• What is Constructivism?
• Who are the key players of Constructivism?
• What are the characteristics of a
Constructivist classroom?
• What are the roles of teachers in a
Constructivist teaching-learning
environment?
• What approaches/ teaching models promote
Constructivism?
• What strategies promote Constructivist
teaching-learning environment?
CONSTRUCTIVISM
“People construct their own
understanding and
knowledge of the world,
through experiencing things
and reflecting on those
experiences”
COGNITIVE
DISEQUILIBRATION/
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
• One’s dissatisfaction with what
actually is happening as contrasted
with what ought to happen is called ,
in Piagetian terms, cognitive
disequilibration or sometimes called
cognitive dissonance.
This cognitive
disequilibration/
cognitive dissonance
is a necessary precursor of
learning.
Cognitive Disequilibration/
Cognitive Dissonance
• This gives the teacher access to
what is in the children’s minds and
encourage teachers to provide the
students with the learning
opportunity that would help the
children reconstruct their beliefs
in valid ways that include the new
information and have a conceptual
change .
We do not learn by passively
receiving and then remembering what
were taught, but by actively
constructing our own meanings
based on prior knowledge/
experience (schema).
This “meaning-making” theory of
learning is called ‘Constructivism’.
Basic Principle of
CONSTRUCTIVISM:
Learners construct
understanding/ meaning
based on their prior
knowledge/ experience.
Key Players of
CONSTRUCTIVISM
• Jean Piaget
– Children think differently from adult thus
he believed children were active learners
and did not need motivation from adults to
learn.
– Children interpret knowledge differently
as they progress through different stages.
Key Players of
CONSTRUCTIVISM
• Jerome Bruner
– Learning is an active process in which the
learner constructs new ideas or concepts
based on his or her current and past
knowledge.
– Children are constructivist learners are
participatory learners and are actively
engaged in the learning process.
Key Players of
CONSTRUCTIVISM
• Lev Vygotsky
– Learning was influenced
significantly by social development
and learning took place of a child’s
social development and culture
(Social cognition)
Key Players of
CONSTRUCTIVISM
• John Dewey
– Education was a social process
therefore learning should engage
and expand the experiences of the
learners.
• What are the
characteristics of a
Constructivist
classroom?
Traditional classroom vs.
Constructivist classroom
Curriculum begins with the parts of the whole. Curriculum emphasizes big concepts, beginning
Emphasizes basic skills. with the whole and expanding to include the
parts.
Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is highly Pursuit of student questions and interests is
valued. valued.
Materials are primarily textbooks and Materials include primary sources of material
workbooks. and manipulative materials.
Learning is based on repetition. Learning is interactive, building on what the
student already knows.
Teachers disseminate information to students; Teachers have a dialogue with students, helping
students are recipients of knowledge. students construct their own knowledge.
Teacher's role is directive, rooted in authority. Teacher's role is interactive, rooted in
negotiation.
Assessment is through testing, correct Assessment includes student works,
answers. observations, and points of view, as well as
tests. Process is as important as product.
Knowledge is seen as inert. Knowledge is seen as dynamic, ever changing
with our experiences.
Students work primarily alone. Students work primarily in groups.
In a constructivist classroom,
learning is…
❖ Constructed
❖ Active
❖ Reflective
❖ Collaborative
❖ Inquiry-based /Problem-based
❖ Evolving
What are the
Roles of Teachers
in a Constructivist
Teaching-Learning
Environment?
Roles of Teachers in a
Constructivist Classroom:
Prompt and facilitate discussion
Guide students by asking questions that will
lead them to develop their own conclusions on
the subject
Allow wait time after posing a question
Engage students in experiences that might
engender contradictions to their initial
hypotheses and then encourage discussion
prompt students to formulate
their own questions (inquiry)
allow multiple interpretations
and expressions of learning
(multiple intelligences)
encourage group work and the
use of peers as resources
(collaborative learning)
Provide time for students to
construct relationships
Inquire about students’
understandings of concepts
before sharing their own
understanding about the
concepts
Encourage students to engage in dialogue,
both with the teacher and with one another
Encourage student inquiry by asking
thoughtful, open-ended questions and
encouraging students to ask questions of
each other
Seek elaboration of students’ initial
responses
What Approaches/
Teaching Models
promote
Constructivism?
Approaches/ Teaching
Models that promote
Constructivism
• Integrative
• Reflective
• Collaborative
• Inquiry-based
• (etc.)
