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Constructivism aims for students to generate their own knowledge by engaging in activities in the real world, set by their teacher (Harasim, 2012; Ruey, 2010). Group-based tasks are encouraged to enable learners to collaborate, building on and updating their existing knowledge with findings from their project and from each other .(Daniela & Lytras, 2018; Harasim, 2012). While much of this theory fits broadly with the ethos of adult education; that it must be experiential, authentic, and leverage the existing experience and knowledge of the learner; there appears to be controversy relating to using this theory ,(Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006). In their article, Kirschner, Sweller and Clark (2006) criticise constructionism as a learning theory, stating that it may engender the unfortunate side-effects of learners misunderstanding information, or developing a fragmented knowledge of the concept. Given that my student cohort is adults of some experience, with expertise in their own field prior to teaching, the potential for the negative ramifications of constructivism is substantially less than with children. In addition, combining elements of directed learning, such as demonstrating an overview of a few tools identified as meeting needs of the cohort, then setting them a task of applying one of the tools to their own teaching practice ensures that they start with a clear picture of what can be achieved (Roblyer & Doering, 2014). References
Daniela, L., & Lytras, M. (2018). Learning Strategies and Constructionism in Modern Education Settings. Hershey, UNITED STATES: IGI Global. Harasim, L. (2012). Introduction to learning theory and technology. In Learning theory and online technology (pp. 1-14). New York, NY: Routledge. Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75-86. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1 Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2014). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching: Pearson New International Edition (6th ed ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited. Ruey, S. (2010). A case study of constructivist instructional strategies for adult online learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(5), 706-720. doi:doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00965.x
4 Comments
Laurie Wilson
8/12/2018 11:12:50 am
Karen, I agree with you that adults are better suited to the constructivist methods of teaching. Having taught from Preparatory students up to Year 10, the older they get the easier it is for them to construct their own learning. It also takes them less time to do so the older they get. Having said this, we have some amazing Year 1 teachers at our school that are having real success in their inquiry-based classrooms. However, most of this inquiry is based around Science, History and Geography. For English and Maths, their teaching sits within more directionist strategies.
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Thanks for your feedback, Laurie. It is interesting to hear about teachers using this approach for young students. I did read something recently about teaching prime numbers and laying out beans (or counters etc) in rows to demonstrate which columns were prime numbers and which weren't: maybe this could be of use for maths at this early age?
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Bradley Bowman
21/12/2018 04:47:03 pm
Karen I enjoyed your post about the constructivist learning theory and both the benefits and challenges that exist with this particular learning style. I find the students at my school are so used to being directed by the teacher that implementing inquiry-based learning has been a real struggle, especially for students who don’t have basic skills.
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Thanks for your feedback Brad. One example is using ethics decision-making: here is the dilemma, what choice out of these two or three will you make? This then leads to more choices. This branching type of activity has also been successfully used in nursing - eg. you have come across a patient who is showing..... based on your observations, do you (choice 1, 2, or 3), and so on. This can lead to the 'patient' pulling through or not, in a safe, simulated environment.
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About meI'm a learning designer from Geelong in Victoria. I have worked in vocational education and training for many years, and for the last four have concentrated entirely on creating learning content to support teachers and students. Archives
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