Teaching+as+Research

=**__IN WHAT WAYS DOES DUCKWORTH CONTRIBUTE TO MY UNDERSTANDING OF CONSTRUCTIVISM?__** =

__**What is constructivism?**__

Constructivism is a theory of knowledge which argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning through experiences.
My understanding of constructivism is supported by Duckworth. In her article, she speaks at length about engaging students through experience, and engaging students with phenomena. By doing this, she puts students in touch with themselves as learners, how they learn, and how other students around them learn. The example she speaks about in her article is studying the habits of the moon. She had her students record observations about the moon over a certain period of time. By taking this constructivist approach, her students became engaged through experience and found deeper understanding of the subject material. On top of this, they also came up with their own subsequent wonderings which prolonged the learning process. When teaching her students, she does not simply give her account or tell her students the answers because as she says, they would stop inquiring. //"It would be all too easy, if I were to give my account, for people to sit back, stop thinking, and assume that they understand....." p. 160.//

I think Duckworth's approach is quite similar to the way I teach. I understand that students and people in general learn through experiences and inquiry. I can think of many times when I experience something in person that I have only previously read about in a book and the concept or item becomes that much clearer. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I guess an experience must be worth a million! I have tried to implement this in the way I teach. I often find myself asking for my student's opinions when they ask me a question. I do this because, as Duckworth says, their clarity and understanding become clearer when they try to verbalize their thoughts. Other students also learn a great deal from what classmates think, and so by hearing many different opinions students are able to form or reform their own opinions. If I simple give my views using the "stand and deliver" technique then the students are not getting a very well-rounded base from which to shape their opinions. Another way I try to do this is by relating as much of the course content as I can to real life experiences that the students have. In this way, although they are not experiencing it first hand at that moment, they can draw on experiences they have had in the past to better understand the subject material.

I think the "constructivist" approach can be used in a number of ways in my classroom. I know that right now I am using tactics that would be considered constructivist, such as jigsaws and team teaching, and questioning tactics that I use when checking for understanding and answering students questions. I think I teach like this naturally so I don't really have to make a huge effort when doing this. I guess the bottom line is that I should focus on creating as many experiences as possible for my students in order to facilitate their inquiry.

__**Real World Learning!**__ media type="youtube" key="IsE4-KZuAxE" height="344" width="425"

**__FOOD FOR THOUGHT__

I invite you to consider the following questions and post a response in the discussion board above:

1.) What are your thoughts on the video about "real world vs virtual world" learning?

2.) Do you use a constructivist approach in your classroom? If so, give some examples of how you do this?

3.) How does technology facilitate a constructivist approach to teaching? Or does it? **