Reeba Thompson

Mark Hawkes
Educational Psychology
Learning Theory Paper
1 April 2013
Constructivism
Society is constantly changing, and with that comes changes in how schools are run, and
how teachers teach. Every student learns differently. It is the teachers job to figure out what
works and what doesnt for her students. A theory that looks at a more hands-on approach to
teaching is constructivism. This paper will go deeper in defining constructivism, discuss
mechanisms used in learning, give roles of the teacher, and provide concrete examples of
constructivism in the classroom. First and foremost, what is constructivism?
Constructivism is not a new notion; ideas that contribute to the theory have been around
since the turn of the century. Though they dont call their ideas constructivist, psychologists
Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky significantly informed what we today term Constructivist
Learning Theory. Constructivism is a theory centered on observation and scientific study about
how people learn. The theory says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge
of the world through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences ("Constructivism as
a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning.") When people come across something new, they have to
relate it with the concepts and knowledge they have already experienced. This new information
may modify what was believed, or may cause disposal of the new information as unrelated. At
any rate, people are dynamic originators of their own knowledge. To practice this, one must ask
questions, search, and evaluate what is already known.

Jean Piaget introduced three mechanisms that define how one learns through
constructivism. The first is known as assimilation, which is fitting a new experience into an
existing mental structure or schema (Andersen). An example would be a young child who has
never seen a cow and calling the cow a dog instead of cow. The child fits the strange animal
(cow) into an existing schema (dog). The second mechanism for learning is accommodation
which is revising an existing schema because of a new experience (Andersen). For instance, the
parent corrects the young child by telling him that it is a cow. When the next cow wanders by, the
child correctly identifies the animal as a cow. The dog schema has been modified and the new
cow schema has been created. The last mechanism introduced by Piaget is Equilibrium which is
using assimilation and accommodation to achieve cognitive stability (Andersen). An example, in
this case, would be when the child sees a new animal. He uses assimilation and accommodation
to figure out that it is neither a dog nor a cow. The child is in a state of disequilibrium until he
figures out what the animal is called. Later that day, the child is looking through a book with a
parent when he spots a picture of the new animal. The parent then tells the child that the animal
is a horse. Having found out the name of the new animal gives the child a sense of equilibrium
once again.
Jean Piaget established that children go through four general stages of cognitive
development. They are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations
(Bruna).The first stage, sensorimotor, occurs in children from birth to the age of two. Infants in
this stage learn by what they are able to see. In addition, they also learn object permanence; in
other words, things remain in existence even though they are not directly seen. The second stage
of cognitive development is preoperational. Children in this stage are the ages of two to seven
years-old. They begin to communicate and think beyond what is right in front of them.

Furthermore, children in this stage tend to think egotistically as they are unable to see other
peoples points of view. Concrete operations is the third stage of cognitive development.
Children in this stage are between the ages of seven and twelve. This stage is where children
really begin to think more logically about concrete events. The fourth and final stage of cognitive
development is known as formal operations. Children reach this stage around the age of twelve
and it continues to develop indefinitely. In this stage, abstract thinking is reached and the now
adolescents are able to use reasoning skills to help them solve problems in their lives (Piagets
Stages). Piaget was not the only contributor to constructivism.
Lev Vygotsky also added a couple ideas to the constructivism theory-- the zone of
proximal development and scaffolding. The zone of proximal development is defined as the
space in between what a child already knows and what a child could potentially know through
peer or adult assistance or by the use of problem solving skills (Zone of Proximal
Development). Scaffolding is termed as a problem solving method that can be contrasted to
baby steps that assist a student in achieving a goal or accomplishing a task. Scaffolding is also
related to the zone of development as it is a problem solving solution to help a student break out
of the zone of development. Once a student has achieved his task, scaffolding is removed as the
child can now accomplish that task without assistance. (examples of zone of proximal
development and scaffolding?)
Teachers have an important role in the lives of their students. It is imperative for teachers
using constructivism in their classrooms to recognize just what that role entitles. First off, a
teachers role is to trigger and oversee classroom discussions. A teacher in a constructivism
classroom acts as a guide by asking questions that will steer them toward obtaining their own
assumptions on any given subject. Teachers in constructivism classroom also act as models for

their students. By modeling how to complete an activity or saying the reasoning that learners
should use while engaging in the activity, the students are more likely to learn what is meant to
be learned from the activity. Constructivist teachers act as a coach as well. As a coach does her
players, a teacher must encourage her students, examine their performance, offer comments and
guidance on their performance to help them improve, and prompt thought on what the students
learned.
Now that the roles of the teacher have been established, one might be curious as to what
activities could be done in a constructivism classroom. An example for a science, geography,
history, and/or math lesson would be to pair up the students in a fun and creative way such as the
dates of their birthday or in alphabetical order by first name. In this activity, students will be
given a map of ocean currents, a map with important landmarks and latitude and longitude, and a
blank map. They will then have to plot their course from point A to point B on their blank map
drawing in important landmarks in relevance to their course, latitude and longitude, draw in
surface currents, indicate cardinal directions, as well as the amount of time it will take to get
from point A to point B and the total distance. This lesson would be extremely interactive and
would incorporate a variety of subjects; for science, the study of surface currents, for geography,
the locations, landmarks and the oceans, for history, relate it to the journey Christopher
Columbus took, and for math calculating the total distance and time for the journey.
Another activity that could be applied in a constructivism classroom is in the subject of
language arts and reading. This lesson focusses on learning compound words. Each student will
need a scissors, a blank sheet of notebook paper, and a pencil. The teacher will hand out a sheet
that has several small words that are able to make up compound words. The students will cut out
the words and then begin creating words with their strips. Once they create the words, they will

then write down the new word on their notebook paper. To wrap up the lesson, the students and
the teacher will participate in a discussion and share words they have made. This lesson is
simple, but still interactive enough to keep the students engaged.
In conclusion, constructivism is a hands-on learning theory developed at the turn of the
century and supported by Piaget, and Vygotsky. It can be defined as a method of learning by
using what one already knows and applying it to a new experience. Piaget introduced three
mechanisms that outline how learning works in means of constructivism. They are assimilation,
accommodation, equilibrium, and disequilibrium. He also introduced the four stages of cognitive
development as sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations. There
are several roles that a teacher must know if using constructivism her classroom as well as a
couple of lessons a teacher could incorporate in her teaching. Overall, constructivism is an
exciting approach that should be incorporated more in the classroom. In order to learn students
will have no choice but to participate, and they will surprise themselves with how much they
learn and obtain this way. It sure beats sitting through lecture after boring lecture.

Works Cited
"Activities for Constructivist Learning." Constructivist: Activities. Innovative Learning, 2011.
Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Andersen, Jennifer, Mark Cardinale, and Natalina Marti. "Constructivism In the Classroom."
Constructivism in the Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.
Bruna, Devon. Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development. 2013. Micro Lesson Powerpoint.
Dakota State University, Madison.
"Constructivist Teaching Methods." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Nov. 2013. Web. 11
Apr. 2013.
"Piaget's Stages." Cognitive Development Summary Chart. About.com, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013
"Zone of Proximal Development." Developmental Psychology. Simply Psychology, n.d. Web. 11
Apr. 2013.