Chapter 1Teacher’s Role in Active Learning

CONSTRUCTIVISM, ACTIVE LEARNING, PASSIVE LEARNING, STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACH

Vocabulary Terms

Discuss the Following Question• What components of students’

growth is most important for schools – intellectual/academic or emotional/social growth?

Constructivism in the classroom

• The knowledge resides within the learners and we cannot teach precise representations of the “truth.”

• Students construct learning.

• Active Learners: students are given autonomy of their learning. It includes problem solving, small group work and collaborative learning.

• Passive Learners: students are basically receivers of information.

Constructivism in the classroom

Constructivism in the classroom

• Complex and challenging environments. • Social negotiations and shared responsibilities. • Multiple representations of content. • Understanding that knowledge is constructed

Constructivism in the Classroom

• Active involvement • Reflection • Meaningful connections • Respect for rules• Sense of community• Problems solving through negotiations • Cooperation • Higher-order thinking skills• Ownership

Constructivism in the classroom

• Student-Centered approach: Students construct their own understanding of content, they develop a personal feeling that the knowledge is their own.

• Constructivism is grounded on the theory developed by John Dewey.

• Prior to him, the American education system was concerned with the acquisition of knowledge. According to Dewey’s theory students should learn by doing.

Constructivism in the Classroom

• Vygotsky also played a significant role in the development of constructivism. According to his theory, students should participate in social interaction as they work on meaningful interaction tasks.

Resources for Cooperative Learning

• Individual Evaluation• Possible Seating Arrangements• Cooperative Project Evaluation• Cooperative Learning Checklist• Cooperative Learning Role Cards

Discussion

• Think back to your experience as a high school student. Did your teachers use cooperative learning?

• What did you learn from these experiences?

The three phase approach to lesson planning

1. Planning: Deciding what you want your students to learn, understand and appreciate.

Tip: If you plan carefully and thoroughly your feelings of uncertainty can be significantly reduced before you enter the room.

2. Implementing: Having determined a goal and selected the most appropriate means to reach that goal, a teacher then implements that strategy. Ask: How will I help my students reach these goals?Tip: The success of this phase depends on clear goals.

3. Assessing: The teacher attempts to gather information to determine if and what kind of learning has occurred. The teacher asks: How will I determine the if the students knew, understood and reached their goal?

Check your understanding

• Label each sentence as planning, implementing phase and assessing phase

• a. The teacher observes students working on math problems at their desks.

• b. A fourth grade teacher, noting problems on the playground, decides to help her students resolve conflicts through negotiations.

• c. The teacher writes a learning goal. • d. The students undertake a 10-item multiple-

choice test.