The implementation of a true constructivist model of education in a classroom can be daunting. The first and foremost thing that the classroom teacher has to understand is that he/she will have to loosen the reign on the class. The second thing he has to understand is that it is going to take time for kids to understand what they are supposed to do and how to meet the expectations in the classroom. Remember, most children have never encountered a classroom where they are encouraged to use their own back ground knowledge to construct new knowledge.
Constructivism often takes a bad rap as a function of project-based learning. While this kind of differentiation is more welcome in the constructivist environment than in most others, constructivism does not focus its energy on project-based learning over any other kind of learning. Teachers be aware that constructivism is or can be as differentiated as any other model of education. Having said all of that, if a student’s background knowledge comes from using his hands to learn, then the teacher probably needs to consider that in their unit design.
Now back to patience. We all know the saying that tells us it’s a virtue. This adage will never be proven truer than in a constructivist classroom. The teacher has to be willing to allow the student the space they need in order to find their way to the answer. Sometimes, this takes more time than a teacher wants to allow. Remember that students are struggling to assimilate a lot of information and need proper processing time. As a teacher and practitioner of constructivism, I can tell you that it will take half again as long to get anywhere with this approach. I can also tell you that the student will be twice as engaged and learn twice as much.
So down to brass tacks…what are some things that can be easily changed in a classroom to give it more of a constructivist feel. Nothing says a teacher has to go all the way with the model. However, my suggestion is to determine what your expectations are going to be and stick to it. Most likely your instincts have told you to choose the right set of norms. The first thing I do is explain to students what the construcivist model is and why I choose to use it. I believe this promotes buy-in on the part of the student. This commodity will be valuable in the future when students begin to struggle a bit and want to quit. The next thing I do is explain my only rule which is respect. I then allow them to set some of their own rules that fit with my expectations. Again, it is imperative that we create a classroom climate that fosters free association and critical thinking from the beginning. At some point, the teacher will need to relinquish the responsibility of education and turn it onto the shoulders of the student. Once all of these things are completed, the classroom is well on its way to constructivist.
Perhaps one of the most difficult things for teachers to get hold of is the grading practices. By nature, teachers are nerds and generally speaking point counters. This model relies as much on effort and method as it does on anything else. Relax and chill a bit on the points thing. Students are struggling to understand concepts as applied to content standards. This may take two or three times to get and a student’s grade shouldn’t suffer as they learn to think for themselves. Allow students to grade themselves on every rubric based assignment. For instance, if you are doing a poster in class, make sure that each student has a copy of the rubric. When they have completed the poster, ask them to subjectively and comprehensively grade themselves using the rubric, including comments. Once the student is finished grading themselves, have them defend their grade to you (the teacher). Explain to students upfront how this process works so they won’t be surprised by this method. Again, this is probably something very new to them. However, learning what good work looks like is very important in constructing ones own education.
In conclusion, I want to thank you for reading. I hope you give constructivism a chance in your classroom. If you have any questions, message me or call me. I have resources I am willing to share as well. Once you have a running constructivist classroom, the old way just seems to make no sense anymore.
