Constructivism to me means that a
teacher guides the class through lessons but lets kids have time to figure
things out for themselves. After the students have had the time to work on
their own, the class comes back together and shares the findings. I think this
is a very effective way for some kids to learn because it encourages the
student to try new things, almost like a guess and check method, and find out
what works for them. The problem with objectivism is students only get one
point of view, the teacher’s, and if it doesn’t make sense to them then they
either fall behind or have to go to someone else for extra help.
As
a student I have not had many learning experiences in a constructivist
environment. In my elementary years I cannot remember any of my teachers using
constructivism in their lesson plans but as I have gotten older I have seen
more and more of this teaching style. As a high school student only a few
teachers played with the idea of constructivism in my classes throughout the
years. When I got to the University of Cincinnati my first quarter was all
lecture halls and extremely bland objectivist teaching. Luckily my second
quarter changed dramatically when I took my first teaching class. It was set up
unlike any class I have ever taken before. The class was centered in a circle
and class was an open discussion every day, with the teacher asking thought-provoking
questions and everyone responding to them with his or her point of view. The
things that I learned about teaching and myself are far greater then anything I
obtained from those 400-student lecture halls.
As
a teacher I hope to implement constructivism into my classes. I believe that
constructivism is a very important part of keeping kids interested in learning
and excited about coming to school. Also, I believe that constructivism is not
the one stop shop for methods of teaching and that not all students learn the
same way. Keeping this in mind, it is important to give your class a variety of
opportunities to learn.
Those 400 person lecture halls are good for some, but unconstructive for most. I completelty agree with learning more from experiences outside the lecture hall than in a boring two hour lecture.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I have had similar experiences and have found that I learn better in a smaller classroom as well. I like your use of the word "guide" when talking about constructivism. I think the teacher should be a guide in the classroom instead of just a lecturer. Describing a constructivist classroom like the "guess-and-check" method really makes sense.
ReplyDeleteYes, "A variety of opportunities to learn" is a very good plan!
I also like your blog design and use of pictures :)