Constructivism in Action

I wish to draw inspiration from my pre-school and elementary school in terms of Constructivist approaches in teaching.

I remember my teachers giving us more time for interactive learning and educational play. We were even given nap times. Lessons are effectively relayed through story-telling and interactive experiences. I learned that these approaches would promote collaborative learning, social skills, stress management, and assimilation and accommodations techniques. Of course, this approach would eventually be upgraded as the level of complexity of lessons increases and as students’ cognitive maturity develops.

Before introducing new concepts, recaps and concept maps are necessary to bridge existing schemas. As a teacher, I should not always assume that students could automatically take in new information without relating it to old knowledge. Getting to know my students would also help me arrive at connections to real-life scenarios that are relevant to them. Taking time to observe their personal strengths and weaknesses would help me identify ZPDs and seize the most opportune time for providing adequate assistance. Rather than becoming the primary source of knowledge, I should discover and research on activities that provide opportunities to learn on their own. I should also take advantage of other support such as peers, parents or guardians, modern technology, experts in the discipline (if possible, industry leaders) and other school colleagues.

Powerful assessment tools (summative and formative), student connection to teachers, engagement to peers and MKOs, and effective scaffolds could help students become efficient learners and competitive to life challenges.

I know these are easier said than done and realistically speaking, one person could not employ constructivist approaches alone. However, this does not mean that we should stick to completely traditional practices when learning could be maximized by Constructivist approaches. I should be able to do this by convincing the institutions of the lasting benefits that Constructivist approaches will bring in the long run. To satisfy summative reports, I should also explore scientific assessment tools meant to gauge learning from non-traditional activities. Finally, I should strive to produce desirable results and prove that these are effective and worth the additional efforts.