Theory Of Constructivism

Constructivism is the theory that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When learners encounter something new, they reconcile it with previous knowledge and experience. They may change what they believe, or they may discard the new information as irrelevant. To be active creators of their knowledge however, they must be able to ask questions, explore and assess what they know.

In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning means encouraging students to use active techniques such as experiments and real-world problem solving using authentic data if possible, and to create knowledge and reflect on their understanding. Constructivism modifies the role of the teacher so that teachers help students to construct knowledge rather than reproduce a series of facts.

The constructivist teacher provides tools such as problem-solving and inquiry-based learning activities so that students can formulate and test their ideas, draw conclusions and inferences, and convey their knowledge in a collaborative learning environment.

The teacher must understand the students' preexisting conceptions and guide the activities to address this knowledge and then build on it. Constructivist teachers encourage students to assess how the activity is helping them gain understanding. By questioning themselves and their strategies, students become expert learners as they learn how to learn. The students then have the tools necessary to become life-long learners.