Constructivism in Practice

Constructivism as explained by Dr. Orey is the unique meaning that is constructed by each individual based on their prior knowledge. He makes reference to the meaning of the word "chair". Each person could construct something different as to their meaning. This brings me to an assignment I had to do in another graduate school class. We were asked to have our students draw a picture of a swing. their were no other instruction other than to draw a picture of what they saw when they visualized a swing. I had pictures of of swing sets, park swings, baby swings and porch swings.

Constructionism, on the other hand, requires that an external artifact be built that can be shared with others. "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" discusses the use of spreadsheets. Dr. Orey mentions the use of PowerPoint. Some other programs useful in constructing projects are Garage Band, Inspiration, and Comic Life. Students can use these technological programs to create their interpretions of concepts. I specifically used Comic Life to have my students create a comic strip showing that they understand what categorical data meant. I had one student that took snapshots of her classmates sucking on different flavors of lollipops. She illustrated that flavors of lollipops were data that could be categorized.

These hands-on approaches are ways for students to expand their meaning.