CSULA-Fall 2018. Reflection Post #6

Constructivism...what is it? And, how can it be taught to future instructional technology designers?

     Some of you might be wondering...so, what kind of teaching approach is best to use when the instruction is instructional technology related? I believe the answer is that there is no ONE approach that can be used as a cookie cutter when it comes to this field of education...and to any field for that matter. Consider constructivism for instance. I find this method of teaching very effective as it promotes learning as a process of constructing/making something...making sense of the word. In constructivism meaningful connections between the learning concept and the past experience of the learner is essential to retain new information and to receive the new information positively. Constructivism came to presence in the 90’s. This teacher approach seeks to create a challenge and or cognitive conflict for the student, thus, motivating the student to participate in order to find a resolution to the problem. This is not the teacher-centered approach, as it is commonly mistaken with.  In constructivism teacher engagement is essential to learning. A word of caution though, some teachers assign work to students for them to work in “collaboration” to then sort of disappear from the picture...and when students ask for help, the teacher direct students to ask their “collaborating group”. This attitude merely creates a sense of frustration on the student and as a result the motivation this teaching approach is supposed to create, is lost.

     I don’t want to sound to negative, however, I find that the effective teacher must incorporate bits and peace’s of a variety of teaching approaches into their curriculum in order to create a lively Academic atmosphere.

http://lizedit4500.blogspot.com