The Role Of Constructivism In Education

Educators emphasis when teaching impoverished children should be on the growth, instead of whether certain target test score is accomplished (Murnane, 2007). Constructivism is a key concept in that it respects student’s differences and allows students to use their own prior knowledge and experiences to make connections and

It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience” (Wallace 4). Wallace’s opinion introduces the concept that in order to be free from our self-imposed, perpetual state of irritation, we must exercise control in our thinking and make a conscious effort to direct out thoughts in positive ways. The contrast between the understanding of freedom and control would initially lead one to believe that they could not exist together, but the message of this essay is that you must have one in order to achieve the other. Suzuki seems to be hinting at a similar phenomenon.

With this, Counts describes his ideal education system to breed inquiring minds who question and investigate, who look at the world in many facets and not so simplistically. In conjugation, it needs to be a system that gives students such essentials that they could go on to any profession. As Counts says, "There is fallacy that the great object of education is to produce the college professor, that is, the individual who adopts an agnostic attitude towards every important social issue...who sees all sides of every question and never commits herself to any,... who consequently holds his judgement in a state of indefinite suspension, and who before the approach of middle age sees his powers of action atrophy and his social sympathies decay" (“George Counts” 216). His hope was to create well-rounded individuals with minds of their own. Counts’ ideas of encouraging dynamic learning and emphasis on school as a morality lesson is very similar to Dewey’s views.

Another key area noted in the article is the notion of children are not being educated to meet the economic demands of society yet we delve on answers from an archaic approach. This approach however, has similar assumptions which persuade us that leader and leadership are the same. In arriving at a distinct difference the right qualities and characteristics of a leader must be ascertained and the problems surrounding leadership will be derived at, are what the writer alluded to. She further reminded us that individuals must see themselves as leaders for leadership to be redefined in today’s

Wundt and Titchener 's structuralism played a role in the drive to make psychology a more experimental science, while James ' functionalism helped concentrate psychology on the process of actually solving real problems By understanding the focus of structuralism and functionalism, you can pick up a more prominent appreciation how psychology at the point it is today. The two theories utilize the investigation of the human consciousness at its base; the ways in which these studies are conveyed forward is starkly different. The fact that they are the predecessors of the varied schools of thought in psychology, guarantees that they secure a special place in the study of this

These schools and academies saw only one solution to any problems: by being logical and rational. An increase in managers with rational behaviour was thought, by Garratt B (2000) to ‘unbalance (in a dangerously negative way) our notions of what constitutes a healthy human organisation.’ This strong rational ideology was weakened when holistic thinkers led the revolution of new learning methods, and non-traditional styles of research. Reg Revans, Charles Handy and John Morris were among the holistic and humane thinkers whom followed their belief, and advocating, ‘the importance of learning as a central organizational process, and of the need for a series of

Many supporters of education vouchers point out that the free market enables maximized efficiency and satisfaction – it allows the consumer, not the producer, to determine which features are necessary, how much we need, and how much we’re willing to pay. We apply these capitalist principles to cosmetics, homes, even healthcare, so why not education? According to Dr. Roy Schwartzman, a 17-time nominee for national and university teaching awards, “Adopting this [capitalist] framework frays the moral fabric of education and shortchanges students who are configured as consumers to please rather than characters to build.” While competition can be beneficial in certain markets, such as cars or clothing, education simply should not be reduced to another commodity influenced only by profit. Privatized education, in which control is transferred from the government to corporations, ignores that education is not just a product to be bought and sold – it is having an educated population that thinks critically.

The functionalist perspective is that there are important lessons that are being taught in schools that are above and beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. These lessons are the ones that help society function as a smooth entity and enable society to prosper. The intended lessons, or manifest functions, are cultural transmission of values, social integration, social placement, and replacing some necessary family functions due to the changing times (Henslin 2013). The conflict theorist sees the darker side of the education system when it comes to these exact ideals that the functionalists find positive. The conflict theorist sees that the social system is continuing the inequality via the cultural transmission of values and social integration.

The only way the behaviourist approach can successfully work is if the individual, or group of individuals, know they will be rewarded or punished. It’s how they place value on what the outcome of their actions will be and how much effort is put forth. While rewarding students who correctly answer the questions and achieve certain scores on tests can be beneficial in the short term, there are several other aspects that should be used to ensure that the students are capturing the information and are able to use it in the long term. When teaching students multiplication, the teacher must make the information meaningful to the students by tying it to how it would be utilised outside of the school. This will assist them in implementing multiplication

McLeod (2015) wrote “[the] obvious advantage of [operant conditioning] is its ability to clearly define behavior and to measure changes in behavior [and thus it] looks for simple explanations of human behavior from a very scientific standpoint”. Skinner believed that a simple way to shape behavior is to provide feedback on learner performance by means of approval, compliments, encouragement, et al. According to Thomas (2005), when a student begins learning a new task, reinforcement (praise) should occur frequent intervals, and as the performance improves reinforcement occurs less frequently, until eventually only exceptional outcomes will receive any reinforcement. An undesired behavior can be quenched by being simply ignored by the teacher instead of being reinforced by having attention drawn to it, which is not an easy task. Furthermore, knowledge of success is extremely important as it serves to motivate a student’s future learning.

This is because the child can learn more when learning through doing and they can develop their language as they are learning through rhymes and finger play. Also, it is important that practitioners can encourage children imagination to flow freely in play. This could be set up different areas in the classroom like role play or construction. These areas will help the child to use their imagination and socialise with other children. It is important that practitioners provide a wide range of materials and activities which will meet the child’s individual’s