Constructivist Pedagogy Research Articles

Linking Internship Experience with Teacher Candidate Self-Efficacy and Teaching Motivation: Evidence from the Asistensi Mengajar Program

Real-world learning experiences are crucial in constructivist education. Teaching Assistance is one of the programmes that offers learning through real-world experiences to teacher candidates. This study aims to explore the impact of the Teaching Assistance programme on self-efficacy and teaching motivation. Involving 40 participants from Islamic Primary School Teacher Education Study Program, this study used a descriptive quantitative method with data collected through an online questionnaire based on a 7-point Likert scale. The results of the analysis showed that the majority of respondents had moderate levels of self-efficacy and motivation. This finding indicates that the Teaching Assistance programme was effective in increasing participants' self-efficacy and motivation to pursue a career as a teacher in the future, despite variations in their levels of self-efficacy and motivation. This study also shows the need to evaluate and improve the quality of the implementation of the teaching assistance programme so that participants' self-efficacy and motivation increase. Self-efficacy and motivation are critical to their future career readiness. Limitations of the study, such as the small sample size and reliance on questionnaires, lead to recommendations for further research with a more holistic approach. Overall, this study confirms that the Teaching Assistance programme can be an effective tool in preparing prospective teachers who are competent, motivated, and confident to face the challenges of the teaching profession.

Examinatıon of Assessment and Evaluation Elements in 5th, 6th and 7th Grade Social Studies Middle School Textbooks

Textbooks are the most fundamental educational materials. For these materials to be effectively used, they need to be relevant to the era we live in. In this context, since 2004, the content of textbooks in Turkey has been prepared within the framework of constructivist education, aiming to enhance students’ cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills. This study examines the assessment and evaluation elements within Social Studies textbooks to determine their alignment with constructivist education and the specific skills they target for students. The research analyzes assessment components found in six different textbooks approved by the Ministry of National Education (MEB). Within these textbooks, the assessment elements related to seven learning approaches—such as preparatory questions, in-text questions, activities, end-of-text evaluations, self-assessment, peer assessment, concept maps, end-of-unit assessment questions, and group self-assessment—are classified and studied from a constructivist perspective. Using a qualitative research design, document analysis is employed to identify assessment elements and link them to skills consistent with constructivist education. Finally, a comparative evaluation reveals differences between textbooks at different educational levels, contributing to the literature on the relationship between assessment elements and constructivist education in Social Studies textbooks.

Teaching Persian Complex Predicates from a Pedagogical Construction Grammar Stance

Teaching Persian Complex Predicates from a Pedagogical Construction Grammar Stance

Showing What They Know: How Supervisors Express Their Assessment Literacy

This study examines the assessment literacy of university-based student teaching supervisors in a teacher education program. The first author engaged in an inquiry community with three supervisors from the program. Using the four dimensions of the Approaches to Classroom Assessment Inventory (ACAI) framework, we sought to expose the specific phenomena of supervisors’ articulation of the ACAI dimensions of assessment literacy. We organized our findings around the dimensions: assessment process, assessment product, assessment fairness, and assessment theory. We found that supervisors expressed multiple dimensions of assessment within their inquiry community meeting discussions and interviews and expressed varied knowledge and prioritization of each dimension. We also found that supervisors did not discuss the dimensions of the ACAI in isolation, instead, they illustrated the complex interplay among assessment and other pedagogical constructs. These findings provide an initial contribution to the literature on supervisors’ assessment literacy, which could inform research and practice.

