#5 Student Centered and Constructivist Approaches to Instruction

 

Description

A constructivist view of learning is a student-centered way of teaching. It stems from Piaget and Vygotsky where learning takes place when there is an imbalance from what they know and what they are discovering (Slavin, 2018). The teacher gives a complex task and then supports or facilitates students as they investigate and work in groups to complete and understand the task (Slavin, 2018).

 

Analysis

Students learn best when they wrestle and discover things, it takes hard work and requires thinking (Slavin, 2018). A constructivist view of learning is most successful when students learn in small cooperative groups, this allows students to learn from one another (Slavin, 2018). Students can learn from more experienced peers, known as the zone of proximal development (Slavin, 2018). The group provides the help that a student needs to master material that is just above their comfort zone. Cognitive apprenticeship provides students with expert peers or an adult while giving feedback along the way (Slavin, 2018). As students work together, they can use top-down processing where they begin with a difficult task and figure out how to solve it by working together (Slavin, 2018).

Discovery learning allows students to think through a task as the teacher encourages the process. This type of learning encourages curiosity, motivation, and critical thinking (Slavin, 2018). It can lead to errors and wasted time, so the objective and time should be considered (Slavin, 2018). Self-regulated learning comes from practice; students learn which strategies to use for different tasks which leads to a more motivated learner (Slavin, 2018). Teachers can set the tone of the classroom by scaffolding learning, this is a gradual release of guided help as students become more proficient (Slavin, 2018).

A constructivist’s methods may vary depending on the content area. Reciprocal teacher is great for reading, the teacher models questioning after a passage is read, then calls on a student to question the group after another passage has been read (Slavin, 2018). This allows students to make connections with the text. For writing, allowing students to work in small groups to brainstorm, draft, revise, edit, and publish papers while provided one another feedback allows students to become more proficient writers (Slavin, 2018). Graphic organizers are also useful. In mathematics, students can work in small collaborative groups to problem solve and represent problems physically, pictorially, verbally, or symbolically (Slavin, 2018). It is important to use real-world problems to engage students and motivate them to solve it (Slavin, 2018). In science, the emphasis should be on hands-on investigations to make meaning while working in groups (Slavin, 2018). Research has shown that using a mixture of constructive and explicit teaching is effective (Slavin, 2018).

Cooperative learning, during instruction, is basically student-centered small groups. It allows students to collaborate and learn from one another while students take an active role in ensuring the success of the group collectively (Slavin, 2018). In student teams-achievement dividends (STAD) students earn points for the team based on individual improvement, and it is important to calculate points as soon as possible (Slavin, 2018). In teams-games-tournaments (TGT), students play games with one another and earn points for their team/group (Slavin, 2018). Some other strategies for cooperative learning groups are jigsaw, learning together, peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS), and cooperative scripting (Slavin, 2018). Students can do pieces of an assignments and teach others, work together on one product, work in pairs as teacher and learner, or summarize and check one another (Slavin, 2018). Informal cooperative learning structures are numbered heads (randomly calling on students by numbers) and think-pair-share (students share with a partner then whole group/class) (Slavin, 2018).

Project based learning is a strategy of a constructivist teacher. Students work in groups and the product represents the groups learning (Slavin, 2018). It can be used in combination with other teaching methods and would be hard to build a curriculum around it exclusively (Slavin, 2018). Research on cooperative learning shows it is effective in student success, but there must be recognition for groups success and accountability for individual member participation (Slavin, 2018). Students who learn to work well in cooperative groups are well on their way to gaining 21^st century skills (Slavin, 2018).

Problem solving skills can and should be taught (Slavin, 2018). There are five steps (IDEAL) to identify the problem, define the goal, explore strategies, anticipate outcomes to act, and look back to learn (Slavin, 2018, p. 204). In means-ends analysis, students should be given a variety of problems to solve so they are better equipped to solve real-life problems (Slavin, 2018). They can also extract relevant information from existing problems and get rid of unneeded information to solve problems (Slavin, 2018). Problem can be represented in many ways like diagrams, flowcharts, and outlines (Slavin, 2018).

Teaching creative thinking is important for developing students (Slavin, 2018). Incubation requires that students slow down to think (incubate) about problems and the possible solutions (Slavin, 2018). Students should suspend judgement and consider all options (Slavin, 2018). The class environment should be conducive to students sharing ideas without the threat of ridicule (Slavin, 2018). Students should analyze, engage with problems, and give/receive feedback when working in groups to creatively think and problem solve. Students can be taught to creatively think by having many opportunities in class with familiar topics that are relevant and should be open to other’s perspectives (Slavin, 2018).

Reflection

I identify as a constructivist, but practicing constructivism is not always easy. I believe students have much to learn from one another in small groups. There are great possibilities for social and intellectual stimulation/practice with small groups as well. I have had moderate success with small groups and find that students are excited when we have small groups. Often that excitement leads to off-task behavior. I find there are students who always complete their work because they did not need collaboration and students who rarely finish their work because they may be self-conscious to admit they need help. For the most part, small groups have represented a lot of work with little rewards.

After reading and reflection, I have come to realize I need to create a better classroom climate where students feel safe to express the need to ask for help within their groups. I also need to foster the desire of group members to help build up one another’s mastery of the concepts. I plan to use the STAD method and make it fun to learn as a group. I also want to have daily brain teaser/problems for groups to creatively problem solve. I plan to present or allow students to identify culturally relevant problems to be solved. I work at a nature school, and I plan to use a garden to bring relevance to science and math. Overall, I will model and scaffold good cooperative learning for my students to know how to interact, stay on task, and work for the good of the group. I want to have a more student-centered classroom that engages students by being relevant.

References

Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.