The document discusses the critical role of student involvement in active learning environments, emphasizing the need for democratic and interactive teaching methods where students take responsibility for their own education. It highlights that cooperative learning in small groups enhances critical thinking and retention, while real-life applications of concepts help bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical experiences. However, it also notes potential challenges such as the need for structure for some students and issues related to teacher preparation in constructivist classrooms.

2. students are actively
involved, rather than
passively absorbing
information;
activities
interesting and
engaging, but
not overly
structured.
the learning environment
is democratic, the teacher
is not seen as an authority
figure as much as a
learning guide
answer a specific, open-ended
question or a broad issue, examine a
case study, undertake a long-term
project or examine a problem with
multiple projects or cases integrated
together.
students need to
be fully involved
in the learning
process, using all
of their senses,
not just their
eyes and ears
a teacher facilitates
activities in which
students are
responsible for their
own learning and are
autonomous from one
another.
the activities are
interactive and
student-centered
instead of being
lesson-centered;

3. Involvement of students in their own
education
• students who utilize simplified versions of the tools
and methods of professionals in the subject area to
actively construct their own knowledge have superior
generalization skills and transfer of learning to novel
contexts (Cobb, 1999).
• Furthermore, students who cooperate in small groups
develop superior critical thinking and have longer
retention of learning than those working alone
(Johnson and Johnson, 1986).
• Clearly, letting students work either with a partner or
in a small group is significantly helpful in overcoming
the aforementioned problems associated with large
class sizes.

4. Relevancy to real-life situations
• constructivism works best when students make
something that is tangible to others (Harel and
Papert, 1991).
• This refinement helps to bridge the
aforementioned gap between the classroom and
the outside world.
• An example of a real-life application of a scientific
principle is using the gas laws to predict that car
tires will need inflation upon the outbreak of
colder weather, to avoid uneven wear and extend
tire life

5. Prevention of discipline problems
• students who are engrossed in dialogue and
activities are unlikely to create disturbances or
to strike up conversation about the sports and
entertainment industries.
• students with more highly developed critical
thinking and prefrontal function will have a
better understanding of what is at stake and
will be less likely to cut up or be disruptive.

6. Some students require
highly structured
environments in order
to be able to excel.
discard standardized
curriculum in favor or a
more personalized course of
study based on what the
student already knows.
without standardized
grading and
evaluations teachers
may not know that the
student is struggling.
student may not be
creating knowledge as the
theory asserts, but just be
copying what other
students are doing.
can actually lead students to be confused
and frustrated because they may not have
the ability to form relationships and
abstracts between the knowledge they
already have and the knowledge they are
learning for themselves.
Lack of teacher
preparation of
constructivist
classroom
Difficult to break the
cycle of those who have
been taught in a
classroom where they are
expected solely absorb
information