Constructivism Summary
Discussion Responses
What about students? How do they react to a constructivist environment?
Student1 replied, "This is exactly the focus of one of the papers presented at AECT Carr et.al (1997). The authors discuss (among other things) why constructivism has not been implemented much in spite of research showing that it is an effective way to teach."
They put the blame on the teachers, the learners and society. Their reasons are as follows:
Students: They are used to sitting passively in a class. Students who are successful in this situation are fearful of taking on a more active learning for fear of failing. Further, learners are not likely to be comfortable with the "increased ambiguity that necessarily accompanies real-world and complex problems."
Teachers: Teachers need to change their role, give up power, learn to coach in new content areas using techniques they are themselves unfamiliar with and therefore relinquish the comfortable position of knowing all the answers. Teachers must also spend more time preparing constructivist learning environments.
References
Carr, A.A., Jonassen, D.H., Litzinger, M.E., & Marra, R.M. (1997). Good ideas to foment educational revolution: The role of systemic change in advanced situated learning, constructivism and feminist pedagogy. Presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Educational Communications and Technology, Albuquerque: NM.
Student5 responded, "Teachers need to change their role, give up power, learn to coach in new content areas using techniques they are themselves unfamiliar with and therefore relinquish the comfortable position of knowing all the answers. Teachers must also spend more time preparing constructivist learning environments."
Much of what I've been reading about constructivism cites not the teacher as the culprit of the lack of constructivism in the classroom, but teacher preparation programs
Barron and Goldman, (1995) suggest that teachers tend to teach as they were taught, and therefore if teacher prep programs do not utilize constructivist models, then it is unlikely that teachers will bring constructivist thought to their own classrooms.
Garner and Firestone (1996) explain that the primary barriers to professional development for teachers are time, place, money and academic discipline. It may not be solely the K-12 teachers' responsibility. . . we may need to provide the impetus for teachers to take the time to learn how to integrate this model of teaching/learning into their classrooms.
References
Barrons, L. C., & Goldman, E. S. (1994). Integrating technology with teacher preparation. In B. Means (Ed.), Technology and Education Reform (pp.81-110). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Garmer, A. K., Firestone, C. M. (1996). Creating a learning society: Initiatives for education and technology. Washington: The Aspen Institute.
Student4 had this to say. "Another thought as to why constructivism is not as widely used as some of us would like has to do with the new challenges which it presents. In my reading, I came across several good books that helped me develop my own ideas about constructivism. In one of these books was as series of scenarios. In each scenario, the teacher claimed to be using a constructivist approach, but as the author pointed out, often it was only partially constructivist.
. . . the point that I kept coming back to was just how much energy it takes for the teacher to teach constructively. This is especially true for seasoned teachers who already have a comfortable method established.
Among the sources listed below, I believe Constructivism in Education is the one that includes the scenarios. . . .
References
Brooks, J. G., & Rooks, M. G. (1993). The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Fosnot, C. T. (1996). Constructivism: Theory, perspectives and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Hoey, R. (Ed.) (1996). Constructivism: Theory, perspectives and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Steffe, L. P., & Gale, J. (1995). Constructivism in education. Ed. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Student5 agreed with Student4 that incorporating the constructivist model of learning into the classroom is very difficult.
And now, we are discussing constructivist models in technology, which can present new difficulties within the constructivist model of teaching/learning. I've come across constructivist material which states that when people learn in the context of meaningful activities, they are more likely to be able to use the information as a tool to solve problems (Bransford & Vye, 1989).
Garmer & Firestone, 1996 point out, though, that most teachers have not had adequate training in using technology, especially how to integrate technology into the curriculum and how to use technology to transform the learning and teaching process. . . let alone learning about technology within a constructivist environment. This may present an entire new set of difficulties for teachers and learners . . . although when I'm working with technology . . . it seems to be a very rich environment from which to begin teaching those teacher prep programs within the collaborative/constructivist model.
References
Bransford, J. D., & Vye, N. J. (1989). A perspective on cognitive research and its implications for instruction. In L. B. Resnick & L. E. Klopfer (Eds), Toward the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research (pp.173-205). Washington DC: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Garmer, A. K., & Firestone, C. M. (1996). Creating a learning society: Initiatives for education and technology. Washington: The Aspen Institute.
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