What is Constructivism?Constructivism is part of the Cognitive-

Developmental Theory of Learning. Constructivism focuses on the nature of

knowledge and learning. Each individual is actively involved in the process of their learning.

Students participate in the construction of their own learning.

Learners need to understand how they process and learn information.

New knowledge must be connected to background knowledge.

Background on Cognitive-developmental theoryRemember Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and

John Dewey?

Jean PiagetCognitive Stages of Development

1. Sensorimotor stage 2. Preoperational stage

3. Concrete operations stage4. Formal operations stage

Lev VygotskyHis theory involved both cognitive and

sociocultural development.He believed that a child’s cognitive development

was determined by their social interactions.Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children

did not need to be in a certain stage to learn. He believed that children could advance to higher levels of thinking by effective instruction.

John Deweylearn by doing learning should be organized around the

individual not the contentinquiry-based approached to learningproblem-solving skills and informal reasoningthe learner's interest in an issue must be found

and learning should be centered around that interest

Back to ConstructivismKey Points:The learner is involved in generating meaning.Students connect new learning with prior

knowledge.Learning is at its best when the learner is aware

of how they learn – metacognition.As students learn, they question, interpret, and

interact with their background knowledge.“(1) learning is an active process of constructing

rather than acquiring knowledge, and (2) instruction is a process of supporting that construction rather than communicating knowledge” (Duffy & Cunningham (p.2).

Constructivism Allows Teachers to:

SO, WHY DO PRINCIPALS NEED TO UNDERSTAND CONTRUCTIVISM?VISION STATEMENTMISSION STATEMENTSTAFF DEVELOPMENTRESPONSE TO INTERVENTIONRELATIONSHIPSEFFECTIVE TEACHERSSTUDENT ACHIEVEMENTBRAIN RESEARCH

Finally,Lev Vygotsky believed that students could

reach higher levels of cognitive development if they received highly effective instruction.

So, the question becomes, if “students interacting with effective teachers may perform or think “better” than before, what about students interacting with less effective teachers?” (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009, p. 125).

Bottom Line…It is the principal’s responsibility to ensure

the best, most effective teacher is in each classroom.

References

Ornstein, A., Hunkins, F., (2009). Curriculum: foundations, principles, and issues. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Duffy, T., Cunningham, D., Constructivism: implications for the design and delivery

of instruction. Retrieved from: http://iris.nyit.edu/~kkhoo/Spring2008/Topics/Cons/ConstructivismImplications.pdf. March 3, 2011