To read the article in full, check it out here: http://static.nsta.org/files/tst0710_10.pdf
Citation:
Colburn, A. (2007, October 1). The Prepared Practitioner. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://static.nsta.org/files/tst0710_10.pdf
Constructivism. Most people associate constructivism with a teaching theory employed by teachers in an ability to help their students learn. And most people LOVE constructivism, including teacher. According to an article in The Science Teacher titled The Prepared Practitioner by Alan Colburn discusses constructivism and its applications in the classroom. Colburn defines states that there is two types of constructivism. The first being philosophical, "Philosophical constructivists say that reality is ultimately in the eye of the beholder, and that there is no surefire way to prove there is such a thing as objective reality" (Colburn, 2007). The second being educational, "This begins with the radical notion that human beings have brains, and that learners’ experiences affect how they understand science concepts" (Colburn, 2007). Colburn states that there are three reactions to when students are given new information. 1) They realize the information being taught is closely in line with their own views and the new information is easily assimilated into their knowledge base. 2) If they information is too different from their preexisting knowledge, they may write off the new information as false, unreasonable, or "stupid", thus rejecting it. 3) Students have their "lightbulb" moment. If students hadn't understood a concept before, with the addition of new information, everything falls into place and students can have an "epiphany"! So what does this mean for teachers, me included? It means that constructivism can be a very helpful tool, if you understand the uses and possible downfalls behind the concept. It means that teachers need to be aware of what they are teaching and how if could be received by all the students, since students all come in with their own set of ideas and life experiences that are different from everyone else. It is said that children need around 5-6 experiences with a topic before it actually cements itself in their brains. If children are only given information once and in a singular format, many will not grasp the concept. But if it is presented multiple times, through experimentation, questioning, research, and hangs on experiences, hopefully we can reach those students who have a harder time assimilating the new information into their current though processes.
To read the article in full, check it out here: http://static.nsta.org/files/tst0710_10.pdf Citation: Colburn, A. (2007, October 1). The Prepared Practitioner. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://static.nsta.org/files/tst0710_10.pdf
3 Comments
drann
10/3/2015 02:17:26 pm
WOW! Three of you chose the same article. Somewhat of a miracle given the 1000's written about constructivism.
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drann
10/3/2015 02:18:08 pm
Also, please make the article a live link... Thanks!
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Ryan
10/4/2015 04:31:53 pm
We are all really bad at scrolling past the first article apparently. The article really made sense for me so I can see why you chose it. Do you think that "lightbulb moment" will be able to be obtained by students who are at or below education standards, or will it just take that much more effort?
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AuthorHey, my name's Mary Beth and I am starting this blog to document my journey in becoming a high school life science/ chemistry teacher. Archives
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