Reflection 8

“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.

As a constructivist, there needs to be a fresh outset in the mind. The mind should not only work as a single data processor, but as a natal, budding system that subsists evenly well within a single brain and in the utensils, objects, and representative methods used to aid collective and cultural communication.

Applying constructivism in a classroom means 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.

When you use more thinking skills, it is said to be culturally interceded. The actions of these thoughts do not directly affect the world. However, they do so in a meandering way; it takes a material subject that has been formerly used and integrates it as a feature of action. If you think back, you can recall that matter has been fashioned by preceding human practices, so present action combines the psychological work that formed that particular form of substance.

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.