Theory of Constructivism

Constructivism proposes that all children learn as a result of their personal

generation of meaning from experiences. The fundamental role of a teacher is to

help children generate connections between what is to be learned and what the

children already know or believe.

Principles that make up Theory of Constructivism:

• Children come into classroom with an established world-view, formed by

years of prior experience and learning.

• Even as it evolves, a child’s world-view filters all experiences and affects

their interpretation of observations.

• Children are emotionally attached to their world-view and will not give up

their world-view easily.

• Challenging, revising and restructuring one’s world-view requires much

effort.

Constructivist Class

• Teachers have discuss with their students and help them construct their

own knowledge.

• Teacher’s role is interactive, rooted in negotiation

• Knowledge is seen as dynamic, ever changing with experiences

• Students work primarily in groups

 • Assessment includes students’ works, observation, and points of view, as

well testing. Process is as important as product

Constructivism is a synthesis of methods by psychologist, philosophers and

educationist. The important contributions include development of schemata and

cognitive learning process by Piaget, discovery learning by Bruner, formation of

meaningful mental structures by Ausubel and emphasis on learning domain by

Gagne. Factors that affect how well a child learns science and what types of

science experiences should occur in the classroom.