CONSTRUCTIVISM

REGIONAL MASS TRAINING OF

GRADE 9 EsP TEACHERS
Why are teacher-centered
approaches not succeeding
today?
Why teacher centered approaches are
not fine?
• Students:
 fail to become engaged with the material
 memorize materials often without meaning
or understanding
 do not remember material they learned
earlier
 cannot apply concepts to solve problems
With technology people have huge
amounts of information available
Why implement learner- centered
teaching?
 Research shows that learner -centered
teaching leads to
 Increased student engagement with the
content
 Increased student learning and long term
retention
 Educators are under increasing pressure
to use learner -centered teaching
• Do you agree with this?
What is CONSTRUCTIVISM?

"Constructivism is a philosophy of
learning founded on the premise that,
by reflecting on our experiences, we
construct our own understanding of
the world we live in."
(Brooks & Brooks)
What does that mean?

Constructivism is the idea that learning

doesn't just happen by the traditional
methods of teachers standing in front
of the class and lecturing.
Constructivist perspective can be conveyed
through an ancient Chinese proverb:
"I hear and I forget; I see and I
remember; I do and I understand."
if we operate from this mindset, the
important question for teachers
should no longer be "How shall I best
present this information to students
for maximum recall?"
but rather "What is the student doing
mentally during instruction, and
how can I provide opportunities for
active mental processing?"
(West et al.,1991)

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

We have to ENGAGE OUR STUDENTS

Constructivism

• student-centered rather than curriculum

based
• students learn by doing
• students actively participate in their
learning
• students use critical thinking skills
• focuses on knowledge construction,
NOT knowledge reproduction
• learning uses hands-on approach
Constructivism

• learner is self-directed, creative, innovative

• teachers adapt to being facilitators
• instruction is anchored with real-world
context
• students are more cooperative & less
competitive
• Utilizes interactive teaching strategies
• teacher uses: web quests, digital, media,
videos etc.
Constructivism in EsP Classroom

• Students will be ENGAGED with tasks to

solve with their knowledge
• Students will be engaged in hands-on
activites
• Students will work collaboratively
• Learning environment will support /
challenge students' thinking
• Technology will be used
How Do Teachers Support a
Constructivist Environment?
In a Constructivist EsP Classroom
learning is...
• CONSTRUCTED –
They come to learning situations with
already formulated knowledge, ideas &
understanding. This previous
knowledge is the raw material for the
new knowledge they will create.
• ACTIVE - the student is the one who
creates new understanding for
him/herself.
Learning activities require students'
FULL PARTICIPATION (like hands-on
activities).
• REFLECTIVE - students control their own
learning process and they lead the way by
reflecting on their experiences.

• COLLABORATIVE
The main reason it is used so much is
that, students learn about learning not
only from themselves but also from
their peers...they can pick up strategies
and methods from one another.
• INQUIRY BASED - The main activity in
constructivist classroom is solving
problems.
As students explore the topic, they
draw conclusions.
• EVOLVING
 students have ideas that they may later
see were invalid, incorrect or insufficient to
explain new experiences.
 These ideas are temporary steps in the
integration of knowledge.
 Constructivist teaching takes into account
students current conceptions and builds
from there.
10 Basic Guiding Principles of Constructivist Thinking
that Educators Must Keep in Mind:
  
1.It takes time to learn
2.Learning is an active process in which the student
constructs meaning out of
3.People learn to learn 
4.Learning involves language
5.Learning is a social activity
6.Learning is contextual
7.The act of constructing meaning is mental
8.Every one needs knowledge to learn
9.Learning is not the passive acceptance of
knowledge it takes work
10. Motivation is a major aspect of learning
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/finalprojects/eitankaplan/pages/principles.htm 
• What happens when a student gets a new
piece of information?
• The constructivist model says that the
student compares the information to the
knowledge and understanding he/she
already has (schemata), and one of the
three things can occur:
1. The new information matches up with his
previous knowledge (it's consonant with
the knowledge).
2. The information doesn't match previous
knowledge (it's dissonant). The student
has to change her previous understanding
to find a fit for the information.
3. The information doesn't match previous
knowledge and it's ignored. Rejected bits
of information may just not be absorbed by
the student. Or they may float around,
waiting for the day when the student's
understanding has developed and permits
fit.
CONSTRUCTIVIST Approach
borrows from many other practices in the
pursuits of its primary goal:
helping STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO
LEARN
APPLICATION

HOW?
5 E’s
ENGAGE
EXPLORE
EXPLAIN
ELABORATE
EVALUATE
Engage

• In the stage Engage, the students first

encounter and identify the
instructional task.
• Teachers must engage students in their
lessons in order for them to learn.
• Engage students by: guiding whole group
discussions, asking students to explain
what they learned, working together in
small groups to complete projects or
tasks. 
Explore
• Students inquire, work together, form
hypotheses, learn about new ideas and
concepts on their own before coming
together as a whole class.
• Students develop an idea of what they may
think an object or idea is, then explore it
further to see if their idea was accurate.
• Students use tools such as textbooks, the
internet, scientific instruments, and their
creative minds to explore new concepts.
Explain
• the learner begins to put the abstract
experience through which she/he has gone
/into a communicable form
• student will define and explain the current
concept using their own words
• student will accomplish this using
informational readings, group discussions,
and teacher interaction
• Learners support each other by sharing their
ideas, observations, questions, and
hypotheses.
Elaborate/Extension

• students expand on the concepts they

have learned, make connections to other
related concepts, and apply their
understandings to the world around them

• This will help students make connections

that will lead them to more inquiry which
will lead to new understandings.    
Evaluate

• is an on-going diagnostic process that

allows the teacher to determine if the
learner has attained understanding of
concepts and knowledge

• In a constructivist classroom the teacher

assesses the students work and adapts
the lesson plan to meet the needs of the
learner.