Week 4: General Questions about Constructivism

General Constructivism


How does this effect how we design, develop, and use technologically-based instruction?

Constructivists believe that a student’s learning environment should be complex and challenging. This means that when designing a lesson, tasks would need to require multiple steps. They should also require the students to interact with each other when solving the problem. In using technology, a class Wiki would be a good example of constructivism that is technology based.


How do we bring constructivist ideas together with technology to make learning more effective?

One way to merge the two is through lesson development. Lessons would be developed that are student centered and self-directed. A Webquest would be a good example of a self-directed lesson. These types of lessons would require the interactive learning of concepts which is how we apply knowledge in our everyday lives.


What implications does it have that are clearly different from those of behaviorism or cognitivism?

The knowledge gained by the student is not fixed. It changes as it is constructed, and in social constructivism, the knowledge is constructed by contributing participants within a group. Instruction is student centered, and facilitating and guiding overcome the traditional idea of teaching.


Why is constructivism so popular nowadays?

I think the resurgence of constructivism is a direct result of our changing environment. We no longer have the manufacturing and industrial environment that we had in the past. Now, we are a service oriented society that has to work collaboratively and in order to develop students that are capable and competent to perform in the 21st century work force, they need to learn and apply 21st century skills.


What are the limits of taking a constructivist approach out in the real world of education (at all levels) and training?

The two main restrictions involving constructivism I feel are: 1. getting a teacher to leave their comfort zone and try something new, and 2. it is student centered and driven which means the student needs to be self motivated, and to be quite honest I haven’t seen to many of them.


Don Bates