Talk:Constructivism (learning theory)
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[edit] General Problems with the Article
This article looks like it was someone's writing assignment in a teaching-credential program. (The citation style is one used for academic writing.) The author(s) are merely passing on the claims made by advocates of constructivism, taking the claims at face value (as people in teacher-ed programs are generally pressured to do). This article needs to be completely rewritten. - Skaraoke 10:36, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
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- This article needs to be completely rewritten Sure it does ! Chrisdel 16:11, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] The constructivist teachers are there to aid the children...
"The constructivist teachers are there to aid the children, and provided support to their knowledge acquisition."
I deleted this sentence because it does not communicate sufficiently specific information. However, I would welcome a more precise statement about the goals of constructivist teachers.
[edit] Areas of this article that need improvement
The article cites Wertsch (1997) but it does not include this source in the references.
To start with...
- history of constructivist philosphy citing Plato, Locke, Rousseau, Dewey, von Glasersfeld, Bruner, and others.
- clarity about the axioms, or fundamental tenets of constructivism.
- descriptions of the different flavors of constructivist learning theory
- explanation of social constructivism
and also
- the other educational philosophies prevalent at the time that Piaget was attempting to disprove
- the educational movements that used Piaget and Papert's theories to bring about change in education and childcare
- their successes and failures
also and simply
- complete references for the in-text citations ... eg: "Social constructivism views each learner as a unique individual with unique needs and backgrounds. The learner is also seen as complex and multidimensional (Gredler 1997)" .. the Gredler text is not mentioned in the references, certainly not properly according to his name.
[edit] misconceptions in this article
It's interesting that the authors believe "communal constructivism" is something *new* other than just a recycling of Deweyan project theory, with the use of technology added.
It's important to note that constructivism itself is a way of understanding cognition. It doesn't say anything about what to do in the classroom. People have developed many many pedagogies (approaches to education) that are based on constructivist theory and most of THOSE involve "learning by doing." Constructivism itself is about what happens in learners' heads. Andicat 12:28, 24 October 2005 (UTC)
I very much agree with the comments in this section. Constructivism is a theory about how the mind works, not about how to best teach. Unfortunately, it has been used to develop questionable teaching techniques. Tneumark 18:26, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Adding a paragraph from article Constructivist epistemology
I suggest to move in this article the content of the paragraph "Social constructivist education" in the article Constructivist epistemology which is about "A social constructivist learning intervention". Indeed, this paragraph is too long for the article Constructivist epistemology. Chrisdel 04:24, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Merge with Constructivist teaching methods
Should'nt these 2 articles be merged ? Chrisdel 07:22, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Criticisms of Constructivism
I edited the page to include a reference to a prominent group of cognitive scientists (including a Nobel Prize Winner) who questioned the central claims of constructivism, but this reference was removed by the page author. I would like to include content from the following article for the sake of balance. Applications and Misapplications of Cognitive Psychology to Mathematics Education Tneumark 18:23, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
- I am not the page author and I have no idea what constructivism is. The reason I removed your edit is that it was essentially an advertisement that contributed little to the article. Find something other than your own thesis paper. BigDT 21:28, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] introduction
The introduction doesn't do a very good job of explaining what constructivism *is*. It just has a circular definition. --jacobolus (t) 00:29, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] A Short Definition of Constructivism
Constructivism: a theory of learning where humans construct meaning from current knowledge structures
"Cognitive research in mathematics and science... in just a few years... has produced a new concensus on the nature of learning... that learners construct understanding by knowing relationships" between "prior knowledge... structures" Resnick (1982).
Resnick, Lauren B. (May, 1982). Mathematics and Science Learning: A New Conception. Paper presented to the National Convocation on Precollege Education in Mathematics and Science, National Acadamy of Sciences, and National Acadamy of Engineering.
J3n 13:23, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Constructivism is an epistemology (see Constructivist epistemology and Jean Piaget) which refers to teaching and learning instead of a theory on teaching and learning. Chrisdel 15:29, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
