The impact of Constructivism on the social studies classroom

1. Nathan Ehle’s Research Topic: The impact of Constructivism on the social studies classroom Music by: Tom Pease Wobbi-do-Wop! (1993) Boogie! Boogie! Boogie! (1986)

2. A philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences. (Funderstanding.com, 2008) Constructivism

3. Students learn best when they create the knowledge themselves. They cannot make the learning their own if the facts and information are just given to them. Just hearing an idea once does not create learning. Discovery happens through hands-on projects, self-directed quests, personal reflection, and dialogue with peers. Students will learn much more powerfully when they are allowed to create their own knowledge. This process will establish long-term retention. (Brooks & Brooks, 1999, p. 67) “Learning is a journey, not a destination.”

4. In order to affect the change from a teacher-centric, lecture format classroom to student-centric, constructivist format; classroom educators need to be aware of the five most important aspects of constructivism: prior knowledge choice and inquiry collaboration facilitation and scaffolding hands-on learning (Brooks & Brooks, 1999) Collectively these five aspects will lead to true meta-cognition “…true knowing means knowing that you know” (Watson, 2000) The five aspects of constructivist teaching methods

5. “A bit beyond what the child already knows, but not so far the child cannot learn when provided appropriate guidance by teaching adults.” (Harris and Pressley, 1991) “Zone of Proximal Development” (Vygotsky, 1978) Prior knowledge

6. Mini-lesson: Prior Knowledge Directions: Write down as many things in a minute that you think you know about: The American Revolution 1 Minute BRAIN DRAIN Prior knowledge Activity

7. Students are given choices about what they learn and why Each student uses their prior knowledge as a starting point of their inquiry The only limit is their own curiosity With freedom to explore their interests, they take on an active role in the acquisition of any new knowledge gained The learning is theirs alone and can never be taken away and is less likely to be forgotten (Ediger, 1999) Choice and inquiry

8. People: heroes, spies, or traitors Places: cities, colonies, or lands Events: battles, massacres, or tea parties Times: eras, years, days, or moments Important or obscure Interesting to many or only a few Students can choose the topics they want to learn

9. Students can choose the way the facts are presented

10. posters

11. dioramas

12. Display boards

13. Pamphlets and brochures

14. Power point slideshows

15. And plays

16. The purest sense of collaboration involves deep, honest dialogue between respected peers. When competition is removed from the equation, every person in that environment has the opportunity to expand and build upon the group’s knowledge. (Watson, 2001) collaboration

17. Students collaborating

18. Students peer assessing

19. The teacher takes on the role of a facilitator The facilitator creates the framework that the student learning can follow for optimum effect Ideally, the teacher as facilitator provides very precise objectives for the students to strive for since some students may require a more structured format. At the same time other students will prefer more open-ended procedures with less help from a facilitator. (Ediger, 1999) Scaffolding and facilitation

20. Scaffolding by the facilitator

21. Hands on learning

22. Student research

23. More hands on learning

24. More student research

25. The research data

26. More data

27. Still more data

28. Portfolio presentation

29. Students become more and more independent in their learning The teacher removes the control slowly over time This allows the students to take on more of the responsibility themselves The students must ask questions of the facilitator to gain a deeper understanding The teacher will see understanding by them and will know that students have constructed their own learning “The pupil needs to do the learning, with the social studies teacher setting the stage for a stimulating environment.” (Ediger, 1999) True meta-cognition

30. Students assessing portfolios

31. The finished portfolios were put up in the library to showcase the students’ knowledge and learning. This was the final opportunity for the participants to be assessed. The portfolio demonstration was commented on by one particular student, “I loved looking at the cool posters!” (personal communication, June, 2010) A teacher from another grade level also noted, “That display was such a great idea! I wish I had thought of that.”(personal communication, June, 2010) There were 5 (29%) participants that showed that they had achieved some measure of true meta-cognition. They were checking their scores on their rubrics, creating effective and organized projects, and showing strong evidence of learning in the presentation of their portfolios. True meta-cognition

32. These students know that they know