Social Constructivism

Social constructivism is one of the many theories about the way people learn and acquire new
knowledge. The constructivist theory considers learning as an active, constructive, authentic,
cooperative and intentional process (Mcnish, n.d.). Thus, children are active in the process of
learning, constructing personal meanings based on their environment and previous
knowledge (Mcnish, n.d.) This theory suggests that social and cultural factors of the learner
play a major role in the understandings made as children (Adams, 2006). When the learner
encounters something new, the way they will interpret it depends on the context they are in.
They will connect with past experiences and ideas which may lead to changing or adapting
previous knowledge or disregarding the new information (Adams, 2006). With this theory in
mind, it is important that educators promote children to be active participants in their own
learning and to construct their own knowledge, as well as to think and reflect about the new
and existing understandings and the way in which the two work together to create new
knowledge.

There are many instances in the three lessons I have created that draw upon aspects of the
social constructivist theory. In the lessons, students are encouraged to have agency and
autonomy, making them active learners. The students are working to construct new
knowledge about the topic as well as being prompted to connect the new ideas to existing
ones. This is evident when learning about the types of clothing suited for different weather
conditions. The students are using their existing knowledge on the weather conditions in
order to determine what clothing would be most practical. Authentic learning is also taking
place in the lesson as the topic relates directly to the children and the learning is relevant to
their context. For example, the students research the weather conditions of where they live. h
The ICT tools that are used are age and developmentally appropriate for the children and
assist with the authenticity of the lesson. Over the three lessons, questioning is used as a way
of drawing upon prior knowledge and connecting it to existing understanding. The social
constructivist theory believes that learning is more effective when children are in a social
setting. Students in this lesson are working cooperatively and therefore they are able to
construct a great depth and breadth of knowledge on the topic. The differing understandings
of each child deepen all the students’ knowledge by sharing and discussion. The learning in
these lessons also has a social aspect as the children get the opportunity to present their
finished book creator to the class.

References
Adams, P. (2006). Exploring social constructivism: theories and practicalities. Education,
34(3) 243-257. doi: 10.1080/03004270600898893

Mcnish. J. (n.d.). Mission Possible, Mission 1: Construct your summary. Retrieved from:
http://missionpossible1.weebly.com/mission-1-construct-your-summary.html