Characteristics of Constructivism

1. Piaget asserts that learning occurs by an active construction of

meaning, rather than by passive recipience. He explains that when we,
as learners, encounter an experience or a situation that conflicts with
our current way of thinking, a state of disequilibrium or imbalance is
created. We must then alter our thinking to restore equilibrium or
balance. To do this, we make sense of the new information by
associating it with what we already know, that is, by attempting to
assimilate it into our existing knowledge. When we are unable to do
this, we accommodate the new information to our old way of thinking
by restructuring our present knowledge to a higher level of thinking. For
example student will go thru this rethinking process after teacher
demonstrated discrepant events in the lab. Learning, depends on what
we already know; new ideas occur as we adapt and change our old
ideas; learning involves inventing ideas rather than mechanically
accumulating facts; meaningful learning occurs through rethinking old
ideas and coming to new conclusions about new ideas which conflict
with our old ideas.

2. A productive, constructivist classroom, then, consists of learner-

centered, active instruction. In such a classroom, the teacher provides
students with experiences that allow them to hypothesize, predict,
manipulate objects, pose questions, research, investigate, imagine,
and invent. The teacher's role is to facilitate this process. For example
teacher give out experiment to student to test two factors that influence
a building’s structural stability and student find out the outcome thru
observation and inquiry under the direction of the teacher.

3. Kelly proposes that we look at the world through mental constructs or

patterns which we create. We develop ways of construing or

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 understanding the world based on our experiences. When we
encounter a new experience, we attempt to fit these patterns over the
new experience. For example, we know from experience that when we
see a red traffic light, we are supposed to stop. The point is that we
create our own ways of seeing the world in which we live; the world
does not create them for us.

4. Educational curricula and teaching methods are changing. One

component of the current redevelopment of all subject area curricula is
the change in focus of instruction from the transmission curriculum to a
transactional curriculum. In a traditional curriculum, a teacher transmits
information to students who passively listen and acquire facts. In a
transactional curriculum, students are actively involved in their learning
to reach new understandings. For example to motivate student actively
involved in their learning teacher give out gift to student who give a
correct answer to the question given thru active thinking.

5. Constructivist teaching fosters critical thinking and creates active and

motivated learners. Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde (1993) tell us that
learning in all subject areas involves inventing and constructing new
ideas. They suggest that constructivist theory be incorporated into the
curriculum, and advocate that teachers create environments in which
children can construct their own understandings . For example teacher
demonstrate how to built a circuit this can create an environment to
allow student follow what the teacher do.

6. Twomey Fosnot (1989) recommends that a constructivist approach be

used to create learners who are autonomous, inquisitive thinkers who
question, investigate, and reason. A constructivist approach frees

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teachers to make decisions that will enhance and enrich students
development in these areas.

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Video reflections

1. Teacher divide the class into six group this can help student in the
group perform cooperative learning because student can discuss
together how to built the circuit and predict the outcome together.
Students centered. In such a classroom, the teacher provides students
with experiences that allow them to hypothesize, predict, manipulate
objects, pose questions, research, investigate, imagine, and invent.
The teacher's role is to facilitate this process teacher only give help
when student facing difficulties to built the circuit.

2. Teacher show three different diagram of the circuit and student give the
name of the component and give prediction how brighter the bulb light
up. This can help student construct they own knowledge, knowledge is
constructed by students through an active, mental process of
development; students are the builders and creators of meaning and
knowledge.

3. After students understand all the component of the circuit teacher

demonstrate how to built a circuit teachers create environments in
which children can construct their own understandings and follow what
the teacher teach.

4. After experiment teacher need student to give the outcome of the

experiment student get the answer thru observation and the teacher
also need student make a conclusion about the experiment from here
we can see learning, in an important way, depends on what the student
already know; new ideas occur as student adapt and change their old
ideas; learning involves inventing ideas rather than mechanically
accumulating facts; meaningful learning occurs through rethinking old
ideas and coming to new conclusions about new ideas.

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5. Teacher give out gift to student who get the correct answer this can
motivate the student to think and the student are happy when get the
reward and show actively involved in their learning. Educational
curricula and teaching methods are changing. One component of the
current redevelopment of all subject area curricula is the change in
focus of instruction from the transmission curriculum to a transactional
curriculum. In a traditional curriculum, a teacher transmits information
to students who passively listen and acquire facts. In a transactional
curriculum, students must actively involved in their learning to reach
new understandings.

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Reference

www.being.org.cn/theory/constructivism.htm

http://www.jswl.cn/course/kczh/IT/IIS/llxx/theory/zt1/zt1_2.htm

zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/建構主義_(學習理論)

alicechristie.org/edtech/learning/Constructivism.pdf

Judith Bennett “Teaching and Learning Science”

John Wallace and William Louden “Dilemmas of Science Teaching”

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 CONTENT PAGE

1 CHARACTERISTICS OF 1-3
CONSTRUCTIVISM

2 VIDEO REFLECTIONS 4-5

3 REFERENCE 6