OBJECTIVES
• Discuss the principles of constructivism
• Identify the pedagogical approaches, methods and strategies that adhere to
constructivism
• Suggest constructivist approaches, methods, or strategies which are congruent with
content and performance standards of the curriculum
PEDAGOGY
• Any conscious activity by one person designed to enhance learning in another” (Watkins
and Mortimer, 1999).
• study of methods and activities of teaching (Cambridge Dictionary).
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533
Act Enhancing the Philippine Baic Education System by Strengthening its Curriculum and
Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds Therefor and
Increasing the Number and for Other Purposes
SEC. 5. Curriculum Development
The DepED shall adhere to the following standards and principles in developing the enhanced
basic education curriculum:
(e) The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist, inquiry-based,
reflective, collaborative and integrative
TRADITIONAL
Curriculum begins with the part of the whole emphasizing basic skills
Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is highly valued
Learning is based on repetition
Teacher’s role is directive, rooted in authority
Students work primarily alone
Textbooks and workbooks primarily used
Assessment- Testing
(Correct answer)
The teacher is superior and is referred as authority or master
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Curriculum emphasizes big concepts beginning with the whole and expanding to include
the parts
Pursuits of students’ question and interest is valued (Inquiry-based)
Learning is interactive
Teacher’s role is interactive, rooted in negotiation
Students work primarily in groups (Collaborative)
Manipulative materials are primary sources
Assessment- observation, peer evaluation, and testing
Teachers serve as guides to the students to challenge them to think harder by
considering new ideas
Jean Piaget
• believed that humans learn through the construction of one logical structure after
another. He also concluded that the logic of children and their modes of thinking are
initially entirely different from those of adults.
John Dewey
called for education to be grounded in real experience. He wrote, "If you have doubts
about how learning happens, engage in sustained inquiry: study, ponder, consider
alternative possibilities and arrive at your belief grounded in evidence." Inquiry is a
key part of constructivist learning
Lev Vygotsky
introduced the social aspect of learning into constructivism. He defined the "zone of
proximal learning," according to which students solve problems beyond their actual
developmental level (but within their level of potential development) under adult
guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.
Jerome Bruner
initiated curriculum change based on the notion that learning is an active, social
process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on their current
knowledge.
INQUIRY-BASED
The main activity in a constructivist classroom is solving problems. Students use inquiry
methods to ask questions, investigate a topic, and use a variety of resources to find
solutions and answers. As students explore the topic, they draw conclusions, and, as
exploration continues, they revisit those conclusions. Exploration of questions leads to
more questions.
REFLECTIVE
Students control their own learning process, and they lead the way by reflecting on their
experiences. This process makes them experts of their own learning. The teacher helps
create situations where the students feel safe questioning and reflecting on their own
processes, either privately or in group discussions. The teacher should also create
activities that lead the student to reflect on his or her prior knowledge and experiences.
Talking about what was learned and how it was learned is really important.
COLLABORATIVE
The constructivist classroom relies heavily on collaboration among students. There are
many reasons why collaboration contributes to learning. The main reason it is used so
much in constructivism is that students learn about learning not only from themselves,
but also from their peers. When students review and reflect on their learning processes
together, they can pick up strategies and methods from one another.
INTEGRATIVE
Integrative learning is linked to the classical tradition of educating the "whole" person:
encouraging "breadth of outlook, a capacity to see connections and hence an ability to
make fundamental decisions and judgments" (Rothblatt 1993:28).
Integrative learning requires the teaching of intentional learning (taking a deliberative
and reflexive stance towards knowledge acquisition): taking into account different
dimensions of a problem, seeing it from different perspectives, and making conceptual
links among the dimensions and perspectives .
Integrative learning leads students to synthesize learning from a wide array of sources,
learn from experience, and make significant and productive connections between
theory and practice. This approach to teaching and learning is necessary in today's world
where technology and globalization transform knowledge practices in all disciplines and
professions: disciplines are now less bounded, with new areas of scientific knowledge
emerging on the borders of old ones, and with a significant exchange of concepts,
methods, and subject matter between the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts.
SPECIFIC CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACHES
Guided Instruction
A learning approach in which the educator uses strategically placed
prompts, cues, questions, direct explanations, and modeling to guide
student thinking and facilitate an increased responsibility for the
completion of a task (Fisher & Frey, 2010).
Inquiry-Based Learning
An educational approach associated with problem-based learning in which the student
learns through investigating issues or scenarios (Hakverdi-Can & Sonmez, 2012). In this
approach, students pose and answer questions individually and/or collaboratively in
order to draw conclusions regarding the specific issues or scenarios (Hakverdi-Can &
Sonmez, 2012). Effective essential questions include student thought and research,
connect to student's reality and can be solved in different ways (Crane, 2009). There are
no incorrect answers to essential questions, rather answers reveal student
understanding(Crane, 2009).
Anchored Instruction
An educational approach associated with problem-based learning in which the educator
introduces an ‘anchor’ or theme in which students will be able to explore (Kariuki &
Duran, 2004). The ‘anchor’ acts as a focal point for the entire task, allowing students to
identify, define, and explore problems while exploring the topic from a variety of
different perspectives (Kariuki & Duran, 2004).
Problem-Based Learning
A structured educational approach which consists of large and small group discussions
(Schmidt & Loyens, 2007). Problem-based learning begins with an educator presenting a
series of carefully constructed problems or issues to small groups of students (Schmidt
& Loyens, 2007). The problems or issues typically pertain to phenomena or events to
which students possess limited prior knowledge (Schmidt & Loyens, 2007).
As long as there were people asking each other questions, we have had constructivist
classrooms. Constructivism, the study of learning is about how we all make sense of the
world. -Jacqueline Brooks
