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EDTC 620
Summer 2016
Group 5: Connie Lozada, Ginny Senft, Stormi Duckett, Wendy Rayner

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What is Constructivism?
Constructivism is a learning theory that encourages learning through meaningful experiences including collaboration, tactile projects, and hands-on applications etc.

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What does constructivism in the classroom look like?

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What does constructivism in the classroom look like?

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Through tactile exploration students practice inquiry by developing their own questions. Students work in pairs and groups to build understanding. Teachers encourage each students perspective that lead to student-centered activities.

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Constructivism and Differentiation

Overview:
Scaffolding, as most relate it to construction support, is similar as it relates to instructional support.  “Scaffolds are temporary support structures faculty put in place to assist students in accomplishing new tasks and concepts they could not typically achieve on their own” (nih.edu., 2016).  Instructional scaffolding, as does differentiation,  offers a positive, least restrictive learning environment by which a student can participate fully in the learning experience by gaining enhanced knowledge and skill and then taking ownership of that skill and apply it to the most effective means by which to learn.

In correspondence with instructor guidance and facilitation, students are offered multiple means by which to learn such as utilizing graphic organizers, visual aids, whole-class idea sharing and drawing on prior knowledge (edutopia.org., 2011).  Scaffolding prescribes that once multiple strategies are introduced, students are then free to choose what works best for them.

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What does effective differentiation look like?

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What does effective differentiation look like?

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Keys to Effective Constructivism, Scaffolding, and Differentiation:

Planning and Professional Development Time are Challenges

Teacher Professional Development, Collaboration, and Sharing are Strategies to Overcome Challenges

Access to Curricular Materials cna be Challenging - Possible Solutions: School Supplied, Open Educational Resources, Teacher Created, and Teacher Shared

Knowing your students' levels, needs, style of learning, and accommodations

KWL, Think Pair Share, I do We do You do

Small Group Work - may include grouping by level, learning style, or interests

Technology which allows individualized instruction on each student's level

Ongoing assessment of student achievement and adjustment of lesson content based upon this data

Benefits to Using Constructivism, Scaffolding, and Differentiation:

Deeper learning and understanding

Students take responsibility for their learning

Increased student motivation

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Constructivism is a learning theory that encourages learning through meaningful experiences including collaboration, tactile projects, and hands-on applications etc.

Adaptation is the learners cognitive understanding or development at any given time.

Assimilation is when children assimilate new knowledge as they experience new things and learn new information.

Cognition is a theoretical concept that suggests and individual progressed through different intellectual stages.

Socratic Method students learn how to analyze problems, to think critically about their own point of view and the opinions of others, as well as to articulate and defend their position.

Spiral Curriculum is a way in which curriculum should be organized  so that students constantly are building on top of what they already know.

Zone of Proximal Development the difference between the problem solving ability that a child has learned and that which they can learn from working with a more advanced peer group.

Differentiated Instruction is a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student.

Scaffolding strategies is breaking up the learning into chunks and them providing a tool, or structure, with each chunk.

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Nichols, B. (2012, April 09). Constructivism. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://www.slideshare.net/BrittanyNichols/constructivism-12330197

H, J. (2010, April 18). Constructivism. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://www.slideshare.net/guest471af92/constructivism-3770077

Hoover, W. A. (1996, August). The practice implications of constructivism. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedletter/v09n03/practice.html

Brooks, M. G., & Brooks, J. G. (1999, November). The courage to be constructivist. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov99/vol57/num03/The-Courage-to-Be-Constructivist.aspx

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Education and Social Work. (2016, March 23). Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/learning_teaching/ict/theory/constructivism.shtml

Alber, R. (2011, May 24). 6 scaffolding strategies to use with your students. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/scaffolding-lessons-six-strategies-rebecca-alber

Instructional scaffolding to improve learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/strategies/instructional_scaffolding_to_improve_learning.pdf

Weselby, C. (2014, October 01). What is differentiated instruction? Examples of how to differentiate instruction in the classroom. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/

Hayes, N. (2012, April 11). Betrayed - Why public education is failing. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/2012/04/has-constructivism-increased-special.html

Bruno, P. (2012, July 27). Bruno: Constructivism & special education. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2012/07/bruno-constructivism-and-special-education.html#.V5caBbgrLIV

Firestone, M. (n.d.). Scaffolding in education: Definition, theory & examples. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/scaffolding-in-education-definition-theory-examples.html

Hurst, M. (n.d.). Zone of proximal development and scaffolding in the classroom - Video & lesson transcript | Study.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/zone-of-proximal-development-and-scaffolding-in-the-classroom.html