Salgo de casa? Salgo a casa? Salgo la casa? Analysis of the crosslinguistic influence on preposition use in motion verb constructions by multilingual German learners of Spanish

The use of prepositions is one of the most difficult grammar topics for Spanish learners. The high frequency prepositions ‘a’ (‘to, at, on’), ‘de’ (‘from, of’) and ‘en’ (‘in, on, into’) are often confused or omitted, especially in motion verb constructions (e.g., Campillos Llanos, 2014). This can be due to their polysemous character and the low salience. In addition, crosslinguistic influence (Jarvis and Pavlenko, 2008) from the first language as well as additional acquired foreign language(s) play a significant role.In order to analyse the complexity of interlanguage phenomena in the construction [motion verb + a/de/en + noun] to improve acquisition in Spanish classes, it is necessary to study authentic learner data. In this paper, I will discuss the results of an explorative pilot study on crosslinguistic influence carried out at a German grammar school in the federal state Baden-Württemberg in order to find out after which verbs of motion these prepositions are omitted or confused, how often this occurs, and which languages might influence it. The results of two groups of pupils at beginner level with the mean age of 14,03 are compared: The first group (n = 21) learns Spanish as the third foreign language, in addition to English and French, while the second group (n = 16) learns Spanish as the second foreign language after English. Both groups learn the named foreign languages in an instructed setting at school.The pilot study reveals that the prepositions ‘a’ and ‘de’ are much more often confused or omitted in the construction types [llegar/volver/venir + a + noun] (‘arrive/come back/come + to/in + noun’) and [salir/ir + de + noun] (‘leave/go + noun’) compared to [ir + a + noun] (‘go to + noun’). A possible explanation is positive and negative intra- and interlingual transfer of equivalent constructions from different languages. These results form a hypothesis basis that a systematic application of Pedagogical Construction Grammar (Boas, 2022; De Knop and Gilquin, 2016) and multilingual didactics (Fäcke and Meiβner, 2019; García et al., 2020) in Spanish classes to teach these polysemous prepositions could probably be helpful to avoid errors.

The Diamond Framework for Team-based Active Learning for Physiology Courses.

Benjamin Bloom published his Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in 1956 [1] to help educators develop learning objectives for teaching. Since then, several modifications have been made to adapt Bloom's taxonomy to various uses and disciplines [2-4]. Introduction of the idea: As social constructivist educators, the authors of this article felt the need to adjust Bloom's taxonomy to match the unique characteristics of team-based learning (TBL) in physiology courses. Outcomes: Here, we are introducing the use of TBL for teaching physiology in undergraduate physiology courses that could be easily translated into other disciplines. Additionally, we are introducing the Diamond Framework for TBL, a modified Bloom's taxonomy to guide the writing of measurable learning outcomes and create assignments to help students apply their new knowledge and skills.

교수학습에 관한 전통주의와 구성주의 접근으로 살펴본 예비 화학교사의 신념 탐색

This study explored pre-service chemistry teachers’ beliefs related to constructivist and traditional approaches to teaching and learning. In addition, this was examined focusing on 3rd and 4th graders who experienced teaching practicum and 1st and 2nd graders who did not experience teaching practicum. To this end, items developed by Woolley, Benjamin, & Woolley (2004) for the assessment of teaching and learning beliefs were utilized, with 75 pre-service chemistry teachers participating in the survey. An exploratory factor analysis identified six items related to traditional educational views and five items related to constructivist views for belief analysis. Differences between these educational views were compared using paired sample t-tests, and differences in beliefs across groups and items were compared using ANOVA. Overall, the group with teaching practicum experience showed statistically higher beliefs in constructivist educational views, whereas the group without experience showed no statistical difference. A detailed items analysis revealed higher beliefs in traditional education views in practices of written assessments and structured discussion classes. In the constructivist view, beliefs were statistically lower in informal student evaluations. Group analysis showed statistically higher beliefs in constructivist educational views among those with teaching practicum experience compared to those without. This suggests the value of teaching practicum experience in enhancing pre-service teachers’ beliefs in constructivist education.

