Learning Theory

Social constructivism is a learning theory that focuses on the social aspects

of the learning process (Thirteen, 2004) and underpins my three-sequential year 4

science lessons. This theory encourages educators to create collaborative and

multidimensional student-centred learning environments for students to continue to

build their own meaningful understandings of information (Watson, 2001). I made it

a focal point of my planning to ensure each student will be able to actively engage in

shared social experiences with ICT to continue building their knowledge of living

things and factors impacting their survival. Active, constructive, authentic,

cooperative and intentional are the five attributes of constructivism and meaningful

learning through ICT. These attributes have been implemented into my lessons

through group inquiry activities, multimodal experiences incorporating technology

and a student-centred approach to create interactive and authentic scaffolded

experiences. A specific activity is the final project where students collaborate in

groups to create their own stop motion videos presenting their understanding of life

cycles and relating the real-life impacts humans and the environment can have on

them. This activity is designed to combine all five attributes of the learning theory,

encouraging students to combine their knowledge with ICT in their own ways.

In having Inquiry-based and collaborative learning throughout my activities

students can actively participate in the learning process while their different ability

levels are accommodated for. Lev Vygotsky’s ‘Zone of Proximal Development’

emphasises the need for collaborative exercises when students find learning

specific concepts difficult, as they can receive help and encouragement from others

who are more knowledgeable on the concept, whether it be teachers or other

students (Faculty of Education, n.d.). My lessons follow this constructivist approach

through scaffolded collaborative learning that encourages students to continually

ask questions and manipulate the information they are learning to create meaning.