R7: Cognitive Constructivism

Quotes from the article “Constructivist cautions”

“The particular version of constructivism one adopts - developmental or social constructivist – has important implications for classroom practices, for the definition of knowledge, for the relative emphasis on individual versus social learning, for the role of the teacher, and for the definition of successful instruction” (p. 445).

“When context becomes an important aspect of knowledge construction, it is logical to conclude that involvement in different contexts will lead to the construction of different knowledge, even if the same set of ‘data’ is presented in the different contexts.  Given a problem or an issue, a context - which is often designated in social, economic, racial, and gender terms -  will influence the interpretations, conclusions, motives, and attitudes of individuals in that context” (p. 446).

“One's task is to find the right balance between the activities of constructing and receiving knowledge, given that not all aspects of a subject can or should be taught in the same way or be acquired solely through ‘hands-on’ or student-centered means” (p. 447).

Question:  Do you think constructivism is an educational theory that should be incorporated into every classroom?  Is this even possible with today’s assessments and schedule?  There are many tenants of constructivism that I agree with (although I do lean more towards the sociocultural side of constructivism, versus the developmental constructivism side) there are certainly limitations to its incorporation in today’s classrooms.  I believe this article did an excellent job at highlighting some of these limitations and considerations.  For any of the classroom teachers reading this – can you share an example of a successful incorporation of constructivism into your classroom?

For the direct experience and indirect experience tie-in to this week’s response, I’ll refer to my blog below which I posted last week after reading an excerpt from Daniel Pink’s book, Drive.  This excerpt really struck home with me with regard to my current work situation (direct experience), as well as the American fiscal situation as a whole (indirect experience).

References:

Airasian, P. W., & Walsh, M. E., (1997). Constructivist cautions. Phi Delta Kappan, 78, 444-449.