Promoting L2 learners’ critical thinking skills: the role of social constructivism in reading class

IntroductionIn the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the imperative for success has increasingly spotlighted the essential need for students to develop critical thinking and reading skills as key competencies for the 21st century. This study sought to explore the potential of constructivism to enhance learners’ critical thinking and reading abilities, alongside evaluating their receptiveness to this pedagogical approach.MethodsA mixed-methods research design was employed, combining a quasi-experimental framework with semi-structured interviews. The quasi-experimental component compared the effectiveness of constructivist and traditional teacher-centered methods in promoting critical thinking skills. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gauge participants’ satisfaction with the constructivist approach and to gather qualitative data on their experiences.ResultsThe investigation yielded two principal findings. First, the constructivist approach significantly outperformed traditional teacher-centered methods in promoting critical thinking skills among students. Second, the majority of participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the constructivist method, attributing this to the approach’s facilitation of deeper knowledge acquisition and increased opportunities for interaction with peers and instructors.DiscussionTheoretical implications of this study underscore the value of constructivism in fostering an engaging and interactive learning environment conducive to the development of critical analytical skills. Practically, the findings advocate for educational practitioners and institutional leaders to consider the integration of constructivist strategies in reading sessions to bolster students’ critical thinking and reading competencies. Moreover, it emphasizes the necessity for educators to receive comprehensive training on the nuances of constructivist pedagogy to ensure its effective implementation. This study thus contributes to the pedagogical discourse by affirming the efficacy of constructivism in enhancing critical cognitive skills and by outlining a pathway for its successful adoption in educational settings.

Policy Reflection: Kurikulum Merdeka as Educational Innovation in the Era of Society 5.0

Kurikulum Merdeka represents Indonesia's strategic response to the demands of Society 5.0, an era marked by pervasive technology integration. As an educational innovation, it aims to cultivate future-ready individuals adept at utilizing technology, possessing competitiveness, and providing innovative solutions for society. The curriculum emphasizes developing 21st century skills like critical thinking, creativity, and digital literacy through student-centered, project-based learning and formative assessments. Key opportunities include nurturing an adaptable, tech-savvy workforce and aligning education with industry needs. However, challenges arise in teacher readiness for constructivist pedagogy, technological competence, and the need for continuous curriculum updates. Successful implementation requires enhancing teacher training, providing adequate technological infrastructure, and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration in curriculum design and evaluation. Policy reflection is crucial to optimize Kurikulum Merdeka's responsiveness to Society 5.0's rapid changes. By addressing opportunities, overcoming obstacles, and ensuring industry relevance, Indonesia can effectively prepare its youth to thrive in an increasingly digitalized world while driving sustainable societal progress. Proactive policy measures can position the education system as a catalyst for innovation and human capital development in the Society 5.0 landscape..

Teaching policy capacity: A collaborative and constructivist workshop

This article presents an approach for teaching policy capacity to civil servants based on a workshop that took place in 2018 under the auspices of the Government of Prince Edward Island’s Policy Capacity Learning Series. It argues that workshops which introduce civil servants to the concept of policy capacity can enhance skills-based training and knowledge of the policy environment. Through a learner-focused, collaborative and constructivist pedagogy, the workshop involved a group activity where civil servants constructed a visual diagram of their policy environment by categorizing actors, skills, resources, institutions and concepts according to a policy capacity framework. This article discusses the workshop’s planning and delivery requirements which can be used, adapted and improved by practitioners in other jurisdictions. It also provides considerations for future training and education in public administration.

Measuring Peer Collaboration Among Secondary School Students: Instrument Development And Validation

This study aims to create and validate a scale that measures peer collaboration among secondary school students. The study had three objectives: 1) to identify the constructs of collaboration, 2) to develop a collaboration scale, and 3) to validate the collaboration scale. The study included 363 9th-grade students, and after an extensive literature review, it identified four constructs of collaboration: social interdependence, conflict resolution, cooperation, and sharing of resources. The consistency between these constructs was found to be positive. The scale reliability was established with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.768 and a test-retest reliability coefficient of 0.71. The content validity of the scale was also established with a Cohen kappa coefficient of 0.66. The study found that differences between boys and girls can be determined by obtaining standard scores on the collaboration scale. This new collaboration scale will be a useful tool for practitioners who use constructivist pedagogy to measure collaboration.

