What is contructivism approach in teaching?

Question

What is contructivism approach in teaching?

Answer 1

Constructivists believe learning occurs when students build their own understanding about something.  Teachers can help by leading them in activities where they are stimulated and learn.  A strict constructivist would let students decide what they want to learn and teachers give guidance about how to learn it. One of the criticisms of constructivism is that it supposes that students, given a choice about their education, will want to learn and will choose relevant topics to learn about.  Most teachers combine constructivist stratagies with traditional ones

"constructivist models... stress cooperative work and nontraditional exploration methods because they are designed to help students think on their own, work with diverse groups, and see the relevance of skills in their daily lives"

Answer 2

The constructivism theory doesn't necessarily describe how one should teach, but rather just describes how people learn.  However, with the theory, teachers should provide opportunities for students to explore their environment adn create their own learning experience.  This should be done initially by the teacher through modeling, therefore, the teacher can build on students' prior knowledge of the subject.  As students gain a better grasp, the teacher should slowly pull back and allow students to take charge of their own learning and assimilate their new knowledge.