Constructivism

There are many different learning theories floating around, each one determined to be
better than the others were. Educators are always trying to justify their teaching styles by
referencing which theory students thrive and learn best. The Common Core State Standards
(CCSS) are bringing one particular theory into the forefront of everyones mind
constructivism. The term constructivism refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for
themselves each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning as he or she
learns(Hein, 1991). Constructivism focuses on how knowledge came to be, students work
through problems, forming hypotheses and experimenting to find whether they were on the right
track or not. Constructivism focuses on the goals of the learner and intertwines the content, the
context and the activity of the learner (D'Angelo, et al., 2009). One learning theory of
constructivism that caught my attention is discovery learning. Discovery learning was
introduced by Jerome Bruner and encompasses all of the key points of constructivism.
Discovery learning is inquiry based. The learner draws on past experiences and knowledge in
order to uncover new knowledge. There are three major modes of representation of discovery
learning: enactive, iconic and symbolic. Enactive representation is action based and occurs from
age 0 -1, Iconic representation is image-based and happens from age 2 6 and finally symbolic
representation is language-based and happens from age 7 on. Bruner suggests that as long as
new information is presented in this order, learning will take place (McLeod, 2012 ).
Learning models that descend from the discovery learning theory are problem-based
learning, simulation learning and guided discovery, as well as many others. The new CCSS for
mathematics requires teachers to put aside direct instruction and behaviorist teaching and let
students discover on their own how math works. Many units now start with an inquiry-based
learning project where the teacher is merely the guide as students work through the multiple
levels. In my experience, students balk and complain at this. They do not want to be forced to
think for themselves. They prefer to have the teacher be the bearer of all knowledge and pass it
on to them, as it has always been. It is important for educators to remember we are not only retraining ourselves with instruction, we are re-training our students with learning. We must
remain calm and start slow. One of my favorite ways to introduce a new topic is to have the
students watch while I solve a problem on the board, I tell them it is a game and once they know
the rules they can play too. The kids notice it quickly and genuinely enjoy being the ones to
figure out how to play, and then teaching their neighbors how to play. I have been able to take
this idea and go a little further with my instruction. We are taking baby steps and will get there
by the end of the year.
Keeping Bruners theory for learning in mind when presenting new information is
important for all teachers and helps us become better instruction designers.

Works Cited
D'Angelo, C., Touchman, S., Clark, D., O'Donnell, A., Mayer, R., Dean, J. D., & Hmelo-Silver, C. (2009,
December 23). Constructivism. Retrieved September 25, 2013, from education.com:
http://www.education.com/reference/article/constructivism/
Hein, G. E. (1991, October 15-22). The Museum and the Needs of the People. Retrieved September 25,
2013, from www.exploratorium.edu:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/resources/constructivistlearning.html
McLeod, S. (2012 ). Bruner. Retrieved September 25, 2013, from Simply Psychology:
www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html