Constructivism: Its Benefits, Its Costs, and What We Should Be Doing

 Presented at the 2011 California Academic Technology (CAT) Conference

Sacramento, CA September 22,  2011

 MISTfitsRecorder - Tom

Coordinator -  BradleyElaborator - Cynthia

Explorer - Megan

The Fuzzy '-ism'

      The first two have fairly clear and direct definitions however when looking at constructivism, things get a bit....well....fuzzy.     Constructivism is vaguely defined as a learning method where the learner builds or constructs their knowledge through a series of relevant and meaningful experiences.

    There is also a lack of specificity for how to create this environment, thus things get fuzzy.

    

When trying to define how people learn there are a wide collection of

'isms' to choose from

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Benefits to Constructivism

• The learner is socially engaged 

• The student takes ownership of their learning

• Instruction is designed to be authentic and meaningful 

• Learner will be engaged in higher order thinking and problem solving

• Greater transference of learning into real world settings 

• More of a holistic approach focusing on the emotional,  affect and cognition of the student

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Challenges of Constructivism

• Learner may not be prepared due to lack of prerequisite knowledge, social abilities, or emotional state

• Students may experience a lot of busy work without ever engaging in deeper or more meaningful learning

• Constructivist projects don't align with all subjects

• Requires extensive instructor planning 

• Difficult to measure benefits well using objective methods 

• Can be construed as a learning style of privilege 

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Best practices

• Apply all relevant teaching strategies to your curriculum development

When creating a constructivist unit of study, include:

• Activation of prior knowledge

• Introduction of discrepancy between what is known and what is to be learned

• Opportunity for students to apply their new knowledge to a real world problem

• Reflection on learning

• Assessments that are aligned with learning outcomes and learning and teaching methods

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References

• Baviskar, S. , Hartle, R. , & Whitney, T. (2009). Essential criteria to characterize constructivist teaching: Derived from a review of the literature and applied to five constructivist-teaching method articles. International Journal of Science Education, 31(4), 541-550.

• Ertmer, P. , & Newby, T. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from a design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72.

•  • Reiser, R.A., Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.). (2011).  Trends and

Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc.

• Rust, C. , O'Donovan, B. , & Price, M. (2005). A social constructivist assessment process model: How the research literature shows us this could be best practice. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(3), 231.

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