Constructivism

WHAT IS CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING?

In Western education, the behaviorist theory popularized by B.F. Skinner still drives much of the practice of education. Curricula have been tightly sequenced according to a belief that the best way to learn is to master small bits of knowledge and then integrate them into major concepts. Assessment practices have tended to focus on measurement of knowledge and skills, with little emphasis on performance and understanding. Memorization was the chief method of mastering new material.

This approach to education is highly desirable to those responsible for monitoring the success of educational programs, because this type of learning is easily measured. A "paper and pencil" test, which can be scored by a computer, can quickly provide the administrator (or politician) with quantifiable evidence that students are "learning" or "not learning". It is also believed that this information can be used to make teachers more "accountable" for their students' progress.

In Eastern cultures, the 2000 year, uninterrupted influence of Confucius on educational practices has continued. White (1995) has argued that in countries like Japan, China and Korea, changes to the way in which students are educated is perceived as "incompatible with the general cultural framework", and any innovations will be resisted. This may account for the reason innovators find that attempts to introduce "western teaching methods" in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language are passively - if not actively - resisted not only by visible elements in the society (students, educational traditions, company hiring practices etc.), but also from places deep in the fabric of the culture. White (ibid) explains that if innovators work from a deeper understanding of beliefs, values and historical background of the surrounding culture, innovations proposed in the language curriculum stand a better chance of long-term acceptance. (cited in Hadley, 1996)

This does not suggest that an education system based on Confucian thought requires blind obedience to authority. As Confucius, or Kongzi said, "Study without thinking, and you are blind; think without studying, and you are in danger." (Analects, 2:16) Kongzi taught that education leads to social harmony everywhere in a community. Gloria Floren (online) believes that "For Confucius, education in the traditions, in the nature and proprieties of relationships, and in other social courtesies smoothed the way toward harmonious social interaction; education, then, is everything, the nurturer of community and connectivity, responsibility, peace, and order in society."

However, in Confucian society, just as the emperor was regarded as the spiritual parent of all in society, the teacher was a spiritual "elder brother' who would instruct their students in the right way to live. The teacher was regarded as one who possessed "the one right answer" which must be learned by heart by every student. This results in a classroom where it is the teacher who is expected to provide the answers and students are not expected to construct their own meaning from the text.

In the West, since the late 1980s, researchers have been building an understanding of learning that grows out of cognitive and developmental psychology and a new understanding of how the brain learns new information. The key notion in this new "constructivist theory" is that people learn best by actively constructing their own understanding. Simons (1993) has described the constructivist classroom as having six essential components:

(1) It is active - students participate in activities that force them to learn relevant concepts and ideas in a meaningful manner;

(2) It is constructive - new information must be used in conjunction with that which the student is already familiar

(3) It is cumulative - all new skills, information, and concepts build upon the foundation of what the student already knows

(4) It is goal-oriented - students are generally more successful when they are aware of the goal towards which they are working

(5) it is diagnostic - students further the learning process by engaging in frequent self-evaluation and self-monitoring. Such practices aid in the students comprehension and help to ensure that they are still actively pursuing their goals

(6) it is reflective Ð'- students are asked to think about what they have learned and relate that knowledge to their own existence. This is usually accomplished by discussion and journaling.

The constructivist classroom presents the learner with opportunities to build