CONSTRUCTIVISM

REGIONAL MASS TRAINING OF GRADE 9 EsP TEACHERS

Why are teacher-centered approaches

not succeeding today?

Why teacher centered approaches are not fine?

• Students: fail to become engaged with the materialmemorize materials often without meaning

or understandingdo not remember material they learned

earlier cannot apply concepts to solve problemsWith technology people have huge

amounts of information available

Why implement learner- centered teaching?

Research shows that learner -centered teaching leads to

Increased student engagement with the content

Increased student learning and long term retention

Educators are under increasing pressure to use learner -centered teaching

• Do you agree with this?

What is CONSTRUCTIVISM?

"Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in."

(Brooks & Brooks)

What does that mean?

Constructivism is the idea that learning doesn't just happen by the traditional methods of teachers standing in front of the class and lecturing.

Constructivist perspective can be conveyed through an ancient Chinese proverb:

"I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand."

if we operate from this mindset, the important question for teachers should no longer be "How shall I best present this information to students for maximum recall?"

but rather "What is the student doing mentally during instruction, and how can I provide opportunities for active mental processing?"

(West et al.,1991)

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

We have to ENGAGE OUR STUDENTS

Constructivism

• student-centered rather than curriculum based

• students learn by doing • students actively participate in their

learning • students use critical thinking skills• focuses on knowledge construction,

NOT knowledge reproduction • learning uses hands-on approach

Constructivism

• learner is self-directed, creative, innovative• teachers adapt to being facilitators• instruction is anchored with real-world

context• students are more cooperative & less

competitive• Utilizes interactive teaching strategies• teacher uses: web quests, digital, media,

videos etc.

Constructivism in EsP Classroom

• Students will be ENGAGED with tasks to solve with their knowledge

• Students will be engaged in hands-on activites

• Students will work collaboratively

• Learning environment will support / challenge students' thinking

• Technology will be used

How Do Teachers Support a Constructivist Environment?

In a Constructivist EsP Classroomlearning is...

• CONSTRUCTED –

They come to learning situations with already formulated knowledge, ideas & understanding. This previous knowledge is the raw material for the new knowledge they will create.

• ACTIVE - the student is the one who creates new understanding for him/herself.

Learning activities require students' FULL PARTICIPATION (like hands-on activities).

• REFLECTIVE - students control their own learning process and they lead the way by reflecting on their experiences.

• COLLABORATIVE

The main reason it is used so much is that, students learn about learning not only from themselves but also from their peers...they can pick up strategies and methods from one another.

• INQUIRY BASED - The main activity in constructivist classroom is solving problems.

As students explore the topic, they

draw conclusions.

• EVOLVING students have ideas that they may later

see were invalid, incorrect or insufficient to explain new experiences.

These ideas are temporary steps in the integration of knowledge.

Constructivist teaching takes into account students current conceptions and builds from there.

10 Basic Guiding Principles of Constructivist Thinking that Educators Must Keep in Mind:  1.It takes time to learn2.Learning is an active process in which the student

constructs meaning out of3.People learn to learn 4.Learning involves language5.Learning is a social activity6.Learning is contextual7.The act of constructing meaning is mental8.Every one needs knowledge to learn9.Learning is not the passive acceptance of

knowledge it takes work10. Motivation is a major aspect of learning

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/finalprojects/eitankaplan/pages/principles.htm 

• What happens when a student gets a new piece of information?

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

1. The new information matches up with his previous knowledge (it's consonant with the knowledge).

2. The information doesn't match previous knowledge (it's dissonant). The student has to change her previous understanding to find a fit for the information.

3. The information doesn't match previous knowledge and it's 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 fit.

CONSTRUCTIVIST Approach

borrows from many other practices in the pursuits of its primary goal:

helping STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO LEARN

APPLICATION

HOW?

5 E’s

ENGAGE

EXPLORE

EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

Engage

• In the stage Engage, the students first encounter and identify the instructional task.

• Teachers must engage students in their lessons in order for them to learn.

• Engage students by: guiding whole group discussions, asking students to explain what they learned, working together in small groups to complete projects or tasks. 

Explore

• Students inquire, work together, form hypotheses, learn about new ideas and concepts on their own before coming together as a whole class.

• Students develop an idea of what they may think an object or idea is, then explore it further to see if their idea was accurate.

• Students use tools such as textbooks, the internet, scientific instruments, and their creative minds to explore new concepts.

Explain

• the learner begins to put the abstract experience through which she/he has gone /into a communicable form

• student will define and explain the current concept using their own words

• student will accomplish this using informational readings, group discussions, and teacher interaction

• Learners support each other by sharing their ideas, observations, questions, and hypotheses.

Elaborate/Extension

• students expand on the concepts they have learned, make connections to other related concepts, and apply their understandings to the world around them

• This will help students make connections that will lead them to more inquiry which will lead to new understandings.    

Evaluate

• is an on-going diagnostic process that allows the teacher to determine if the learner has attained understanding of concepts and knowledge

• In a constructivist classroom the teacher assesses the students work and adapts the lesson plan to meet the needs of the learner.