Constructivism

                                                 Constructivism

          Constructivism is based on the premise that we all construct our own perspective of the world through individual experience and schema. It focuses on preparing the learner to solve problems in ambiguous situations.

          Constructivism is basically a theory based on observation and scientific study about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we  encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, may be changing what we believe, or may be discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators or our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore and assess what we know.

          In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different teaching practices. In the most general sense, it usually means encouraging students to use active techniques to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing. The teacher makes sure he/she understands students preexisting conceptions and guides the activity to address them and then build on them.

          The constructivist model says that the student compares the information to the knowledge and understanding he/she already has and one of three things can occur:

a.     The new information matches up with his previous knowledge pretty well, so the student adds it understanding he/she already has and one of three things can occur.

b.     The information does not match previous knowledge. The student has to change his/her previous understanding to find a fit for the information. This can be harder work.

c.      The information does not match previous knowledge and it is ignored. Rejected bits of information may just not be absorbed by the student. Or, they may float around, waiting for the day when the student’s understanding has developed and permits a fit.

Constructivist teachers encourage students to constantly assess how the activity is helping them gain understanding. By questioning themselves and their strategies, students in the constructivist classroom ideally become expert learners. This gives them ever-broadening tools to keep learning. With a well-planned classroom environment, students learn how to learn.

Contrary to criticisms by some educators, constructivism does not dismiss the active role of the teacher or the value of expert knowledge. It modifies that role so that teachers help students to construct knowledge rather than to reproduce a series of facts. The constructivist teacher provides tools such as problem-solving and inquiry-based learning activities with which students formulate and test their ideas, draw conclusions and inferences and pool and convey their knowledge in a collaborative learning environment. Constructivism transforms the student from a passive recipient of information to an active participant in the learning process. Always guided by the teacher, students construct their knowledge actively rather than just mechanically ingesting knowledge from the teacher or the textbook.