MAHUSAY, ROXANNE JANE S.

BEEd ECE II Constructivism: Implications for Teaching and Learning Constructivism is a radical departure in thought about the nature of knowing, hence of learning and thus of teaching. To facilitate understanding of the constructivist view and its implications, it is compared to a familiar mental model of learning held by many: the objectivist epistemology. The constructivist perspective describes learning as a change in meaning constructed from experience. Constructivists believe that knowledge and truth are constructed by people and therefore do not exist outside the human mind. This is radically different from what objectivism conceives learning to be. To the objectivists, knowledge and truth exist outside the mind of the individual and are therefore objective. Learners are told about the world and are expected to replicate its content and structure in their thinking. (Jonassen, 1991). The role of education in the objectivist view is therefore to help students learn about the real world. It is asserted that there is a particular body of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to a learner. Learning is thus viewed as the acquisition and accumulation of a finite set of skills and facts. Contrary to these notions about learning and knowing is the constructivists view of learning being personal and not purely objective. Von Glaserfeld (1984) has written: ...learners construct understanding. They do not simply mirror and reflect what they are told or what they read. Learners look for meaning and will try to find regularity and order in the events of the world even in the absence of full or complete information. Constructivism emphasizes the construction of knowledge while objectivism concerns mainly with the object of knowing. It is the fundamental difference about knowledge and learning that departs the two in terms of both philosophy and implications for the design of instruction. Central to the tenet of constructivism is that learning is an active process. Information may be imposed, but understanding cannot be, for it must come from within. Constructivism requires a teacher to act as a facilitator whose main function is to help students become active participants in their learning and make meaningful connections between prior knowledge, new knowledge, and the processes involved in learning. Brooks and Brooks (1993) summarize a large segment of the literature on descriptions of constructivist teachers. They conceive of a constructivist teacher as someone who will: encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative; use a wide variety of materials, including raw data, primary sources, and interactive materials and encourage students to use them; inquire about students understandings of concepts before sharing his/her own understanding of those concepts; encourage students to engage in dialogue with the teacher and with one another; encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions and encourage students to ask questions to each other and seek elaboration of students initial responses; engage students in experiences that show contradictions to initial understandings and then encourage discussion; provide time for students to construct relationships and create metaphors; assess students understanding through application and performance of open-structured tasks. Hence, from a constructivist perspective, the primary responsibility of the teacher is to create and maintain a collaborative problemsolving environment, where students are allowed to construct their own knowledge, and the teacher acts as a facilitator and guide.

The constructivist propositions outlined above suggest a set of instructional principles that can guide the practice of teaching and the design of learning environments. It is important that instruction must do more than merely accommodate the constructivist perspectives, it should also support the creation of powerful learning environments that optimize the value of the underlying epistemological principles. Know your students: Implications for instruction Kindergarten, first, and second grade students need many opportunities to participate in hands-on investigations based on discovery strategies. The hands-on activities should be followed by de-briefing discussions and sharing of results through verbalization, discussion, or drawing. Activities using the five senses should be an integral part of science investigations for kindergartners. Observing patterns is also important. Some kindergarteners may have difficulty understanding that stories sometimes give plants and animals attributes they do not really have. Students of this age should be given direct experiences with living things to help them build their understandings of biological concepts. First grade students need to make observations, investigate outcomes, and evaluate results. They should be encouraged to analyze, synthesize, and apply understandings in new situations. Teaching through games and hands-on activities can help students learn skills that workbooks do

not. First graders may learn to use simple tools, but may not be able to use them with accuracy. Projects can be successfully employed in the second grade classroom. You may find that many second grade students prefer to work alone or with a partner. Second grade students need time to repeat tasks, think, finish investigations, and come to closure. Opportunities to collect and categorize objects as the basis for logical thinking should be used frequently. There should be many activities in which students take things apart to discover how they work.

Implications for teaching and learning

While there is quite a bit of overlap between cateogories, one organizing principle for this section could be Chickering and Gamson's 7 principles. There's a post on the discussion tab for this page, asking if other organizing principles might be more appropriate. Chickering and Gamson state that good practice in undergraduate education: 1. encourages contact between students and faculty, 2. develops reciprocity and cooperation among students, 3. encourages active learning, 4. gives prompt feedback, 5. emphasizes time on task, 6. communicates high expectations, and 7. respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

created for students to post questions which can be answered by other students as well as by instructors (as opposed to waiting until the next class meeting to sort things out, or sending emails to a single person, usually the instructor). This expands the time for interaction outside of the classroom where the instructor is often under a time crunch. It can be a place for the instructor to learn more about his/her students and make better connections with them and learn from them. As instructors learn more about their students interests, he/she can alter course content to better feed those interests and motivate students. Wikis encourage a process approach to writing and written feedback. Since student work is available for instructor and peer feedback throughout the writing process, instructors have increased opportunities to provide timely feedback. This facilitates an increased emphasis on formative feedback (a reference here on the value of formative feedback might be helpful). ....

Reciprocity and cooperation among students / Active learning

It permits students to create their own pages, with links to anything that will help introduce them to others in the course (especially useful in a large course where many students do not know one another). It provides a location for small groups within the class to coordinate their efforts (especially useful for students who have many other work and/or family obligations that prevent them from setting up meetings outside of class). It provides a vehicle that can permit students enrolled in different courses to easily communicate with each other (whereas D2L does not). Encourages risk taking, problem solving and inquiry-based learning as students work together through peer correction but with the instructor in the background as a mentor or guide. The ease of linking to outside resources to support efforts allows for students to negotiate differing aspects of a particular

Contact between students and faculty / Prompt feedback

It permits the instructor to see who is working on what at all times, and a space can be

problem using knowledge from outside resources as well as course material. Allows students to create their own learning materials ...

