1. Constructivism
By: Michelle C.

2. Menu

What Is It?

Key Figures

Use in the Classroom

Practical Applications In My Classroom

3. What Is It?

A theory that states students learn by doing

Theorists believe children are intrinsically motivated
to learn

Requires active student participation

Students will form/construct their own
understanding

4. What Is It?

Learners base new information on past knowledge

Students learn through many different activities

Involves higher order thinking skills

Employs collaborative learning

5. Key Figures

4 main theorists: Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Lev
Vygotsky, and John Dewey

Piaget is the most influential figure

All believed that learning requires active learner
participation

6. Jean Piaget

Swiss psychologist

Children learn by seeking to find meaning in the
world around them

Students learn by building off what they already
know

Construct new meaning based on prior knowledge

Proposed 4 stages children pass through:
Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational,
and Formal Operational

7. Jean Piaget

Sensorimotor (birth-2 years): Learning through
senses and motor actions

Preoperational (2-6 years): Begin to use symbols
and images

Concrete Operational (7-11 years): Logical thinking
begins; learning through facts

Formal Operational (12-adulthood): Concrete
thinking to acstract thinking

8. Jerome Bruner

American Psychologist

Believed learning is constructed based on past
knowledge

Technology is key in offering proper learning
environment

Employed Socratic method for student analysis of
problems

9. Lev Vygotsky

Russian educational psychologist

Added ideas of social cognition to Constructivism

Social cognition is learning influenced by social
development

Zone of proximal development: potential a child can
achieve with assistance

Emphasized collaborative learning

10. John Dewey

American educational psychologist and philosopher

Learning should engage and expand the experience
of learners

Believed education was a social process

Students should play an active role in school

11. Use in the Classroom

Teachers/instructors must become “facilitators”

Facilitators allow students to work through new
material

Allow for students to construct their own
understanding

Learner plays an active role in their education

12. Use in the Classroom

Facilitators encourage conversations/discussions
instead of teacher lecture

Help students with zone of proximal development

Encourage collaborative learning

13. Practical Applications In My Classroom

Important to create an atmosphere with hands-on
activities

Provide multiple methods of presenting material

Use technology as a strategy to assist constructivist
learning

Create an emotional connection with material for
students

14. Practical Applications In My Classroom

Allow students to come to answers on their own

True understanding is when students can do
something without assistance

Become a facilitator and not just a teacher

15. Photo Credit

Free Digital Photos