Hello,
I am writing a paper on constructivism in the
classroom and have three questions.
1. What are some criticisms of constructivism?
2. What studies have been completed on a constructivist
classroom to show that this style of teaching works?
3. What further studies need to be conducted?
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.
Mark Hawkins M.Ed.
-
- ANSWER:
-
- Dear Mr. Hawkins,
- I am very busy at the moment so I can only refer you
to
- readings in answer to your questions 2 and 3.
- Qu.1 Most critics did not read enough about
constructivism to
- have understood it's main ideas. They claim that it
denies
- reality (which is not the case) and that it's
unethical because it
- doesn't tell students what's right and what's wrong
(they hate any
- kind of relativism). You'll find a good example if
you go to
- www.KJF.ca
and choose TA78 C56 (Kozloff).
- Qu.2 Read chapter 10 in E.v.G. 'Radical
constructivism, a way
- of knowing and learning (Falmer Press, 1995) or
Glasersfeld,
- E. von (1989) Cognition, construction of knowledge,
and
- teaching,. Synthese, 80 (1), 121-140. and the book I
edited:
- Radical constructivism in mathematics education.
Dordrecht:
- Kluwer, 1991.
- Qu.3 Studies testing understanding rather than the
ability to
- repeat what has been heard or read.
Best wishes,
Ernst von Glasersfeld
