Constructivism Case Study

1.Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?

A: 1) similarities- In the traditional and the constructivist lesson the children in both classes had an opportunity to measure a large entity. 2) Both classes were introduced to measurement and in both situations the teacher really cared about his or her students and wanted them to learn about measurement. The teachers had an essential goal for their students or a plan. There are differences between the two lessons. 1) differences-The traditional lesson did not take very long and there was no class discussion after they measured the whale regarding measurement. 2) In the constructivist lesson there was a lot of class discussion between the students and the teacher. Also, the students were given opportunities to do discovery learning. They were in charge of what they learned and were able to explore measurement.


2. What are two benefits and two drawbacks of the constructivist approach as described above? Why? In your opinion, are the benefits worth the costs? Explain your response.

A: 1) benefits- I feel the first benefit is the students struggled to find a solution to the problem that the teacher presented. In the end they were able to find a solution and because they struggled I feel that they won’t forget the concept of measurement. The concept is more likely to stick. 2) Also, another benefit to the constructivist approach is that each student had an opportunity to learn in the way that was best for them. For example one of the students learned best by using himself as a measurement and then another student learned best by using his hands to measure the ship. Each student was able to learn in the way that best made sense to him or her. 1) drawbacks- The first drawback could be that it takes a lot of time. At the end of the lesson the students wanted to measure everything in the classroom. The exploration took three class periods. 2) Another drawback could be that the students have a lot of say regarding what they will and won’t learn. What if the students take the teacher in a direction that she or he wasn’t planning on? What if they get off the topic of what they should be learning? As this is, I feel that the benefits are worth the costs. In this constructivist approach students learn how to discover.

3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking? Give specific examples of critical thinking from the case study and include a definition of critical thinking to support your response.

A: The constructivist lesson promotes critical thinking because when the students find a solution they infer to see if their solution is true. For example, Mark measures the ship with his hands and he discovers that it is 36 hands long. Then the students have Sue measure the ship with her hands. It ends up being 44 hands long. The students have used critical thinking to figure out that measurement using hands is relative and really isn’t reliable because everyone’s hands are different. Therefore, the students decided that the king knew Zeb and that they should make him their “universal measurement.” As the students come up with dilemmas they work through them to find solutions. This is critical thinking. The definition of critical thinking is: involves determining the meaning and significance of what is observed or expressed, or, concerning a given inference or argument, determining whether there is adequate justification to accept the conclusion as true. In this lesson plan students use their critical thinking skills in several different ways.

4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?

A: In the book it says that an authentic activity is the use of real-world resources in an activity such as authentic resources, experiences, and sharing. I feel that this is an authentic activity. First, the real-world resource is the large boat (Mayflower) that the students are measuring. And the students are given a real-life scenario that they must figure out how large the boat is in order to tell the king. They must find these things out before the ship can set sail. The students participate in sharing and class discussion regarding the real life scenario. The activity is a real-world experiment.