Unit 3- Constructivism and Primary Science

• Constructivism


  Learning takes place through active participation and mental engagement
• Constructivist pedagogy


  • Careful planning of teacher and student activity
  • Greater flexibility for discussions and spontaneity
  • Open to diverse ideas - multiple ways of solving problems
  • Student centered approach
• Benefits of constructivist approach to science

  • Helps develop science knowledge as well as process skills
  • Helps increase student motivation and attitudes towards science
• Prior knowledge and misconceptions

  • Constructivist theory recognizes that students come with some prior knowledge
  • Student knowledge of science concepts may not be correct - misconceptions
  • Student knowledge and experiences is affected by cultural beliefs and access to mass media
  • Science concepts and knowledge may clash with prior knowledge and experiences
  • Emphasis should be on assessing and clarifying misconceptions through experiments & observations
• Concept map


  • Provides a visual representation of how a person understands an idea
  • Describes the relationship between ideas
  • A good way to check learning and understanding through constructivism
  • Helps identify misconceptions on concepts
  • Can be used as a class activity
  • Good for summarizing and explaining concepts
• Predict, Observe, Explain (POE) strategy

  1. Predict - statement on what is likely to happen

  2. Observe - using senses to note what is happening

  3. Explain - using prior knowledge and experiences/observation to understand/explain what is happening
• Benefits of POE strategy

  • Relies on constructivist theory to teach concepts and clarify misconceptions
• Constructivist pedagogy is very well suited for teaching science
• Constructivist pedagogy helps students to develop critical thinking skills
• Need to check student prior knowledge and clarify misconceptions
• Emphasis on understanding, explaining and internalization of concepts
• Constructivist methodology can be applied to other subject areas
• Planning is important - use student centered methods
• What is the role of a teacher in constructivism?

  The role of the teacher in constructivism is to act as a facilitator or guide.