Constructionism is the idea that students will construct or "build" something in order to gain a better understanding of the subject. In history courses this is done by constructing a meaning based on primary and secondary sources. Students are engaged in the construction of a conclusion based on the use of several different sources.
The idea behind constructionism is that students are building something in order to learn more about it. However, it is important to note that unlike in the science classrooms, the thing being built is not always an actual solid artifact. In history you are "building" a conclusion from various information you search for. Students often have certain ideas about why or how certain things occurred in history. So, in the Social Studies classroom we take those ideas and search for sources to prove or disprove these ideas. What we are "building" is an actual historically supported theory. What we begin with is a hypothesis on the topic based on a small amount of information. Then, using primary and secondary sources we "build" a conclusion based on as much first and second hand information as we can gather. So while the "building" is different, we are still taking a hypothesis and using information or data collected to test it. While it is not through experimentation in the scientific sense, it is still a process of looking at observations through first and second hand accounts and trying to build a reasonably well supported conclusion. Through this process students become very engaged in the initial question, allowing them to learn the information and store it in their long-term memory.
As is the case with many or most learning theories, it seems the more involved the student is the better chance that understanding is going to be achieved. Constructionism is one example of students being fully engaged in the learning process.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). [Webcast]. Constructionist and constructivist learning theories.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm a science teacher, my mind is stuck on experimentation to test a hypothesis. As I read through the resources for this week, I was curious to see how other subject areas would use hypotheses in their classroom. I like how you incorporate hypothesis in your history class. Your students almost take on the role of a historian or a detective. They have a small amount of information and then conduct additional research and try to connect the pieces. This promotes problem-solving and critical thinking skills which are very important skills that students need to develop.
Kayla Shandra
Kayla -
ReplyDeleteThe idea behind the assignment is really to encourage critical thinking. It is sometimes hard to get the initial engagement in the activity, however, the results are typically close to what I would hope for. Yes, constructionism is seemingly built for the science teacher but with some planning and appropriate resources constructionism can work well in the history classroom as well.
I like your comparison between building a physical artifact, and building a conclusion. Within the example you gave, I can see where you could build artifacts as well, which may help some struggling students. Even if you were to simply make a chart, using poster board or on line, students could compile their gathered information and sort it into appropriate sections. I.e. sorting primary and secondary sources, or creating a spreadsheet where students are able to analyze the results of their tested hypothesis.
ReplyDelete