Constructivist Setting Research Articles

“Conversation is everything”: How teachers and students create environments where open discussion can thrive

ABSTRACT This article draws on qualitative case studies of student-centered classroom activities to consider how pedagogy and classroom climate interact with students’ emotional experiences in the classroom. Findings suggest that teachers’ beliefs about the purpose of classroom discussion influence their attendance to students’ emotions in a way that affects levels of safety, trust, and respect within the classroom, which affects students’ willingness to participate in class. These case studies provide examples of what open classroom environments look like in liberal, social constructivist settings and what happens when teachers attempt to incorporate more radical pedagogies. They also demonstrate the challenges that might make it difficult to maintain an open climate in light of the complex and dynamic relationships students have with one another, with their teacher, and with their social role in the classroom group.

Teachers awareness on constructivist approach in learning

Scope: Constructivism is a school of thought emphasizes students' active involvement in learning and making sense of what they are imbibing. In the constructivist approach, which is learner-centered, students actively participate in knowledge construction rather than being passive listeners. Constructivism is a philosophy of cognition, learning, and meaning-making that explains how students learn and involve in the process of knowledge construction. Constructivist Approach plays vital role in maintaining mental health of children through freedom in the realms of learning and allowing space to relate it with the prior experience of the learner devoid any external pressure or dominance in teaching learning process. Learning activities in constructivist setting are characterized by active engagement, inquiry, problem solving, and collaboration with others. The Present study entitled Teachers awareness on Constructivist Approach in Learning: An Analytical Study is an attempt to elucidate constructivist approach as an archetype for teaching and learning. It is also designed to ascertain teachers’ awareness on Constructivist Approach in learning. The study is delimited to the Hailakandi District of Assam, India. Objective: To ascertain teachers awareness on constructivist approach in learning.

Relation between Pupils’ Mathematical Self-Efficacy and Mathematical Problem Solving in the Context of the Teachers’ Preferred Pedagogies

In research focused on self-efficacy it is usually teacher-related phenomena that are studied, while the main aspects related to pupils are rather neglected, although self-efficacy itself is perceived as a belief in one’s own abilities. Evidently, this strongly influences the behavior of individuals in terms of the goal and success in mathematical problem-solving. Considering that alternative teaching methods are based on the principle of belief in one’s own ability (mainly in the case of group work), higher self-efficacy can be expected in the pupils of teachers who use predominantly the well-working pupil-centered pedagogies. A total of 1133 pupils in grade 5 from 36 schools in the Czech Republic were involved in the testing of their ability to solve mathematical problems and their mathematical self-efficacy as well. Participants were divided according to the above criteria as follows: (i) 73 from Montessori primary schools, (ii) 332 pupils educated in mathematics according to the Hejný method, (iii) 510 pupils from an ordinary primary school, and (iv) 218 pupils completing the Dalton teaching plan. In the field of mathematical problem-solving the pupils from the Montessori primary schools clearly outperformed pupils from the Dalton Plan schools (p = 0.027) as well as pupils attending ordinary primary schools (p = 0.009), whereas the difference between the Montessori schools and Hejný classes was not significant (p = 0.764). There is no statistically significant difference in the level of self-efficacy of pupils with respect to the preferred strategies for managing learning activities (p = 0.781). On the other hand, correlation between mathematical problem-solving and self-efficacy was confirmed in all the examined types of schools. However, the correlation coefficient was lower in the case of the pupils from the classes applying the Hejný method in comparison with the pupils attending the Montessori schools (p = 0.073), Dalton Plan schools (p = 0.043), and ordinary primary schools (p = 0.002). Even though the results in mathematical problem-solving are not consistent across the studies, the presented results confirm better performance of pupils in some constructivist settings, particularly in the case of individual constructivism in the Montessori primary schools. The factors influencing lower correlation of self-efficacy and performance in mathematical problem-solving ought to be subject to further investigation.

Graphical representation of online discussion threads from an academic course in a constructivist setting

Constructivist teaching in virtual environments places particular emphasis on the use of discussion forums. This article presents the implementation of a concept of constructivist didactics through an e-learning course on the Blackboard platform of the Department of Education at the University of Salzburg, Austria. Students were motivated to build knowledge through their participation in discussion forums on the Blackboard platform. Teachers, in their role of moderators, expected to be able to gradually reduce their presence in the debates. The challenge was to be able to measure the extent to which this was achieved, considering that thousands of discussion contributions had to be analyzed. This document describes how the discussion lines can be extracted from Blackboard to be used by UCINET software for social network and thus produce a graphic presentation of the discussion sequences.

The Potential of Directed Instruction to Teach Effectively Technology Usage

Currently, teacher educational systems tend to develop their teacher’s knowledge to effectively integrate technology in teaching. Consequently, numerous studies have attempted to describe strategies, models and approaches to develop teachers’ knowledge for teaching with technology. However, most teachers are still following their traditional teaching methods regarding their cultural, individual and situational conditions. While teaching technology in traditional form and separated from pedagogy and content has already shown its failure in many studies, this study suggests an advanced directed instruction teaching model for preparing teachers for teaching with technology. In this study, directed instruction teaching model offers a step-by-step process to individually guide pre-service teachers how to infuse the appropriate technology for teaching the selected content. Subsequently, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is selected to define and measure technology integration. The result of this study demonstrated that participating teachers learned technology integration in the new directed setting as well as a constructivist setting. In particular, this study pointed out how the suggested directed instructional teaching model could be easily situated in the traditional setting and helped non-constructivist teacher educators in collaborative or individual learning. Keywords: Teacher education, instructional technology, directed instruction , TPACK, technology integration

Transformation in a Constructivist Montessori Teacher Education Program Using a Blended Course Design

