Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning
In the previous years of learning we as students were mostly used to the traditional teaching method. Every day it was almost the same, the teacher interrogated the previous lesson to put us grades, just numbers which were supposed to tell how much we had learned or how much we could remember from the text book. Later the teacher would explain the next lesson of the book and give as a lot of homeworks which sometimes would make as bored with school if we had whole pages of exercises to complete. This was our routine and school was monotonous and a place where you were obliged to be.
Not many people know that the word "school"comes from the ancient greek meaning "free time". Just like in games everyone must have an active role and be a participator in the learning process. Totally the opposite happens in reality, in some cases students see learning as an obligation.
While reading about constructivism lately has made me realize how important is the way the teacher performs in the classroom, his role in helping students find the answer and let them have all the fun in the learning process. Constuctivism as a theory has been developed by many psychologists and sociologists.Jean Piaget believed that humans learn through the construction of one logical structure after another. Children according to Piaget form different schemes in their head. This schemes start from simple ones and get more complicated with the passing of years by putting new information in their brains.
The main focus during a classroom hour should be the student, he is in the center of the learning process and he is responsible for building his own knowledge. The role of the teacher is to guide him in the right path by making the right questions which put the student`s brain in an active state of thinking.Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners.
It is very important also that the students feel comfortable and free to share their ideas. I don`t want to speak much about traditional method of learning but just to make a comparison, the teacher was supposed to be the main authority meaning that everything he said was the rule and everything he said it was right and there was no space for other opinion or objection. Constructivism on the other hand promotes social and communication skills by creating a classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas.
Learning is not just memorizing whole facts and definitions but we are learning in order to apply everything we take from classroom to real world and this is what constructivism intends.
One of my purposes as a teacher is to understand my student`s colorful way of seeing the world and helping him to discover always more. I find it really a challenge being a good teacher finding the right questions to stimulate my student`s full capacities of thinking.
Thank you for reading!
In the previous years of learning we as students were mostly used to the traditional teaching method. Every day it was almost the same, the teacher interrogated the previous lesson to put us grades, just numbers which were supposed to tell how much we had learned or how much we could remember from the text book. Later the teacher would explain the next lesson of the book and give as a lot of homeworks which sometimes would make as bored with school if we had whole pages of exercises to complete. This was our routine and school was monotonous and a place where you were obliged to be.
Not many people know that the word "school"comes from the ancient greek meaning "free time". Just like in games everyone must have an active role and be a participator in the learning process. Totally the opposite happens in reality, in some cases students see learning as an obligation.
While reading about constructivism lately has made me realize how important is the way the teacher performs in the classroom, his role in helping students find the answer and let them have all the fun in the learning process. Constuctivism as a theory has been developed by many psychologists and sociologists.Jean Piaget believed that humans learn through the construction of one logical structure after another. Children according to Piaget form different schemes in their head. This schemes start from simple ones and get more complicated with the passing of years by putting new information in their brains.
The main focus during a classroom hour should be the student, he is in the center of the learning process and he is responsible for building his own knowledge. The role of the teacher is to guide him in the right path by making the right questions which put the student`s brain in an active state of thinking.Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners.
It is very important also that the students feel comfortable and free to share their ideas. I don`t want to speak much about traditional method of learning but just to make a comparison, the teacher was supposed to be the main authority meaning that everything he said was the rule and everything he said it was right and there was no space for other opinion or objection. Constructivism on the other hand promotes social and communication skills by creating a classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas.
Learning is not just memorizing whole facts and definitions but we are learning in order to apply everything we take from classroom to real world and this is what constructivism intends.
One of my purposes as a teacher is to understand my student`s colorful way of seeing the world and helping him to discover always more. I find it really a challenge being a good teacher finding the right questions to stimulate my student`s full capacities of thinking.
Thank you for reading!
The "lego" image at the beginning is probably the best image type needed. I like the introduction and the fact that you have stressed the role of the teacher in the process. Also mentioning traditional way of teaching serves as a means of comparing. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kleant for reading my post and for expressing your opinion:)
DeleteYour intro part was very interesting and it grabbed my attention.
ReplyDeleteYou had elaborated the lecture very good and i like that you have mentioned the old times types of teaching.
Nice picture this one it was my favourite game at childhood :p. About your post it had all the relevant information that one might need in a post about constructivism and its role in teaching. You have included here your own ideas and opinions and I fpund interesting your main purpose as a future teacher. If you work hard reaching your goal, you will succeed. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteReading your post was very enjoyable.I agree with your first paragraph about the monotonous environment we had to encounter each day.I really want to thank you for sharing with us the origin of the word school because that explained quite well the purpose of learning and how should this process take place in order to help students become better learners.
ReplyDeleteA very good post, thank you for providing new information I was not confronted with elsewhere. I especially like the ending, making us aware how valuable our right contribution is to our future students,
ReplyDelete"Not many people know that the word "school"comes from the ancient greek meaning "free time".. Thanks for sharing this info with us, It was new for me to... What I also liked from your reflection was the perfect description of high school classes, and your personal attitude about how teachers should be by using Constructivism is well explained.
ReplyDeleteGood Job Denisa.
I enjoyed reading it. Good job! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThank you Xhesi:)
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