This document summarizes the constructivist contributions of several theorists including Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky, and Dewey. It discusses key concepts from each theorist such as Piaget's cognitive stages and schema, Bruner's emphasis on readiness and a spiral curriculum structure, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and social cognition, and Dewey's view that understanding comes from meaningful experiences. The document also outlines two principles of constructivism and how a constructivist approach can be implemented in the classroom by setting problems for student exploration and referring to primary sources.

1. James Szigeti

2. Constructivists‟ Contributions
 Jean Piaget: Cognitive Stages, Schema, Assimilation,
Accommodation
 Jerome Bruner: Cognitive Revolution, The Process of
Education, Towards a Theory of Instruction, and The
Culture of Education
 Lev Vygotsky: Social Cognition Theory, Zone of
Proximal Development, and Collaborative Learning
 John Dewey: Progressive Education and Pragmatism

3. Jean Piaget
 Active participation and involvement build understanding
which “is to discover, or reconstruct by rediscovery”
(Thanasoulas).

4. Jerome Bruner
 Effective instruction aggregates readiness, a spiral
organization structure that permits building on previous
knowledge, and facilitation of extrapolation, or delving
deeper (Thanasoulas).

5. Optimum Learning Process
 Enactive mode: direct manipulation of materials, correct
method for a specific outcome
 Iconic mode: internal imagery associated with concepts
that transform perceptions into meaning
 Symbolic mode: based on “abstract, discretionary, and
flexible thought” (Kristinsdóttir).

6. Lev Vygotsky
 The two levels of development are „actual,‟ and
„potential,‟ and the bridge is a child‟s competence to
benefit from others (Kristinsdóttir).

7. John Dewey
 Understanding derives from situations embedded in a
social context that induces application of concepts through
meaningful experiences; students can only learn by
“directed living” (Thanasoulas).

8. Two Principles of Constructivist View
1. “Knowledge is actively constructed by the learner,
not passively received from the environment.”
2. “Coming to know is a process of adaptation based on
and constantly modified by a learner’s experience of
the world.”
 Acceptance of just the first, or both principles
separates trivial from radical constructivism.

9. In the Classroom
 “The constructivist teacher sets up problems and
monitors student exploration, guides the direction of
student inquiry and promotes new patterns of
thinking. Classes can take unexpected turns as
students are given the autonomy to direct their own
explorations… Constructivist teachers refer to raw
data, primary sources, and interactive materials to
provide experiences for their students rather than
relying solely on another's set of data.”

10. Teacher and Student Consequences
 Shifting responsibility to the learner is a tenet of constructivism
that is reluctantly accepted, or implemented.
 The teacher must accommodate traditional curricula and
external assessments in their approach. Without technology, a
teacher may simply listen to students. Technology allows for
broader access to information for learners that extend beyond
the text.
 The students have to be willing to learn, and self-disciplined
enough to be trusted with any level of autonomy.
 Technology opens doors for endless possibilities to reinforce
their extrapolation, and distract them from their goal.
 Students take initiative and develop individual intellectual
identities.
(Powell)

11. Personal Constructivism
 Constructivism is all about empowering students to go
beyond what is simply necessary, and transcend
expectations. It seems defies the norms of many
typical classroom settings, but for those learners with
the initiative and autonomy to extrapolate and build
on their knowledge, they will truly go far.
 I will integrate my views of constructivism into my
curriculum in order to strengthen students abilities to
improve in the long run.

12. Works Cited
 Kristinsdóttir, Sólrún B. "J. Bruner." J. Bruner. N.p., 2001. Web. 18
Nov. 2012.
<http://mennta.hi.is/starfsfolk/solrunb/jbruner.htm_3.htm>.
 Kristinsdóttir, Sólrún B. "Â LevVygotsky (1896-1934)." Lev
Vygotsky. N.p., 2001. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://mennta.hi.is/starfsfolk/solrunb/vygotsky.htm>.
 Powell, Mary Jo. "Constructing Knowledge in the Classroom."
SEDL - SCIMAST Classroom Compass. U. S. Department of
Education, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n03/1.html>.
 Thanasoulas, Dimitrios. "Constructivist Learning."
Constructivist Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Teachers_Page/Language_
Learning_Articles/constructivist_learning.htm>.