Constructivist Learning Theory in Today's Classrooms
Constructivist Learning Theory in Today's Classrooms
Maraea Tsing | Brigham Young University-Hawaii | Program of English Language Teaching and Learning
American College of Education | Department of Professional Educational Studies
Constructivism can be defined as a theory of knowledge that proposes learners generate knowledge and meaning from the interaction between their experiences in life and their ideas (Hamlett, 2015).
It is a theory that has become extremely popular in education and can be seen in classrooms all around the world. It is a unique theory in that it changes the role of the teacher to that of a facilitator of learning, and places a lot of the responsibility of lesson and knowledge development in the hands of learners. Learners, supported by teachers, are encouraged to generate and test hypotheses, to construct and adapt their concepts, and to collaborate with their peers. Their individual experiences are emphasized as important in the learning process, as is their active participation. This is an exciting development in education, and one that fits well in 21st century classrooms, especially with the advancement and increased implementation of technology in education.
The Constructivist learning theory used in classrooms today was founded on the concepts and principles of several theorists:
John Dewey (1933)
Jean Piaget (1972)
Lev Vygotsky (1978)
Jerome Bruner (1990)
Published Works | John Dewey | Jean Piaget | Lev Vygotsky | Jerome Bruner |
Books | -Psychology (1887) -The School and Society (1900) -The Child and Curriculum (1902) -Moral Principles in Education (1909) -How We Think (1910) -Schools of To-Morrow (1915) -Experience and Nature (1925) -The Quest for Certainty (1929) -Experience and Education (1938) | -The Language and Thought of the Child (1926) -The Child's Conception of the World (1928) -The Origins of Intelligence in Children (1952) -The Psychology of Intelligence (1950) - The construction of reality in the child (1954) -The Child's Conception of Number (1952) | -Consciousness as a Problem in the Psychology of Behavior (1925) -Educational Psychology (1926) -The Problem of the Cultural Development of the Child (1929) -Tool and Symbol in Child Development (~1930) -Paedology of the Adolescent (1929-1931) -Thinking and Speech (1934) *Vygotsky died at the age of 37. Most of his work was published years after his death. | -A Study of Thinking (1956) -The Process of Education (1960) -Studies in Cognitive Growth (1966) -Toward a Theory of Instruction (1966) -Processes of Cognitive Growth: Infancy (1968) -Acts of Meaning (1990) -The Culture of Education (1996) |
Articles | -"The New Psychology" Andover Review, 2, 278–289 (1884) -"The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology" (1896) -"My Pedagogic Creed" (1897) | -"Value and need as organizing factors in perception" (1947) -"Capacity for joint visual attention in the infant" (1975) -"From communication to language: A psychological perspective" (1975/76) -"The role of tutoring in problem solving" (1976) -"Learning how to do things with words" (1978) -"Models of the Learner" (1985) |