Assessment Task 2

1. Construct a matrix showing the learning theory, the proponent/s, description of the theory and its
implication to the mathematics education.
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Learning Theory

 Learning is inherently a social process because it is embedded within a social context as students and
teachers work together to build knowledge.
 Theory that contends knowledge is created when a learner is able to relate ideas from his or her personal
experiences to novel concepts.
 Idea that asserts that students actively create their own knowledge rather than simply absorbing it.

Proponents

David Ausubel Lev Vygotsky Jean Piaget Jerome Bruner John Dewey

Constructivist philosophies are concerned with what students can do to integrate new and existing knowledge
in order to gain a deeper understanding of mathematics. Each philosophy regards the student as an active
participant in the process of teaching and learning. What a teacher does to encourage students' integration and
extension of knowledge can and should vary. Indeed, Principles and Standards suggests that good teachers
employ various strategies at various times for various purposes.

Allowing students to create their own algorithms for addition and subtraction, for example, has numerous
advantages. This is not to say that standard addition and subtraction algorithms cannot be taught in meaningful
ways that help students integrate new knowledge or procedures with existing understandings of addition and
subtraction. Teaching the standard algorithm does not imply that standard algorithms should be the first or only
algorithms to which students are exposed. Teachers can certainly help students understand these operations
better by using objects as referents for numbers and demonstrating the physical manipulations associated with
each operation.

2. Which learning theory/principle do you feel most satisfy your belief regarding the teaching and learning
of Mathematics? Discuss your answer.

What most interests me is constructivism, which is a learner-centered approach that emphasizes the importance
of individuals actively constructing their knowledge and understanding with teacher guidance. Teachers,
according to constructivists, should not simply pour information into the minds of their students. Rather, children
should be given the confidence to explore their world, discover knowledge, consider, and think critically under
the teacher's close supervision and significant guidance.