This applied dissertation was designed to understand the experience of participants as they engaged in a process of transforming attitudes about teaching and learning through participation in a Montessori teacher-training program with a blended design. Participants were surveyed regarding their previous experiences in education as both student and educator, previous experiences in Montessori education, and previous experiences with distance education programs. Research questions guiding the study:Particular aspects such as self-directed learning, facilitating relationships, and learning in social contexts have been known to be considered best practice in constructivist program design, but what is the phenomenological experience of adult participants as they grapple with transforming best practice in teaching and learning with their own pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade students? 2. How do individual participants perceive the blended program influenced a personal transformation of teaching and learning? How does the perceptual transformation compare to others? 3. How do administrators perceive the blended program influenced changes to the overall school culture as a result of faculty participation in the program? 4. How consistent are standards of best practice in constructivist settings with individual perceptual transformations and perceptions of changes to school culture as well as to interactions with students?A comparative design was carried out for the study. Participant and administrator questionnaires were analyzed for patterns and insights regarding descriptions of change experienced during a blended distance education (DE) course using constructivist methodology. A final analysis of the data revealed that participants had various experiences with traditional education as students and as educational professionals. Most participants reported a lack of confidence teaching within the traditional system and subsequent relief when learning the constructivist, Montessori pedagogy and methodology. One surprising finding was that some educators were predisposed to using constructivist principles in teaching before any formal training. Another significant finding was that adults were able to guide school-age students in becoming self-directed and autonomous as learners. A third finding was that there were specific advantages of a blended DE training program design that were not present in other models of DE or face-to-face teacher training.

Gender-related effects of contemporary math instruction for low performers on problem-solving behavior

Effects of guided (GI) and direct instruction (DI) in solving subtraction problems for mathematically low performers in regular schools were compared. In the GI condition, self-development of solution procedures was encouraged whereas in the DI condition one prescribed strategy was to be used. Forty children ( M age = 9.3 years) were trained during 34 lessons. Only girls performed better and showed higher comfort in the GI than in the DI condition. Results are explained in terms of girls' increased motivation in the GI condition, which could be explained by assuming that a more constructivist setting is more conducive to girls' learning.

Assisting Performance in Teaching and Learning

Although Vygotskian principles involving the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) are hailed as tenets undergirding teaching and learning within a constructivist setting, these principals have not been implemented widely within school classrooms. Tharp and Gallimore, building on the notion that learning can be maximized when a teacher has a heightened awareness of a student's ZPD and stimulates new learning based upon this understanding, argue that true teaching is a matter of “assisting performance”. This study examines the efforts of one university instructor to assist the performance of her graduate students as they learned to teach, scaffold and support struggling readers. The findings suggest that the university instructor successfully assisted her students by providing supportive feedback, extending their learning and providing appropriate resources through ongoing Email correspondence and face‐to‐face meetings and tutoring sessions. Success was attributed to the instructor's extensive knowledge of supporting struggling readers, awareness of her students' ZPD's in relation to the context of their learning and her efforts to consistently provide appropriate and specific feedback through iterative dialogue.

“HistoBrick”: Mobile Edutainment into Descriptive Statistics („HistoBrick“: Mobiles Edutainment zur Deskriptiven Statistik)

Summary Based on preceding work on a mobile learning scenario a mobile game like application, called “HistoBrick”, is being designed. It serves as a platform for exercises, assignments and self studies in combination with the higher education courseware on descriptive statistics. This paper focuses on the mobile application and ignores its embedding into a suitable Learning Management System (LMS). “HistoBrick” aims to provide a ubiquitous tool for learning about statistic distributions and their most important characteristic numbers. The didactical background is inspired by recent ideas about how learning works in the so-called constructivist setting, in general, and the findings of game-based learning, in particular.

Exploring the Role of Individual and Socially Constructed Knowledge Mobilization Tasks in Revealing Preservice Elementary Teachers' Understandings of a Triangle Fraction Task

This study compares the effectiveness of two forms of a knowledge mobilization task on preservice elementary teachers' (n= 65) performance in solving a triangle fraction problem. The study then identifies the source of the successful solutions by linking solutions to earlier activities. One group worked with the triangle fraction task individually; a second worked with the triangle fraction task in a social constructivist setting; a control group had no knowledge mobilization pretask. Although there was no significant difference in the frequency of successful solutions among treatment groups, a chi‐square analysis found that the social‐constructivist pretask group applied fewer ideas from the manipulative lessons as solutions to the posttask than did the comparison groups. The social constructivist group was, however, most successful at generating novel solutions to the triangle problem. The potential benefits of individual and socially constructed knowledge mobilization tasks are discussed.

Learning with Technology

Suggests that in a constructivist setting, the computer must facilitate social interaction among students and provide for independent acquisition of shared knowledge. Considers how to best use computers in the modern classroom. Proposes that it is the function of the arrangement of the computer pod to provide effective small group instruction

Constructivist-Based Experiential Learning in Teacher Education

Abstract The benefits of constructivist settings for students' academic, affective and social growth have been widely documented, yet raditional teacher-centered classrooms that restrict students' active involvement in the learning process have been far more prevalent than constructivist classrooms. As teaching behavior is frequently shaped by prior educational experiences, it is unrealistic to expect teachers to initiate constructivist settings in schools if their prior educational experiences, including teacher education programs, do not include constructivist-based experiences. For constructivist practices to emerge in schools, teacher education programs must use constructivist approaches to engage teacher candidates in interdisciplinary exploration, collaborative endeavors, fieldwork opportunities for experiential learning, self observation, evaluation, and reflection. Restructuring of teacher education programs evolves as teacher educators and teacher candidates engage in a learning cycle that brings...