Diverse talents and ways of learning

Wiki projects can be designed so they permit students to emphasize different parts: some students can focus on verbal elements (writing text), while others focus on visual elements (logos, uploading videotapes) or structural elements (rethinking the organizing principles used). Wiki projects encourage those students who figure out how to do things to help others who are not so quick at this type of learning. Instructors can reward this by offering extra credit to the helpers. As wiki's become easier and easier to use, they also allow for multiple types of media which can be easily input into pages. In doing so, wikis can be used to reach multiple learning styles as well. With students collaborating on a project, all having different learning styles, the final outcome of the project may be more rich and diverse in its audience appeal than the learning environment of an ordinary classroom. The trick is to use the tool to enhance learning and reach a diverse audience, not just because it is there. In collaborating on a shared set of information, students benefit from the perspectives of their peers, and have increased access to the ideas, opinions, and perspectives of their classmates.
The beginning and development of childcare practice outside the family home have seen issues of qualitative provision for toddlers in early years settings take a greater significance. What are the current teaching provisions for toddlers like and what do they imply?

Time on task
It permits storage of and access to a large database for all students in a course, thus reducing the data collection required by any one student in order to have a good range of material available for comparison and analysis (as opposed to the usual problem of students who are just learning a subject not having enough time in a single semester to gather sufficient data to do a sophisticated analysis). Wikis can encourage a recursive (is there a better explanatory link?) approach to writing and collaboration. Students are simply doing more in and with the content of a particular discipline outside of class than previously. In the past students were tied to input mediums and synthesis was done on rare occasions when students met in a discussion group. Wikis allow anytime anywhere learning and interaction between learners (including the instructor) rather than students just gathering input outside of class and discussion sections. ...

the 1970s, 1980s. As more women with young children opted to work, childcare arrangements and practice became necessary. The first early years settings aimed to simply provide care for toddlers and other young children. Education provision was not at the heart of childcare and children's developmental growth was not effectively and systematically monitored and documented. The history of childcare and the evolution of trends in teaching toddlers have been of paramount importance in shaping today's early years provision. Early years' standards of care and education are increasingly important and this has had major implications in teaching toddlers. Today's early years settings have a requirement to meet minimum standards of care and education. This has partially been the result of early childhood research demonstrating that early qualitative childcare and education provision has an impact on child outcome.

Issues with Teaching Toddlers

Toddlers are a difficult age group to teach. Although they have a natural amazing ability to learn, toddlers represent numerous challenges for teachers. Due to their developmental immaturity, they tend to be very spontaneous and often act without giving much thoughts to what they do and how. They have a low attention span and learn best through play. They are bound to throw tantrums when they don't get their own way and are not yet mature enough to reason with. Despite that, toddlers' education is important and they are thirsty for new experiences. Giving them learning opportunities tailored to

High expectations
Wikis can be used to extend the audience (and/or the evaluator) for a particular writing task beyond the instructor or the class. It makes student writing public, therefore some (not all) pay more attention to local issues like grammar as well as global issues like tone and voice. Widening the audience for assignments beyond the teacher helps make class assignments more authentic, and more aligned with "real world" writing and projects. It can stimulate interaction from instructors, students, the general public from other universities, and beyond, even from other countries. ....

Historical Background of Teaching Toddlers and Childcare

Childcare is a fairly new phenomenon in the history of the world as its practice expanded in

their developmental stage and potential interests is crucial. Many toddlers are more advanced than ever and it is essential to take that into account in settings or programs designed to teach toddlers. Better cognitive abilities in toddlers is often associated to a better home environment where education is valued and cognitive skills are promoted. However all children are different in terms of characters and abilities and some with poorer homelife experiences also need to be supported adequately. Early years settings for toddlers must be able to identify individual toddler's particular needs and provide for them accordingly.

has caused play to be at the centre of the curriculum for toddlers. Teachers have to provide a variety of developmentally adequate play experience both indoors and outdoors. Careful design of these activities is essential in ensuring that there is something to contribute to each area of the child's development. Consequent implications in teaching toddlers are that teachers of toddlers now have a similar role as older children' teachers in terms of planning and assessing. Their duty to provide education as opposed to simple childcare raise their status and imply that they should have adequate training to do so.

range of hands-on activities is used to reach set learning goals in every lesson.

Trends and Implication in Teaching Toddlers: Standards

Governments around the world have taken an increasingly keen interest in toddlers' education and early learning guidelines as well as development milestones have been drafted for guidance. Early years' practitioners are now more accountable for toddlers' learning and development. This implies that they have to document all the work they undertake with toddlers, who they must assess on a regular basis. Like older children, toddlers' assessment lead to goals settings and parents are informed of their child's progress. There has been much improvement overall in toddlers' care and education provision with a greater understanding of the importance of play and an emphasis put on child welfare and child protection in several countries. Although early years provisions vary across settings and places, knowledge gained in early childhood

Curriculum
A toddler curriculum must be age-appropriate and meet minimum standards of learning criteria. These refer to a variety of areas of knowledge and skills development that make the curriculum. Content and ways to deliver the latter must be thorough and cater for all skills' development (cognitive, social, motor etc). Although teaching toddlers should not be formal like it is for older children, teaching structure is necessary to ensure important subject matter is covered and all skills development are catered for. A toddler's curriculum is bound to include numeracy and literacy skills, which at that stage is characterized by early recognition of numbers and letters, basic scientific understanding and general content related to toddlers' knowledge and understanding of the world. It is usually broken in themes to be covered over a certain period of time. A wide