What Teaching
Strategies
promote
Constructivist
Teaching-Learning
Environment?
Probing Students’
Understanding in the
Constructivist Environment
• Predict-Observe-Explain
• Graphic Organizer (KWLH
Chart,…)
• Mind Mapping and Concept
Mapping
• Concept Cartoon
PROBEX or POE
(Predict-Observe-
Explain)
PROBEX or POE
Strategy
(Predict-Observe-Explain)
1. Predict: students make predictions on the
outcome of some event and justify their
predictions
2. Observe: students describe what they
observe from the activity they carry out or
demonstrated by the teacher
3. Explain: students explain the phenomenon,
reconcile any conflict between their
predictions and observations
Example of a POE
Worksheet
Floating and Sinking
Will the orange (fruit) float or sink when
you put it into the container with water?
• Prediction: ________________________
(Reasons for prediction)____
• Observation: ______________________
• Explanation: ______________________
Scoring of POE:
• Can evaluate both the beliefs that
students reveal and the quality of their
reasoning.
If POE tasks needs to be scored, give
particular weight to the way students
reconciles any difference between
observation and prediction.
KWLH
CHART
KWLH CHART
▪ It involves analyzing and organizing what you
know and what you want to learn about a topic
before and after the research is done
• Filling out this chart prepares a student for
reading about a topic, helps in reviewing what
has been learned about the material, gives
help in obtaining more information, and makes
the students ready to write about what they’ve
learned
COLORS OF LIGHT
NOW What I What I WANT What I HOW Can I
KNOW to Know LEARNED Learn More
ANT
EARN
OW
MIND MAPPING
and
CONCEPT MAPPING
A mind map is a diagram
used to represent words,
ideas, tasks, or other
items linked to and
arranged around a
central key word or idea.
CONCEPT MAP
▪ A schematic representation of meaningful
relationships among concepts.
• Good for starting a topic.
• Good for finding any misconceptions.
• Gives an insight into the structures the
students has built up about world.
• Encourages students to clarify their ideas
using a visual representation.
• Assesses current understanding and assists
in further learning.
3 Ways by which Concept
Maps can be Introduced
to Students:
1. Bygiving students a few concepts/words
and instruct them to devise a concept map
based on the concept given.
2. By giving students texts and ask them to
identify key words and make a concept map to
link those words.
3. By giving students freedom to build
concept maps on any topics.
Mind map Concept map
• Suitable to use before lesson to • Suitable to use before lesson to :
* brainstorm ideas * brainstorm ideas
* identify prior knowledge * identify prior knowledge and
misconception
• Features :
* No linking words • Features :
* No arrows * Got linking words
* Got arrows with correct
• Good to use during/after
direction
lesson
* to consolidate understanding • Good to use during/after lesson
* to do a summary of session * to modify misconception
* to consolidate understanding
• Example :
* to do a summary of session
Warm blooded
With fur/ • Example :
Feed young hair
Mammals
Give are
Mammals Mammary
birth glands
dogs for example
With backbone Can move
is a
Animal Living thing
needs
Can
can be
produces
Can
can be
Plant
eats e.g.
Cow Grass
Concept
Cartoon
What is
Concept
Cartoon?
“ cartoon-style
drawings
presenting
characters with
different
viewpoints around
a particular
situation”.
(Roesky & Kennepohl, 2008)
Concept Cartoon
Concept cartoons are extremely versatile
as a teaching strategy (Brenda Keogh
and Stuart Naylor, 1999),
They may be employed across subjects,
such as in the development of reading
skills in English, or the teaching of
problem solving in Math.
Concept Cartoon
• Feature cartoon-style drawings showing
different characters arguing about an
everyday situation.
• Designed to intrigue, promote discussion
and to stimulate scientific thinking
• Puts forward a range of viewpoints about
the science involved in everyday
situation.
Concept Cartoon and
Assessment
• Concept cartoons can be used as an
alternative assessment
(Youngjin Sons, Misook Heo, Larry Krumenaker & Deborah Tippins)
• Concept cartoons can be used to get
access to learners’ ideas, to probe
their level of understanding and to
highlight any confusion they may hold.
3 Ways of Using Concept
Cartoon as an Alternative
Assessment Tool
• Assessing students’ prior
conceptions
• Assessing students’ progress and
difficulties with learning
• Assessing students’ learning
outcomes
