Assignment 5 : “Constructivist Learning Theory”

Assignment 5: “Constructivist Learning Theory” 

Technology integration enhances active, social, and reflective learning in Constructivist Learning Theory. Technology may enhance constructivist learning by providing interactive, collaborative, and adaptable tools, making education more interesting, individualized, and effective. Technology should encourage active discovery, meaningful collaboration, and critical reflection, in line with constructivist education.

 

6 Principles of Constructivist Learning

Walden University’s MS in Education candidates explore this teaching theory.

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” This popular adage helps illustrate the power of constructivist learning theory, a student-centered teaching model used in many K–12 classrooms.

At a Glance: Constructivism is a theory that encourages learning as an internal, active process where new knowledge is built upon past knowledge. Students’ participation, teamwork, and practical experimentation are encouraged in constructivist teaching.

While there are different interpretations of constructivist learning theory, Hord’s article cites six key principles identified by Mary Burns, Marylu Menchaca, and Vicki Dimock as being important to constructivist learning theory. They are as follows:¹

1. Learners bring unique prior knowledge, experience, and beliefs to a learning situation.
2. Knowledge is constructed uniquely and individually in multiple ways, through a variety of authentic tools, resources, experiences, and contexts.
3. Learning is both an active and reflective process.
4. Learning is a developmental process of accommodation, assimilation, or rejection to construct new conceptual structures, meaningful representations, or new mental models.
5. Social interaction introduces multiple perspectives through reflection, collaboration, negotiation, and shared meaning.
6. Learning is internally controlled and mediated by the learner.

7.      6 Principles of Constructivist Learning. (2024, February 27). Walden University.

How to Use Constructivism in the Classroom

Here are some examples of how you might use constructivist learning theory in the classroom:

• Incorporate role-playing into your teaching. In history, students might play the parts of historical figures, or bring inanimate objects to life in math or science class.²
• Assemble small groups of students to work together to find solutions to real-world problems.
• Engage students by asking questions and then use their answers to facilitate their learning. The article “Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning” suggests that in the constructivist classroom, “one of the teacher’s biggest jobs becomes asking good questions.”³
• Make learning relevant to students whenever possible.
• “Use raw data and primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive, and physical materials,” “Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning” recommends.3

 

References

https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-programs/ms-in-education/resource/six-principles-of-constructivist-learning

(“6 Principles of Constructivist Learning,” 2024)