Is knowledge memorized or constructed: constructivism in teaching

Is knowledge memorized or constructed: Understanding constructivism:
Understanding constructivism in teaching

The basic understanding of constructivism is that every individual will create a way to process and understand information that is being given to them. I general constructivism is the way a person chooses to understand and create a comfortable way of learning. This idea of constructivism can go all the way back to Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligence. For example, for a child likes music that student will need music to motivate them to learn the information.

The idea behind constructivism is that a child creates a comfortable learning environment for themselves. Yet, you can see what kind of learner the student is when they create their learning style. What is amazing is I am beginning to see how every piece of information I am receiving in this class is starting to connect with one another. I can see how important one theory is to another in human development. The connection between all these theories and ideas are very similar that you may get confused because of similar vocabulary in each theory, but they are fascinating none the less. (Luis A. Carmona, June 19, 2008)

Today’s class meeting was very interesting. We learned about constructivism. They are two types, cognitive and social constructivism. Constructivism is basically learning according how you interpret the new information you are receiving. Cognitive constructivism is learning by discovering new information and connecting that information with things you already know. Social constructivism is learning by working with classmate. For example having discussion, working in group and sharing their ideas about the information they have learned.

I think that constructivism a wonderful method of teaching. I have always felt that if I personally experience something it tends to stay in my head. I would definitely like to use this method when it comes to teaching. I can learn something from my students because they might see things in a completely different way, which could probably be a much better way of remembering it. (Annabel Esparza)

I feel that constructivism is the way a person chooses to learn and see things in a way that is more comfortable for that individual. It’s kind of the way we learn. When we learn, it is our brain processing new information. We say processing because we understand it, and it is not memorization. I have a very good memory, but I feel like I learn these things. I think I have a good memory in visualizing things, or hearing things.

For example, the little experiment we had in class today, I wrote down all of them. I remembered them. I categorized them in being tired and it helped me remember them. Also today when I was arguing my opinion, I said that I had specifically remembered either hearing or reading it somewhere that teachers should strictly follow the rules that they make. I am like that; I am a very specific person. Sometimes it takes me a while to get things through my head. (Vanessa A. Lopez)

Afterwards, Dr Boyanton talked about constructivism which I think is really true because all the ideas that we get, or we create, we construct them, and create more efficient ideas as a whole and that is basically what constructivism does. I think this class was pretty interesting because I understood why a person who studies a lot is not always able to get 100% of the work attempted at school, and the reason is because our memory is not able to retain 100% of the information studied. (Dennis Salinas)

Today’s class we talked about constructivism. I think it was very interesting the way every person creates their own interpretation of an idea and that is how we learn differently.

I think it was interesting to learn how a person self interprets learning in the cognitive constructivism and how in the social constructivism it is more interacted and shared, and how both are helpful in a person’s learning.

I think this is very interesting, and it would be good to have a class based on constructivism, although challenging, I think that I could find ways to make it interesting. For example to design lessons based on constructivism, I could make the lesson simple but challenging and at the same time meaningful and available for the student to use his creativity to learn it in his own way, that is not by memorizing but by finding his own way, and with that the student will be learning on his own. I think this concept of constructivism is very interesting and I would like to apply it in my future teaching. (Kesia Martinez, June 17, 2008)

A year ago, I was taking Introduction to the Teaching Profession and we were asked to take a survey. In that survey were questions about what kind of teacher we aspired to be, the survey was suppose to help us determine what our Teaching Philosophy was.

Needless to say my teaching philosophy was Social Constructivism, this could be accredited to the fact that I have been lucky enough to have teachers with this same philosophy and I continuo to have such luck. As future Educators we need not to be afraid in focusing our learning in our students. As human beings we have the capability of never ending learning, why not give that empowerment to our students and learn from them.

I know that we have to deal with standardized testing, and we have to follow a curricula that many of us may not agree to, but we can still be extraordinary teachers, we can still bring Social Constructivism into our classroom before we see it go into extension. (Yolanda Bodden)

I think I may take the cognitive approach. I also believe in there is no wrong answer, there can be partial answers. I also like to relate things to the real world or things they may already know. I want to teach science there for it is all about the concepts of things and understanding, not so much memorizing. How the galaxy came? How are muscles connect to the bone to cause movement? These are all concepts that have to be learned not memorized. I want my student to look up at the stars and say WOW!!! That’s insane how it all started, is that mars right there. Or, they are throwing a baseball and can visualize the muscles moving inside of their body. I want them to ask me questions like, How does this work? Why does this happen? What happens if I….? I want to use what they know, apply it to what I am teaching and relate it to the real world. (Vero Gene Frady)

Wow, today’s class was phenomenal. I was so happy that we got to learn about different teaching styles today, as well as different tactics for solving problem. Also, today I have finally finished my research paper. It has really brought back lots of memories. It’s also interesting to see how the theories we’ve learned about so far have played a role in our daily lives.

