1. Lesa Slocum
EME 2040

2. Key Points of the Constructivist
Theory
Constructivist believe:
• Children learn by doing
• Children understand by reflecting on their
experiences
• Children construct their own understanding of a topic
or problem when they actively participate in the
learning process by using critical thinking skills to
analyze a problem.

3. Key People Associated With the
Constructivist Theory
 Jean Piaget (1896- 1980) Swiss Psychologist who
developed the cognitive learning theory
 Jerome Bruner (1915- ) American Psychologist who
developed the learning approach known as spiral
curriculum.
 Lev Vygotsky (1896- 1934) Russian Psychologist
developed social cognition.
 John Dewey (1859-1952) John Dewey American
Psychologist played a significant role in the progressive
education movement.

4. Jean Piaget
 Believed that children were active learners
in need or no motivation from adults.
 Organize what they learn into schemes
 Founded the cognitive learning theory.
Cognitive Learning Theory:
Children constructed new knowledge as they
move through different cognitive stages
building on what they already know within
a given scheme with use of assimilation
and accommodation.

5. Piaget Stages of Cognitive
Development
Stage Beginning Age of General Description
Onset
Sensorimotor Birth At the start of this stage children’s actions are largely
Stage random; their thoughts are based on what they see
very “in the moment”. Later, children acquire-cause-
and effect relationships enabling them to participate
in goal directed behavior.
Preoperational About 2 years old Children are now able to represent objects mentally.
Stage This allows for recognition of past events and
envisions of future ones similar to those events. They
build on schemes and create now ones. Children at
this age are very egocentric.
Concrete Between the ages of 6-7 Children are able to understand perspective and
Operations opinion but have trouble with the reasoning of
Stage abstract or hypothetical ideas. Children are able to
organize thoughts and ideas to different/multiple
schemes.
Formal Between the ages of 11-12 Children are able to think logically about abstract

6. Jerome Bruner
 Bruner’s constructivist theory provided the
framework needed to create curriculum based
on the study of cognition.
 He believed that students learn a subject
through many ways and using different
activities.
 Proposed the idea of a spiral curriculum.
 Bruner felt that teachers should
 encourage students participation through
exploration and inquiry.
 encourage self-exploration of topics.
 Translate information to be learned into a form
appropriate for the students level of
understanding.

7. Lev Vygotsky
 Developed social cognition.
 Believed that learning was influenced by social
development and culture.
 Proposed that children have a zone of proximal
development.
 There is a difference from what a child has
learned and what the child has a potential of
learning with someone such as a teacher.
 Felt that children should work together and share
different perspectives.
 Believed that teachers should discover the level of
social/ cognitive development of each student
 Students then alter a scheme in a way that
provides an organized way of understanding and
remembering information(this is also known as
scaffolding).

8. John Dewey
 Referred to by some as the Father of American
Education.
 Part of the progressive education movement.
 Advocated for child-centered instruction.
 He believed that:
 School should be viewed as an extension of society.
 Teachers served as a guide for resources whereas
learning was student directed.
 Teachers should create activities with a practical
relevant to students’ lives.
 Education should focus on educating students
physically, mentally, and socially.
 Teachers should not simply dispense facts and
information.
 This type of learning would help students function
well in society.

9. How Can You or I Use This Theory
in Our Classrooms
If a teachers know where a student stands cognitively, then
they are able to create a curriculum based on the learners
background and age. This curriculum will be challenging,
engaging, and appropriate. Teachers will be able to build
on prior knowledge and understand in what ways they
could expand a child’s cognitive abilities. Children are egger
to learn and if the teacher fosters that eagerness then a
child will continue to learn and enjoy learning. I would
recommend using a variety of resources for any given
subject- games, internet, hands on activities, books, etc. As
teachers we have the ability to create a solid foundation for
which knowledge and information can be built.

10. Important Terms
Accommodation- process of responding to a new event by either
modifying an existing scheme or forming a new one.
Assimilation- is a process of responding to a new event in a way that
is consistent with an existing scheme.
Egocentric-inability to view situations from another person’s
perspective.
Scheme- an organized group of similar actions or thoughts that are
used repeatedly in response to the environment.
Social Cognition- is the study of how people process social
information
Spiral Curriculum- curriculum based on continually building
knowledge upon what students already have learned.

11. Works Cited
Kinnes, Tormod. Picture of Jerome Bruner. Digital image. N.p., 2002.
Web. 14 Apr. 2013. <http://oaks.nvg.org/jerome-bruner.html>.
Picture of Jean Piaget. Digital image. NNDB. Soylent Communications,
2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.nndb.com/people/359/000094077/>.
Picture of John Dewey. Digital image. Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Northwest Missouri State University, 25 Apr. 2001. Web. 14
Apr. 2013. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/dewey/>.
Picture of Lev Vygotski. Digital image. Belarus- EU Partnership: Science
and Culture. National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 2011. Web. 14
Apr. 2013. <http://www.philosophy.by/belarus-eu/a_153_e.html>.
McDevitt, Teresa M., and Jeanne Ellis. Ormrod. Child Development and
Education. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2002.
Print.
Shelly, Gary B., Randolph E. Gunter, and Glenda A. Gunter. Teachers
Discovering Computers. Mason, OH: South-Western, 2012. Print.