Constructivism in theory and practice
- 1. CONSTRUCTIVISM IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE GROUP: TRẦN THỊ HUYỀN TRANG NGUYỄN CHÂU MINH THƯ
- 2. What is constructivism? - A theory of learning which posits that students learn by actively constructing their own knowledge(Von Glasersfeld 1996; Fosnot 1996; Duffy and Cunning-Ham 1996). - Including 2 approaches: + cognitive constructivism (Piaget) +social constructivism (Vygotsky)
- 3. Cognitive constructivism • Concentrate on the importance of the mind in learning. • Piaget: the terms accommodation and assimilation to describe the interplay of mind and environment in the learning process (Gleitmean 1987)
- 4. Social constructivism • Vygotsky: the social, interpersonal aspects of learning precede the individual, intrapersonal aspects(Corfrey 1995) => The debate continues
- 5. Because: + not understand how individuals think without an appreciation of the cultural context in which their thoughts developed. + cognition and cultural influences are inextricably entwined.
- 6. Principles and suggestion(wood,1995) - Learning environment support the learner’s contraction of knowledge - Activities should be allowed for communicating and exchanging ideas - Motivation - Teacher create a learning environment - Reflection - Authentic learner authorship and ownership - Classroom interaction
- 7. EFL issues Constructivist approach helps: • Give sts choices and provide language practice. • Encourage sts to experiment freely with the language. • Constructivism in the class room.
- 8. Making room for constructivism in curriculum 2 approaches: • Construction • instruction
- 9. DEALING WITH FACTUAL INFORMATION Instructivist classroom • The reading material is usually chosen by the teacher • Questions to accompany the text are pre-pared by the teacher. • Main emphasis is on the correct answer(product orientation). • Assessment is usually straightforward and quick, since it only requires comparison against an answer key. Constructivist classroom • Several reading sources or choices are given. students choose what to read. • Generic questions that can fit a variety of texts are provided for students to apply to their specific texts. • Student-initiated questions are encouraged • Main emphasis in on the strategies employed to obtain the answer( process orientation) • Assessment requires familiarization with multiple texts(chosen by the students) and assessment of a variety of responses, and is therefore time- consuming
- 10. Flexibility and internet • Cognitive flexibility • Task flexibility • Curricular flexibility
- 12. The language learning center 1980s – at Tel Aviv University Orient a learning program Seek ways to integrate IT to the courses
- 13. The attitudes of EFL Colleagues Difficult & Frustrating
- 19. Figure 1. Workshop handout with questions posed by teachers 1. Why ? 2. What characteristics? What kinds of tasks? 3. How to develop? 4. How to connect? 5. How to SS carry out? 6. How to carry out in pairs/small group- outside of class? 7. How to motivate anti-computer SS? Internet-based Tasks COURSES
- 20. Figure 2. summary of teachers’ answer 1. REASONS $$$ - TREE EDIT - UPDATE EFFORT - TIME VALUABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBILITY AUTONOMY AUTHENTICITY THE LINKS SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT VARIETY
- 21. 2. UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS COMPARISON - SYNTHESIS RELIABILITY & BIAS WIDE RANGE INTERACTIONS SYNCHRONOUSNESS FLEXIBILITY PROCESS VISUALS - GRAPHICSS INCORPORATION
- 22. 3. ≠ PLANNING, FOCUS & METHODOLOGY CONSTRUCTING MEANING TEACHER -LESS CONTROL SS AUTONOMY PLANNED INTERNET TASKS MODELING DEVELOP GENERIC QS/ TEMPLATE PROVIDE – CHECK LINKS
- 23. 4. RELATING/ CONNECTING EXAMPLES - ILLUSTRATIONS EXPAND TOPICS, UPDATE MATERIAL, INTRODUCE VARIOUS MEDIA 5. MANAGEMENT ORAL PRESENTATION/ WRITTEN REPORT PAPER/ ONLINE, HOW TO TOGGLE
- 24. 6. COOPERATIVE TASKS 7. MOTIVATIVING ANTI-COM SS EMAIL LAB ON CAMPUS SOMEONE’S HOUSE EXTRA CREDIT/ COURAGE WORK WITH COMPUTER SAVVY ALLOT TIME