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Friday, April 9, 2010
PLC Reading: Becoming a Constructivist Teacher
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I like the idea or way of thinking that students are responsible for their own learning. It resenates through the entire article. When students revisit a current perspective or something they have already learned, it enables them to embark on their own ideas and collaborate with others to further their own learning,as well as possibly sparking questions in the minds of their peers. Mickey Forrest
ReplyDeleteI loved this article. It really verbalized the theory of teaching that I strive to meet, but sometimes fall short of. It's great to have reminders and ideas that illustrate the practices. I strongly believe in the idea of allowing discovery and then building on that with concepts.
ReplyDeleteWould children from priviledged backgrounds who are fortunate to have parents that care and are committed to their education, great teachers,rich home environments, thrive better in a conctructivist classroom than disadvantaged children lacking those resources?
ReplyDeleteSo much of student learning can be enhanced by allowing students to make comparisons between two concepts. They could be finding similarities and differences between two things, or simply comparing new information with information that they think they already know. It struck me that much of 'constructivism' has to do with helping kids creating comparisons: they are analyzing, classifying, altering content, contributing and changing their current understandings, engaging in dialogue, asking questions, constructing relationships and metaphors. The challenge to this approach is that it is very messy (in a good way). The article addresses how we as teachers are sometimes reluctant to give up control of the learning process to our students and conform to our curriculum guides. But it doesn't seem to address the fact that kids are sometimes very uncomfortable with this loss of control as well. We have trained our kids to conform, to get a reward when they get the right answer, to strive for good grades. So when they are confronted with a process that relies on "teachable moments" and student-led inquiry, they sometimes recoil. Is this just the way some kids are? Or can we successfully "train" them to be constructivist learners?
ReplyDeleteI do think we train constructivism and a passion for learning out of our kids as we continuously stress external reasons for learning and growing. My kindergartners are not aware of grades or scores and most of what they do they do for internal satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI would agree...constructivism is messy and requires a lot of flexibility on the part of a teacher. What is asked of us as educators does not always align philosophically. I feel very lucky to work in a situation where the principal allows us this flexibility.
As to more at-risk kids...I taught in a more at risk population prior to coming to BR and I found that the kids who were not as privileged were the ones that benefited the most. The problem lies in the lack of confidence we put into our children and the idea that they are natural and curious learners if we allow them to be.
This being said, I think it's also important to think about the role of the teacher in a constructivist classroom. It can become mayhem pretty quickly and nothing of much value is accomplished. It only looks like chaos, but behind the exterior is A LOT of thinking by the teacher. The difference often is that the teacher is constantly thinking on his/her feet.