Glasersfeld chose to use the word constructive to describe the learning process because understanding is done through the association of experiences and relating previous knowledge to new knowledge. In this way our learning is constructive because it builds on itself and is different for each person depending on their experiences in life. Under this theory, there is no true knowledge or understanding because there is no way to match what we know with what reality is, everything we learn is filtered through our brain by previous experiences.
Because of these differences in learning, every student has a different understanding of a concept. This could make it difficult to teach students and also to make sure the student understands the concept as intended by the teacher. To make sure a student understands a concept, I think the best way would be to assign a variety of homework problems and ask the student to explain what they think the concept means back to you.
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I agree with you that understanding these principles can make it very difficult to teach and to make sure that they understand. I think your best idea is to have the students explain something back to you because it checks their understanding and lets you know what they're thinking and if they're thinking right.
ReplyDeleteConstructivism does not say there is no true knowledge. It does say that we can never know if our knowledge is the true knowledge.
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