Constructivism & Generating and Testing Hypothesis 

            Constructivism is a knowledge theory that can be challenging for my students to feel successful with. Constructivism states that each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  So many of my students thrive under structured explorations or projects where I am giving them clear guidance and support. Many feel uncomfortable when lessons rely on their own ideas of how things work and their own discovery of main ideas (Culatta, 2011).  I know this is partly because I have some insecure students and others who have overly supportive parents.  I have thought a lot about how I can use the theory of Constructivism in my classroom while keeping in mind my students’ emotional needs. 

            To challenge my students in an appropriate way, I want to engage them in a system analysis.  Students will study parts of a system and make predictions about what would change if one or more parts were altered or removed (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  This process will fit in with our ecosystems unit perfectly as students will be able to engage in system analysis in two different scenarios.  First, I will use an online tool called My Life as an Elk to help my students have a virtual experience.  This interactive “game” allows a student to alter an elk’s habitat to see what will happen to the elk and its population.  I also felt that this would be relevant as elk are an animal many students in my class already have some background knowledge of just by living in Washington.  Second, students will create a wiki about an ecosystem of their choice.  In their wikis, students will discuss all the elements of the ecosystem and include a page where they predict what would happen to the ecosystem if ______ happened to the ecosystem (ex. humans put a road through it).  Other groups would be able to comment and add their predictions.  Also, there would be a follow-up page where students will have researched it using the Nature Works website.  From there, students would add their findings to their wiki after the other groups have had a chance to predict also.  This will be a huge test to my students critical thinking and collaborative skill set but system analysis will allow my students to engage in complex mental processes, apply content knowledge, and enhance their overall understanding of the content (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

            For my readers, if you can think of any other age appropriate applications of Constructivism please offer suggestions below in the comments!  Keep in mind, my school has very limited technology (a shared set of 10 computers for every 3 classrooms) and I teach an immature group of 4^th graders. 

Thanks,

Katie :-)

Resources:

Culatta, R., (2011).  Innovative learning: constructivist theories of learning.  Retrieved from: http://www.innovativelearning.com/educational_psychology/constructivism/index.htm

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.