Blog post

An effective teacher should have a deep understanding of the different learning theories present in the field of education and practice one based on their personal pedagogy. Learning theories can be categorised into three different categories; behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism (Yilmaz, 2008). Through my recent experiences as a practicing pre-service teacher, I have recognised that I often employ the constructivist theory in my pedagogical approach to teaching. This post will detail my beliefs on particularly the social constructivist theory and apply this knowledge to its applicability in a classroom.

Yilmaz (2008) refers to constructivism as the belief that knowledge is constructed by students (as opposed to discovered) based on their previous experiences. This allows them to make new meanings based on an interplay between existing knowledge and beliefs and new knowledge and experiences (Yilmaz, 2008). The notion of social constructivism is a variation of constructivism that details that meaningful learning occurs when people use cultural tools (such as language, mathematics and problem solving) in authentic, real-life contexts to create common or shared understandings and new meanings of a concept (Snowman et al., 2009). This is encouraged by open-ended discussions with peers and teachers and the application of knowledge to specific situations to enable students to create their own personal understanding of the world with some scaffolding from teachers (Snowman et al., 2009).

I believe that social constructivism is employed in classrooms where there is less of a teacher centred approach and more emphasis on student directed learning. I have listed below my own explanations of the four main themes that teachers identified as the guidelines of social constructivism in Brewer & Daane’s (2002) text:

1.    Learning is an active and constructive process

• This details that the process of learning within a constructivist framework involves teachers enabling students to participate actively in their own learning to construct meaning based on their own experiences

2.    New knowledge is built on prior knowledge

• Teachers should always encourage students to use previously learnt knowledge to make sense of new concepts and information. This allows them to make links and apply this information when faced with real life contexts.

3.    Autonomy

• This allows students to facilitate their own learning and make decisions about their own interpretations of information. I believe this is important, particularly in classroom discussions, to gauge an understanding of the opinions of different students and to also identify any misconceptions of knowledge students may have.

4.    Social interaction

• As detailed in collaborative learning tools such as wikis, social interaction is extremely important in fostering a social constructivist approach to teaching and learning. It allows students to share their knowledge with others which results in their own understandings being clarified and extended and also gives students an insight into interactions that occur in a workplace (or out of school) environment.

As stated, I have firm beliefs in the social constructivism theory. Although it can often require scaffolding from the teacher to ensure that students are following the right direction, it can be an effective pedagogical approach to use to teach students to discover and form their own learning pathways. By working collaboratively with their peers, students are given worthwhile opportunities to create meaningful learning by making links between knowledge and experiences and other people’s opinions and points of view. 

References:

Brewer, J., & Daane, C. (2002). Translating constructivist theory into practice in primary-grade mathematics. Education, 416-421.

Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., Bartlett, B., & Biehhler, R. (2009). Psychology applied to teaching. Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons .

Yilmaz, K. (2008). Constructivism: its theoretical underpinnings variations and implications for classroom instruction. Educational horizons, 161-172.