Applefield, J. M., Huber, R., & Moallem, M. (2001). Constructivism in theory and practice: Toward a better understanding. The High School Journal, 84(2), 35. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/220222981?accountid=12085. Over the years of teaching there have been many different theories on how to best educate children. The theory of constructivism is not a relatively new theory but it is starting to become very influential in the field of education. In the theory of constructivism there are many different ideas and no real set belief but the general idea of constructivism is that children learn from the interactions and experiences that they have every day in the classroom. They construct learning by experiencing learning in a hands-on setting. It is the belief that students learn through experience instead of a teacher transmitting the information to them. To have a classroom that is based on a constructivist theory of learning takes effort on the part of the teacher and might be different than other classrooms that we have seen. In a constructivist classroom the emphasis is on the students and on their learning experiences. One of the strengths of this article is that it explains in great detail what a constructivist classroom looks like and how we as teachers can contribute to creating this kind of classroom for our students. It explains how Ms. Blake has created a constructivist classroom. Her classroom is centered on her students and their experiences in learning. With the constructivism theory, teachers have to purposely create hands-on learning for their students by including them in everything that happens in the classroom. It explained how a constructivist classroom may seem unorganized and chaotic to an untrained person, but in reality everything that is happening in that classroom has a specific purpose designed by the teacher. It is letting the students choose for themselves how they learn but directing them also by the choices we give them. It explains that by having a classroom in which students direct their learning it is creating students who know how to make decisions independently. One weakness of this particular article is that it did not spend much time on comparing the constructivism theory to other theories of learning. It gave us a detailed example of what constructivism looks like in a classroom but it did not compare that classroom to a classroom based on another theory of learning. This article was very effective in explaining how the learning theory of constructivism looks in an every-day classroom based on the principles we read about constructivism in our text book. It reiterated the idea that a classroom based on this theory will not look like a traditional classroom. It will be a structured classroom but not in the way that people think structure normally looks like. It explained ways to teach the students to become self-regulated by giving them choices and different learning opportunities each day. It gave ideas on how to incorporate peer collaboration in classroom by having students work in small groups on projects like our text explained In personal reflection of this article, I was able to see what the constructivism theory looks like in action. It made me understand that constructivism is a very purposeful theory even though it may not look that way from the outside. It is a theory based upon wanting the best learning environment for your students. It places the emphasis on them and their learning experiences. It helped me understand that it is giving student’s choices and options, yet as their teacher you are still directing them in their learning but it allows them an independence that they need to learn. It also helped me see that this theory might be one of the harder learning theories to have in a classroom because it takes more effort and time to create this environment, yet it may be one of the most rewarding theories to have since it is based on giving the students all adequate time to truly understand the concepts and ideas that you are presenting to them.
References
Applefield, J. M., Huber, R., & Moallem, M. (2001). Constructivism in theory and practice: Toward a better understanding. The High School Journal, 84(2), 35. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/220222981?accountid=12085
Schunk, D. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson