CONSTRUCTIVISM

The first website I visited was "Learning Theories." The address is http://www.wpi.edu/~isg_501/nsushkin-th.html. This article is about Jean Piaget’s theory of learning. "Constructivism is a theory which is based on results of Piaget’s findings." It differs from the normal view that the mind is a blank slate. "One foundational premise is that children actively construct their knowledge." Instead of children absorbing ideas from teachers, they invent their ideas. As this process goes on, the ideas the children have become more complex. As stated in the article, the children then gain insight on what they know about the world and how they think as their understanding increases in depth and detail. Constructivism creates a curriculum that matches the children’s understanding.

The second article I read was called "Constructvist Theory." The address is http://www.gwu.edu/~tip/bruner.html. This article is about Jerome Bruner’s ideas about constructivism. Bruner feels that "learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge." He feels that the teacher should encourage students to discover principles by themselves and should engage in active dialog with the students. Bruner states three principles. The first is that "Instruction must me concerned with the experiences and contexts that make up the student willing and able to learn." The second is "Instruction must be structured so that it can be easily grasped by the student." The final principle is "Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps."

I agree with these ideas by both Piaget and Bruner. I feel that children should be actively involved in discovering their knowledge. It will make the learning process more interesting to them while learning how they think and what they know.