Constructivism In Teaching Education

"The most remarkable psychological influence on curriculum thinking in science since 1980 has been the constructivist view of learning." (Fensham 1992, p.801) Tobin (1993) noted that as "constructivism has become increasingly popular ... over the last ten years .... iIt represents a paradigm shift in teaching science. "(p.IX) Yeany (1991) also argued that " an unification of thought, research, curriculum development and teacher training now seems to happen under the theme of constructivism. " (p.1) Their views were echoed by the words of Scott, Asoko, Emberton and Driver (1994) "science learning, seen in a constructivist perspective, involves epistemological and conceptual development." (p .219)

Constructivism sees learning as a social and

Traditional classes are normally dominated by direct and unilateral instruction. Teachers following the traditional approach presume that there is a fixed body of knowledge that the student must come to know. Students are expected to blindly accept the information they are provided without questioning the teacher (Stofflett, 1998). The teacher seeks to transmit meanings and thought to the passive student providing little room for questions initiated by students, independent reflection or interaction between students (VAST, 1998). Even in activities- based subjects, when learners are working activities in a group, group discussion or exploration of the concepts are not promoted. This tends to neglect critical thinking and unifying concepts essential to authentic science literacy and appreciation (Yore 2001). This teacher-centered approach of teaching also assumes that all learners have a comparable basic level of background knowledge in the subject matter and are able to absorb the material at the same pace (Lord,

In contrast, constructivist or student-centered learning poses questions to the students, who then work together in small groups to explore one or more solutions (Yager, 1991). Students play an active role in conducting experiments and reaching their own conclusions. Teachers help students to acquire new knowledge and connect them to prior knowledge, but leave the discovery and discussion to the student groups (VAST, 1998). Questions are asked to the class and students work together in small groups to discuss and agree on their responses, which are then shared with the whole class. Students are able to construct their own understanding of the subject matter based on prior knowledge and can rectify misconceptions they have. Both teaching styles can lead to successful learning, however the constructivist environment has proved to create more enthusiasm and interest in students in the subject matter. Many teachers are reluctant to try the constructivist model because it requires extra planning and a relaxation of the traditional rules of the classroom (Scheurman,