Social Constructivism is a theory of learning that believes humans learn by doing and it is the doing

that we need to make sense of new ideas and concepts before we understand them (Jongste, 2019)

Social constructivists believe that there are 5 main attributes to learning. According to Jean Macnish
(2019) they are that learning is Active (hands on), Constructive (we use existing understanding to
make sense of new information) Authentic, that we learn best in real life situations (e.g. teaching
money in maths by creating a shop), that we are Cooperative (we are social by nature and our
learning is social therefore we learn well collaboratively) and our learning should be intentional, for
example our learning is for a reason and can be identified. Essentially, “in the most general sense, it
usually means encouraging students to use active techniques” (© 2004 Educational Broadcasting
Corporation).

The Forward Planning Document exhibits strong elements of a constructivist teaching theory because
it is social (the children often work in pairs or in a group) which we know helps to develop ideas and
enhance understanding. The planning is hands on because the children get to touch, look,
photograph, and draw, create and predict within the learning environment and during their activities,
therefore it actively encourages the children to participate. For example the children explore the
features of worms with live worms in the classroom. The lessons are scaffolded, that is, they build on
prior knowledge and learning leads from one lesson to the next. This is demonstrated throughout the
planning for example the children read about differences in animals and then investigate differences
in animals, this is a key element of the Constructivist theory. Our learning is always intentional which
can be demonstrated when looking at the planning of these lesson. The planning begins with the
curriculum and specific learning objectives which result in the children being introduced to a concept
and then that concept is followed throughout the lessons.

In summary the lessons allow the students to be actively engaged in using technology rather than
receiving information passively, which according to a constructivist theory of learning is the most
successful and effective way to learn.
 References

Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (2004). Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and

Learning. Retrieved fromhttps://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/

Jongste, J. (2019). Exploring Social Constructivism. Retrieved from

https://socialconstructivismnda.weebly.com/

Macnish, J. (2019). Exploring Social Constructivism. Retrieved from

https://socialconstructivismnda.weebly.com/resources-social-constructivism.html