Talking about construcvism

Traditional Teaching vs. Constuctivism

By Jessica Orogbu September 20, 2007 So this is my junior year of college and I have got to my major classes. I am taking two classes where the teachers have two very different ways of teaching. My math 350 (elementary math) teacher thinks that all teachers should be complete constructivists while my reading 350 (elementary reading) teachers thinks that teachers should be well balanced (a mixture of both constructivism and traditionalism) So let's talk about constructivism first. Constructivists (also known as nativists) believe that children should learn at their own pace by using hands on activities. Studies show that teaching children how to think is more effective than teaching algorithms. Teachers who are constructivists do not teach but encourage children to explore and think for themselves. Their role as teachers is to construct meaning by translating with the text. They also teach skills that are related to text to give the text meaning. Traditional teachers(also known as behaviorists) on the other hand believes that a child comes to them as an empty vessel and it is their job to fill them with knowledge. Traditional teachers usually lecture and then give worksheets. They follow the text books completely. They teach children the small parts before teaching the lesson as a whole by using carefully sequenced instruction. They feel that children must be ready to read and uses readiness activities. Ok what I think about the entire thing is that a teacher should be a little bit of both which creates the well balanced teachers. Constructivism is fine and dandy because I think that teaching a child how to think on their own is one of the best things you can do for a child. An example would be me in this Math 350 class. We have to take a test based on 5th grade math and I completely failed because in the past years I have had no use for those operations so I forgot the algorithms that I had been taught. If I had been taught how to think through those operations and applied them to real life then I would have remembered them. Constructivism can be good but if kids are doing all of this on their own then what is the role of a teacher? Teachers are designed to "teach". I believe that full blown constructivism is meant for Montessori schools not for public schools who unfortunately their main goals are to get students to pass the TAKS test. Traditional teachers fail to reach all kinds of learners so I feel that it is important to be that well balanced teacher who can teach students with all types of learning styles.

Published September 20, 2007 by Jessica Orogbu | Permalink | Tags: Education

Comments (3)
Nora Thomason Jessica, I'm so glad to hear from you. I was missing hearing about your life and your observations. Keep writing here because you have so much to share and everything you write is so interesting. And, good luck with your classes this semester! Nora T. Posted by Nora Thomason | September 22, 2007 9:37 AM :

Posted on September 22, 2007 09:37 Janet :

I love to hear how you're coming to your own conclusions about things. Isn't it so cool when we get the information we need to make our own decisions and don't have to rely on anyone else to tell us what to think?? Keep learning and keep sharing! I like reading your processing! :) Posted by Janet | September 23, 2007 5:59 PM

Posted on September 23, 2007 17:59 Jean :

Greetings: You have one of the most clear descriptions of constructionism vs traditionalism I have ever read. You are correct that probably one has to deal with the reality of traditionalism and do some of both. To me, strict traditionalism is 'living death' to the average child...though there are always a few kids who are really good at parroting back stuff, usually girls, who love it. Unfortunately they often grow up to be teachers, because they feel rewarded and think that's all there is to it. If you are going to be a great teacher you must always be thinking, "What sort of activity is going to make sense to those who have trouble learning." Chances are it will be hands on and the

rest will dig it too. One of the most amazing activities, literally "dug," by kids, that I ever saw was a history teacher who had her fifth graders "dig-up" little "artifacts" in a large pan of sand using paint brushes and had them do a report on the artifact they found. They were things like sharks' teeth, a fern fossil, dinosaur poop fossil, shell, worm, trilobite and other fossils. [We have a lot of these here in KS.] The English teacher had them apply what they were learning in her class to their reports. As the Special Ed. teacher I helped my students think through their task, find their resources and sort for major points. This was in the days before "No Child Left Behind." It was great. Can't wait until Obama replaces Bush.