Preparing pre-service teachers to teach with information technology: mapping knowledge patterns in what is included and omitted in Ghana

ABSTRACT Research, primarily from pre-service teachers’ perspectives, has found that teacher education programmes are not providing adequate preparation for constructivist pedagogy using information technology. This subject is pronounced in Ghana’s teacher education programmes, where local research that investigates knowledge patterns in technology training methods and competencies pre-service teachers mainly acquire is also scarce. In addressing this gap, this paper describes a qualitative study that examined the reflective views and experiences of 20 in-service teachers regarding what was offered and missing in their pre-service training for digital pedagogy. Findings revealed teachers benefit from standalone educational technology courses, teacher educators modelling technology use, and curriculum activities requiring technology use. The knowledge pattern in these training methods suggests a prioritisation of technical skills acquisition that mostly supports traditional, teacher-centred teaching tasks. Factors impeding pedagogical development training are unpacked, along with the reasons behind misalignments between teacher education policy requirements, and actual pre-service technology training practices.

Adopting an Empathizing Stance in Classroom Argumentation: Pedagogical Constructs and Affordances

Although a growing body of research recognizes the importance of viewing argumentation as a means of understanding rather than combating others, little is known about how teachers cultivate this practice in classroom conversations when teaching argumentation. This study examines how argument can be taught in classroom discourse with an empathizing stance and generates associated pedagogical constructs. Adopting a microethnographic approach to discourse analysis, this study examines the key instructional events in an argumentative writing unit in two high school English language arts classes. The analysis demonstrates that the empathizing stance is introduced in the relationship between arguers and their warrants and the differences existing between arguers. It also generates four pedagogical constructs related to the teaching of argument with the stance: (1) identifying the connection between arguers’ warrants and backgrounds; (2) transposing oneself into others’ backgrounds; (3) exploring interlocutors’ common and divergent grounds; and (4) situating argument in a broader context. It concludes with a discussion of the affordances of teaching argument with an empathizing stance.

Effective virtual laboratory to build constructivist thinking in electrical measurement practicum

Constructivism serves as a basic theory in education, and plays an important role, because this perspective views learning as a dynamic process in which students actively participate in constructing their knowledge. So, this research aims to produce a virtual laboratory that is valid and effective in developing constructivist thinking. This research and development use the Ploom approach which consists of initial investigation, design, construction/realization, testing, evaluation, revision, and implementation. Thirty-two electrical engineering students from Padang State University participated in this research. The instruments used are validity instruments and constructivism assessment tools. The research results show that the Proteus-based virtual laboratory developed is valid and effective in fostering constructivist thinking in electrical measurement practice. This study contributes to the advancement of virtual laboratories in educational settings, emphasizing the importance of constructivist pedagogy for meaningful and engaging learning experiences in the field of electrical engineering. The results of this research open opportunities for further research regarding the exploration of artificial intelligence to improve constructivism through virtual laboratories.

Survey of Students’ Experiences with Electronic Communication for Writing Improvement

The introduction of electronic communication has caused a considerable evolution in the dynamic interaction between teachers and students in today's educational environments. In order to improve writing skills in school settings, this study explores the transformative potential of internet communication. The present abstract outlines the complex features of this revolutionary teaching instrument, clarifying its many aspects and significant consequences for promoting writing abilities in learning environments. This investigation, which is based on constructivist pedagogy and cognitive learning theories, reveals the mutually beneficial connection between internet communications and increasing writing ability through leveraging the collaborative relationship between technology and education. Teachers can enable learners to reach their full creative potential and produce a generation of articulate speakers ready to handle the challenges of the digital age.

