Constructivism

= Building Learners =



=== Constructivism is a theory about knowledge and learning. It is not a theory of teaching, but rather a different approach to instruction than seen in traditional classrooms. In a transmission-based classroom it often seems that teachers do not take the learner into account. They simply teach what is in the curriculum by passing on the chosen knowledge and then testing their students to see how much they have remembered. They cover the material instead of having the students uncover or discover. One must realize that any knowledge received is interpreted and changed by the learner to make it meaningful. In a constructivist classroom, students’ prior knowledge matters. Each student comes to a classroom with world views, experiences and social contexts that help them interpret their world differently. In //My Pedagogic Creed//, John Dewey believed that “education… must begin with a psychological insight into the child’s capacities, interests, and habits.” (Dewey, 1929, p. 292). Teachers must first become familiar with students’ prior perspectives and then shape instruction. ===