Learning Theory of Constructivism

The theory of constructivism uses the approach that students learn best when the knowledge given to them builds upon existing knowledge and involves a variety of methods of learning. This theory assumes that students learn best through their own experiences and thought processes rather than through direct instruction that may not involve their own discoveries. For example, a small child can hear you when you tell them that touching something hot hurts, but they cannot incorporate this information into their own reactions until they actually experience a burn. Below is an example of how a teacher might use constructivism in the classroom.

Mr. Smith is wants to teach his students how body systems work. Currently, he is on the topic of the skin and how it actively works to maintain homeostasis. He gives the students thermometers to take their temperature. He has a hotplate and a pot of water as well as a refrigerator. He asks a student to take the temperature of the water in the pot as well as the water in a glass. All of the temperatures are written down.

Mr. Smith has one student turn on the hotplate under the pot of water. He asks another student to put the glass of water in the freezer. After about 20 minutes, the students shut the hotplate off and measure the temperature of the water again writing it down. Another student takes the water out of the freezer and measures its temperature, again writing it down. The class talks about how and why the temperature changes.

The teacher turns the heat up in the room. The students begin to sweat. After twenty minutes, the students take their own temperatures and write them down. Mr. Smith then walks the students to the cafeteria, where they have gotten permission to go into the walk in cooler. After a few minutes in the walk in cooler, the students take their temperatures again and write them down.

Mr. Smith asks the students to discuss their bodies' responses to the temperature change. He explains that sweating is the bodies way of cooling the body when the temperature outside of it is hot. He further explains that the pores of the skin contract, causing "goosebumps" when the temperature outside the body is cold.

The students discuss the fact that the water changed temperature because it did not have homeostasis or a protective outer layer to assist in homeostasis. They compare this to how their own body reacts.