“Knowledge is actively constructed by the learner, not passively received from the environment.” –Martin Dougiamas
After taking the “My Educational Philosophy” survey and seeing my results, I learned that my educational philosophy was that of a constructivist. Constructivists believe that knowledge can only be constructed through interpretations and reinterpretations of a steady stream of information by putting the learner [student] in the midst of the educational stage. The fundamental nature of constructivism is its reflection on learning and the steady attempt to incorporate new information. Constructivism was built upon the works of Swiss and Russian psychologist’s Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.
"[What we need] is a new conception of the mind, not as an individual information processor, but as a biological, developing system that exists equally well within an individual brain and in the tools, artefacts, and symbolic systems used to facilitate social and cultural interaction." (Vosniadou, 1996)
Applying constructivism in the classroom means that the students are taught through a lot of scaffolding, using inquiries, hints, or propositions to help students associate what they already know with what they are learning. A constructivist classroom is all about the students and teacher testing what they already know or presume.
Higher mental functions are, by definition, culturally mediated. They involve not a direct action on the world but an indirect one, one that takes a bit of material matter used previously and incorporates it as an aspect of action. Insofar as that matter itself has been shaped by prior human practice (eg it is an artefact), current action incorporates the mental work that produced the particular form of that matter. (Cole and Wertsch, 1996, p252)
An example of constructivism in the classroom can be finding the symbolism in a poem. It is letting the students discover that there is a deeper meaning behind things and upon discovering this, more students will learn to question what is and what makes it so. As a constructivist teacher, I will make sure my lesson plans include a plethora of different hands on assignments, and the use of a Socratic like approach to answering questions.
After taking the “My Educational Philosophy” survey and seeing my results, I learned that my educational philosophy was that of a constructivist. Constructivists believe that knowledge can only be constructed through interpretations and reinterpretations of a steady stream of information by putting the learner [student] in the midst of the educational stage. The fundamental nature of constructivism is its reflection on learning and the steady attempt to incorporate new information. Constructivism was built upon the works of Swiss and Russian psychologist’s Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.
"[What we need] is a new conception of the mind, not as an individual information processor, but as a biological, developing system that exists equally well within an individual brain and in the tools, artefacts, and symbolic systems used to facilitate social and cultural interaction." (Vosniadou, 1996)
Applying constructivism in the classroom means that the students are taught through a lot of scaffolding, using inquiries, hints, or propositions to help students associate what they already know with what they are learning. A constructivist classroom is all about the students and teacher testing what they already know or presume.
Higher mental functions are, by definition, culturally mediated. They involve not a direct action on the world but an indirect one, one that takes a bit of material matter used previously and incorporates it as an aspect of action. Insofar as that matter itself has been shaped by prior human practice (eg it is an artefact), current action incorporates the mental work that produced the particular form of that matter. (Cole and Wertsch, 1996, p252)
An example of constructivism in the classroom can be finding the symbolism in a poem. It is letting the students discover that there is a deeper meaning behind things and upon discovering this, more students will learn to question what is and what makes it so. As a constructivist teacher, I will make sure my lesson plans include a plethora of different hands on assignments, and the use of a Socratic like approach to answering questions.
As a constructivist teacher, I will incorporate FEAP's numbers 2 and 3, communication and continuous improvement by making sure the voices of my students are not just heard but actually listened to and by taking time out to evaluate myself as a teacher and see how I can do better for my students and myself.
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