Blog 4: Constructivism

Module 7 in the course textbook talks about constructivism as being the way in which students can actively construct knowledge either individually or through a social context. I have seen this in my classroom many times. Some of the students will display individual constructivism in the classroom by reading about topics that interests them or playing computer games on the computer that help them practice their math skills. They are gaining knowledge through experience, whether it be through trial and error while playing academic games on the computer or constructing their knowledge of a subject from past experiences while also adding new information from the book they are reading.

Through observation, I see that a lot of the constructivism used in my classroom is social. The teacher allows the students to have social interactions when doing assignments. The students help each other with concepts that they may not understand like vocabulary words or the main ideas of passages they read. Social constructivism can occur between the teacher and the student or through peer to peer interaction. Peer to peer interaction is used most in my classroom. I see that the students gain understanding through the explanation, instruction, or modeling of their peers because their peers are at their cognitive level. Piaget explains that social experiences through peer to peer interactions are more effective because, “peers are more likely to cooperate as equals, can more easily see each other’s point of view, and can more easily challenge each other (Bohlin, Durwin, Reese-Weber, 2012, p.120)”.

Some questions that arise as a observe constructivism within the classroom would be what type of constructivism works best for my focus student, individual or social? Should social constructivism be used as frequently as it is in my classroom or does it cause distractions and off-topic conversations with my students?

Bohlin, L., Durwin, C.C., & Reese-Webber, M. (2012). Edpsych Modules (Second Edition). New York. Mc Graw Hill Higher Education.

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