Constructivist Learning Theory

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Constructivist Learning Theory

• And Instruction

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Constructivist Learning Theory

• Learners construct new knowledge by applying old
  understandings to new experiences and ideas.

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Constructivism
Assimilation
Something Happens
Dissonance
Equilibrium
Accommodation
The SOMETHING that HAPPENS is what you the
teacher have to provide.
Then, you guide the students to assimilate and
accommodate.
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Teaching Upside-Down

1. There is some kind of student-centered
   introduction that lets them tell you what they
   know and think.
2. There is some kind of activity that lets them use
   higher order thinking skills.
3. The teacher offers additional information and
   guidance to help students draw conclusions
   (construct knowledge).
4. The teacher offers additional opportunities for
   more information, given the context of what the
   students have discovered.

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What would you say is the most important part of
learning according to constructivists?
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If I had to reduce all of educational psychology
to just one principle, I would say this the
most important single factor influencing learning
is what the learner already knows. Ascertain
this and teach him accordingly.
Ausebel (1968)
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In the demonstration lessons, where and how was
prior knowledge accessed and assessed?
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Where do the new experiences come from?
Where do the new ideas come from?
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Learning

• Getting knowledge that is inside to move out
  getting knowledge outside to move in.

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New learning is enriched as learners wrestle with
ideas on the outside before bringing them in and
taking ownership.
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Learning is least useful when it is private and
hidden it is most powerful when it becomes
public and communal.
Learning flourishes when we think we know and
offer it as community property among fellow
learners so that it can be tested, examined,
challenged and improved before we internalize it.
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Learning should be social!
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Why is making it social valuable?
Which is better?
Getting it from a peer
Or getting it from a teacher?
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How does it all fit?

• Behavioral
• Social
• Information Processing
• Constructivist

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What does this mean for the teacher?

• You must find out and use what they already know.
• You must hear their ideas.
• You must let them talk to each other.
• You must let them figure it out (or think they
  did).

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Which works best?
It depends
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Your Lessons

• Read it.
• What learning theories are being employed?
• How do you know?
• Are they appropriate?
• To what degree is inquiry appropriate for your
  lesson?
• Not at all. (Are you sure? Its okay if it is
  and you are.)
• Entirely!
• Just in the beginning.
• At the very least
• Just figure out what is appropriate for
• The learner
• The content