Constructivist approach when teaching science- downsides?

Question

Hi- I'm writing an essay about how the constructivist approach actually works in real life teaching of science, and was wondering if any other teachers out there have tried it and have noticed any downsides?

Basically, the approach is to do with eliciting children's ideas at the beginning of a topic, and then fitting the lessons around their misconceptions, but letting them explore ideas themselves without the teacher intervening and 'telling' them the information.

Anyone?

Answer 1

It takes time to use that theory in the classroom. Rather than teaching the material directly, the teacher has to wait for the students to 'construct' their ideas, assess their prior knowledge, share with their peers, and reflect on the new information. THey have to figure out what material is relevant or not. So if you have time in the classroom for the students to think... to really really think than its perfect.

ANother downside is that some students do not know how to think for themselves. What i mean is that certain students have been taught to memorize facts and not to analyze their thoughts or synthesize new information. This theory will only work with students who think at the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy.

With this theory, the student has to use his prior knowledge to judge whether or not the new learned information is revelant. Well, every student has had different life experiences and bring in different types of knowledge. WIth the world we live in today we (as teachers) cannot control the ideas that our students bring into the classroom. This is great because we get varying perspectives, however how do we as teachers get our all of our students ont eh same track to the new material if they have different experiences?

Its a good theory, but I am a little skeptical in practice.

Answer 2

It is dangerous to attempt in a cursory manner. This style takes the most preparation and planning. When it goes badly - it can be disastrous.

Here are some things we science teachers need to take into account:

time - it is far easier to tell. many teachers fall into this because of demands from district curriculum.

variation in kids - How can i make sure I'm meeting the needs of each and every child? they all certainly have a different beginning point.

As teachers, we are not passive by any means - by your explanation it might seem that we "set them free to play" but it must be a more controlled coaching attitude - we must watch closely and ask guiding questions and push kids in certain directions.

Most science teachers *do* do this. Think of the simple science fair  (not one of those prefab experiments where it goes exactly as planned by the book) In a science fair a student begins by a question - it could be simple - whats affecting the frog population in this pond? Students don't know the parameters of what they *could* test for - the coach must be there immediately to suggest and help. - once that is done, more questions arise - some generated by the student, some by the coach. Eventually the student becomes an expert at what he/she is doing - and can probably teach the teacher some things about that pond (as we have 170 kids to deal with)

for more info that might help your essay - see the Coalition of essential schools ten common principles - 6 of the ten deal with student learning and classroom pedagogy

Answer 3

Wow, that approach is much different from when I went to school decades ago...

From an outsiders view looking in on your theory (as in not a teacher), I can only see one downside...  If you have students that listen to their peers more than you (the disrespectful and disruptive kinds), then they will likely remember the misconceptions before they remember the facts...  On the other hand, it may be the method that actually reaches those less inclined to understand the subject.  In my case, I always found the hands-on approach to be more satisfying and memorable.

These days, I'm finding myself rather impressed with my ability to recollect my science (all 4 yrs in HS) when helping my children with their homework, since the only thing I seem to remember directly is that I had beautiful science teachers.  ;)