I never thought about how our daily lives are affected by these theories. I agree with the development and cognitive theories and don’t really prefer one over the other, because I think they are all interconnected. It’s great to know that the way we live our lives does have some structure to it and that the events that we go through on a daily basis can really affect the way we turn out in the future.

The instructional styles we learned today are fantastic. They really give me a guide to figure out how I’m going to be able to run a classroom. I think that I’m a cognitive/constructionist with behaviorist tendencies. I don’t think I’m very much of a Humanist. I do care about student’s emotions, but I don’t place the value of education solely or mostly on student well being. I understand that they must be in a good state of mind, but I don’t think that my teaching style revolves around that. I think that I would be more willing to give students a chance to give an opinion and feel comfortable in a classroom. I hope it all works out in the future. (-A.L.)

The instructional approach that fascinates me the most is the cognitive approach, especially the constructivist approach. The component of this approach that I agree with most is the fact that all answers are possible. Using this method, students who don’t necessarily have the “correct” answer can still feel that their answer is valued. This will help them build the confidence they will need throughout the year.

I also really like that this approach promotes student creativity. Rather than the students be “force-fed” information by the teacher, they have the opportunity to think and create on their own; they are able to use higher-level thinking skills. They go beyond the “knowledge” level of Bloom’s taxonomy and go into the “analysis”, “evaluation” and “creation” level.

I really hope I can use the cognitive approach to teaching once I begin my career. I was discussing this with my partner in class; I’m worried that since I have only been exposed to the behavioral style of teaching, I will have little confidence in my ability to use any other approach. I don’t want to fall back on the behavioral style when I lose confidence in myself when trying other approaches. I know it will take practice and experience, and I am willing to try new styles. (Ruben Rincon, Jr. June 19, 2008)

There is no such thing as an original idea, in my opinion. I feel that most if not all teaching ideas have all been tried in one way or another. Although not all ideas may be done exactly the same way, the general principles and methods have been tried. Because of that, I feel that in order to keep our teaching strategies in tip-top shape we need to listen to others and ask other teachers how they approach certain things. By doing so, we can then add our own personality to make it our own and hopefully teach our students to the best of our ability. Teachers that do not keep their minds open to other possibilities are just being close-minded. Because of this, ultimately the students will be the ones to suffer because of the teacher’s lack of drive to try different teaching tactics.
We should all work together for the benefit of the future – our students. (A.L.)


I really believe on the humanistic approach. I believe that the teacher should be sensitive to the student’s emotions. I believe that if the teacher has a positive behavior and caring atmosphere the students will come to school in a positive attitude and they would feel comfortable in the classroom. I believe that a child needs to feel safe in the classroom in order to learn. (Noelia Jimenez)

We discussed the approaches to instruction. I think that I fall under the cognitive approach. I am an understanding person, I want things to make sense, and I think about the students always. I certainly believe that there is not just one correct answer. I don’t agree with behavioral instruction. I would feel like an old lady teacher. The sad thing is, there are many teachers like that. I had a professor two semesters ago, and he would always tell me I was wrong, even when he would ask for my opinion. How is my perspective going to be wrong, if that how I interpreted the story? I’m sure there are plenty of English teachers like that, but I will never be like that. (Vanessa A. Lopez, June 19, 2008)

I believe that I have a combination of all three approaches. I have a little bit of all three, especially humanistic approach. I am very caring and sensitive to student’s needs, feelings, and emotions. I care about how they are feeling because it’s important to know how they feel before beginning something. (Lesson, song, play, etc.) I believe that a child cannot learn or comprehend something when they are feeling sad or when they’re feeling something that is stopping or blocking them from learning. (Vanessa Rodriguez)

First I would say that going over the mid-term was helpful to me because that way I saw why I got it wrong. We learned about constructivism, which I think that is very important to know and always keep in mind as teachers that we want become. It is important to know that we learn in our own individual ways a subject. I think this is why Mrs. Dengting has set up her class this way because we all learn and view things in different ways. That is why I think I like the discussions because it is a way of learning and is which I learned today social constructivism. I see that kids are demanding in their expectations and in learning can’t be different: Some do better than others and I think constructive learning plays a role in it.(Brenda Ramirez)