiences. Constructivist concepts could work great when teaching students effective research skills. I could guide them as they gather data, discriminate among sources, check for credibility and the like without telling them what to do but asking them why they chose one source over another, why do they trust that information, etc. Allowing students to interact amongst themselves is determinant: as human beings we are rarely isolated from others so learning how to share information from an early age as a mean to come up with new concepts and solutions is surely useful beyond the concept I’m teaching them at the moment.

Constructivist Learning

1. What are features of constructivist learning?

Constructivist learning is when students learn from their personal experiences with others and their environment.

Five aspects of constructivist learning/teaching that are demonstrated in Can we believe our eyes are :

1. Discovery learning because each student was given a light bulb, battery and wire to put together.
2. Guided Discovery because the teacher aided them and gave them hints so they could find out what made the light bulbs light up.
3. Cooperative Learning because the students had to work together to find the solutions. It was a challenge for them
4. Individual Constructivism because the students had to create and express their own ideas to explain what happened,
5. Inquiry-Based learning because the teacher asked open minded questions to aid them in their learning and hands on activities.


2. Based on what you learned from all the videos, what socio-cognitive and constructivist ideas might you need to consider when planning your own lessons within your own domain of knowledge?

It is important to remember children’s brains are like sponges. So when planning my lessons in my classroom I have a lot of things to remember and consider. Some of the ideas I plan on using are guided discovery and inquiry based learning because I believe it is great for children to learn this way. Using hands on learning is great for children of all ages. Students do need some guidance but they need to get their hands dirty so to speak in regards of learning. Experimentation is necessary so students can take charge in their learning. These are some of the ideas that I will consider when planning my own lessons.

Constructivist Learning

Constructivist learning is students learning from their personal experiences with others and the environment.

Students were given a light bulb, a battery, and a wire and they were tasked to come up with a way to light the light bulb. In these videos there were many features of constructivist learning. The teacher asks questions and provides hints but does not give the answer. The students worked in small groups. Social skills were present since the students had to talk to each other in the group. Individual accountability was expresses by interviewing Jennifer about the battery and bulb. She was convinced the bulb had to be in the stand but was proven wrong. The students were asked to write down all their observations. The students took charge of their learning and, consequently, they suggested in the video that they will remember the lesson more than if the teacher had lectured to them.

I work in the library now and we constantly showing students how to use the OPAC and the setup of the library in order to find books in the library. By asking the students questions about their interests, I am enabled to ask questions that they can answer thus utilizing individual accountability. I would consider Discovery Learning to explain how non-fiction and fiction books are arranged on the library shelves. Social skills are another idea that is used in the library. Students are always discussing with their peers about books on certain subjects in the library.

Constructivist Learning

(1). What are the features of constructivist learning?

The basic idea behind constructivist learning is that students will “construct” their own learning experiences based on personal experience, their interactions with others, and their environment.

During the video, Can we believe our eyes?, the following constructivist learning aspects were demonstrated:

1. Discovery learning – students were given the tools for making the light bulb light, but had to try and figure out how to make it work on their own.

2. Guided discovery – the teacher provided answered questions and provided some guidance without providing instruction.

3. Inquiry-based learning – teacher asked open ended questions as well has asked the students why they thought the certain configurations worked vs. the other configurations.
4. Social Constructivism – students shared why they thought the circular pattern of the configuration worked to make the light bulb light.

5. Cooperative Learning – the entire exercise was set up so that the students worked in pairs/partners together. It was also helpful in holding the different parts during the experimental portion in figuring out the different configurations.

(2). Based on what you learned from all of the videos, what socio-cognitive and constructivist ideas might you need to consider when planning your own lessons within your own domain of knowledge?

As a future Media Specialist, I think a great way to apply this approach would be in guiding students on how to locate reputable reference materials from different electronic sources (internet, databases…). First the exercise could be set up for pairs or small groups. Then, the students would be tasked to locate a certain number of reputable reference materials for a certain topic. The Media Specialist would need to be available to answer questions and ask open ended questions or maybe even provide hints. After the exercise was over, students could share how they found their resources, how they confirmed the information was reliable and what they learned that would help them the next time they needed to perform this type of research.

Another aspect I learned from the second video where the children were modeling the adults, is that our behaviors and communication are being absorbed right along with our lessons. So if we are distracted or irritated, then our students are picking up on this and learning from how we are handling the situations. I think as adults we always think of this when working with small children, but we really need to remember that this type of behavior is part of the entire learning exchange and our behavior can have an impact (positive or negative).

Constructivist Learning

What are the features of constructivist learning?

• Constructivist learning is basically learning by doing and using a lot of prior knowledge.

Using the case of how electricity works to light a light bulb, describe at least 5 aspects of constructivist learning/teaching that are demonstrated in Can we believe our eyes?

1. Students are working in small groups allowing them to share ideas while learning.
2. Students are learning by doing, or having a hands-on experience.
3. The teacher is encouraging students to come up with answers to questions on their own rather than answering questions himself.
4. The teacher instructs students to come up with several different methods to get the light bulb to light.
5. Students are then asked to write/report their findings.

Based on what you learned from all the videos, what socio-cognitive and constructivist ideas might you need to consider when planning your own lessons within your own domain of knowledge?

• I think the most important and interesting concept is constructivist learning. I would love to use this as often as possible in my classroom. Not only are students learning by doing, making the knowledge more likely to stick with them, but it is also making learning fun.

Constructivist Learning

Constructivist learning occurs when a student uses his experiences with others and with the environment in the understanding of a new concept. The student’s perceptions of the world around him influence and facilitate his learning.

Aspects of constructivist learning/teaching that are demonstrated in the video include:
1) Discovery learning – rather than having the students memorize facts about the light, the teacher had her students experiment with the light bulbs until they found their own solution.
2) Guided discovery – the teacher gave hints and directions, nudging the students toward the solution.
3) Inquiry-based learning – the teacher posed questions for the students to consider in their task of making the light bulbs work.
4) Social constructivism – the students discussed their experiences with each other, which enhanced their ability to complete the task successfully and broadened their understanding of the concept.
5) Cooperative learning – students worked together to accomplish greater understanding of the problem and come up with the solution.

Based on what I learned from all the videos, I intend to utilize guided discovery in the library. When a student asks me for books or information about a certain subject, instead of finding it for them -- even though it would take less time if I did it that way -- I will have them find it, as I guide them through the process. I plan to approach my role in the library as a teacher, showing young library users how to search for and find information themselves.