How constructivism influences pre-service teachers’ beliefs and practices and child self-regulation

ABSTRACT Project Construct is a learner-centered constructivist framework that emphasizes positive teacher-student relationships, autonomy, and child-led experiences. Constructivist pedagogy promote cognitive, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Yet, novice teachers struggle to grasp constructivist teaching practices and tend to emphasize teacher-directed activities. The present study investigated whether the opportunity to learn and apply constructivist teaching approaches in an elementary school setting would affect education students’ understanding of constructivism and children’s self-regulation. Eight education students participated in a 4-week summer undergraduate class in a public-school setting. Students’ understanding of constructivist principles was assessed through a 30-statement questionnaire. Kindergarten classrooms were randomly assigned to either the Project Construct classroom where Education students participated in or the control classroom. Children’s self-regulation skills were assessed through the Head Toes Knees and Shoulders (HTKS) Task before and after the 4-week class. Results revealed that Education students’ knowledge of principles of constructivism grew significantly from the beginning to the end of this semester. Children’s performance on the HTKS grew significantly in the Project Construct and control classrooms, although there were no significant differences between the Project Construct and control classroom. These findings have implications for teacher education and how constructivist pedagogy can affect child self-regulation.

Constructivist Pedagogy and ESL Learning in Nepal

Constructivist Pedagogy and ESL Learning in Nepal

Relocating assessment in pre-service teacher education: an emerging model from activity theory lens

ABSTRACT This empirical study aims to understand the assessment pedagogies used to support pre-service teachers’ assessment development in the post-pandemic. The study involved sixty 4th year English language pre-service teachers, and data were collected from interviews, practicum observation notes, field visit notes, and reflection papers. The study aimed to identify research-based pedagogical constructs that effectively contributed to pre-service teachers’ learning and practice of assessment in the practicum. Using an activity theory lens, the study developed a model that could be used in pre-service teacher assessment education across different contexts. The paper concludes by suggesting research and practice-oriented implementations for pre-service teacher education based on the identified pedagogical constructs. Also, it has important implications for developing effective assessment education for pre-service teachers, which can contribute to better student learning outcomes in the future.

Exploring the Potential of Constructivist Pedagogical Approach in Strengthening Religious Moderation a Systematic Literature Review

This study aims to outline various previous research findings related to applying the constructivist pedagogy approach in improving moderate attitudes in educational institutions and explore the potential of the constructivist pedagogy approach to internalize the value of religious moderation in Indonesian education. This research uses the Systematic Literature Review method using the Watase Uake tool and the Google Scholar search engine. The data in this study are articles indexed in Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. The articles were selected using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) technique. After going through the identification, screening, and eligibility process, 48 articles were included in the inclusion stage and analyzed using the meta-synthesis technique. The results of this study show that i) the findings of previous studies indicate that constructivist pedagogical approaches contribute positively to increasing openness and tolerance towards differences and building more appropriate attitudes in understanding diversity; ii) through constructivist activities, egalitarian teacher-student interactions, and inclusive social activities, students can develop a deeper understanding of the values of religious moderation (such as tawassuth, tawazun, tasamuh, musawah, and shura), appreciate the diversity of beliefs, and build openness to differences, so that constructivist approaches in learning have great potential to improve moderate attitudes in religion, especially in the context of Islamic education. The results of this study can positively contribute to the development of curriculum and religious learning methods oriented towards religious moderation in Indonesia.

The Schrödinger equation for a non-quantized matter field: a theoretical introduction for Physics Education researchers

Usual presentations of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) start by postulating the existence of a classical field that obeys to the wave equation, derived from a conveniently chosen Lagrangian density. But while electromagnetic fields are given a proper physical meaning even before quantization, matter fields acquire it mostly only when quantized. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to give a pedagogical construction that allows us to assign a physical meaning also to non-quantized matter fields. This operation is particularly important since we believe that Quantum Field Theory is more suited than Quantum Mechanics (QM) to introduce quantum physics in secondary schools. The purpose of this paper is to show how to attribute a physical meaning to classical (that means, not yet quantized) matter fields. It is not intended for a high school presentation, but, besides being addressed to those who teach QFT at university, and to teacher educators, it is primarily addressed to researchers in physics education and to all those who work for an educational presentation of quantum physics based on QFT.