"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve." - Roger Lewin
ADVANTAGES
Promotes Collaboration
Constructivism allows students to communicate and work together to solve problems and learn together
Discussing together helps students develop their own truths regarding concepts
Activates Higher Level Thinking
Students are asked to problem solve and to complete tasks and projects that require them to show their own thinking and understanding as opposed to traditional methods where students mimic what they learned
Students are making connections and learning through their own experiences when interacting with the concepts
Students are developing competencies and skills that are transferable to other curricular content
Based on Prior Learning
Scaffolding and activating of prior knowledge helps students further deepen and expand their knowledge
It is important that students are provided with enough background knowledge and skills before engaging in constructivist learning
Student-Centered
Learning is based on each student's strengths and interests to engage and motivate the learner
Students are learning through their own experiences and interactions with the concepts
LIMITATIONS
Requires Significant Amount of Time
Students require long periods of time to work through projects to engage and explore the concepts as opposed to the traditional method where students work quickly through worksheets and tests
Focus on Depth but Sacrifices Breadth
Constructivism focuses on deepening the learning for students but this often results in sacrificing the breadth of the concepts which results in students not learning some basic background knowledge
Students need a foundation of background knowledge and skills or else they will be limited to how much they can understand and explore
Lack of Structure
As learning is student-centered and differentiated, each student may be engaging in concepts in a variety of ways
For students who need structure and need to be provided with clear instructions, learning through the constructivist method will be a struggle
Unstructured nature of constructivist learning may lead students to learn misconceptions or remember incorrect information that may be difficult to correct if left unmonitored or without teacher guidance
Lack of Training from Teachers
Experienced teachers may be used to the traditional method of teaching and may be hesitant to learn new methods
Assessing the degree of understanding of concepts by students is difficult for teachers who are not experienced with the constructivist approach as students are demonstrating their learning in a multitude of ways and cannot be assessed by a simple criteria sheet or checklist
References
Kim, J. S. (2005). The effects of a constructivist teaching approach on student academic achievement, self-concept, and learning strategies. Asia Pacific Education Review, 6(1), 7-19. doi:10.1007/BF03024963 Krahenbuhl, K. S. (2016). Student-centered education and constructivism: Challenges, concerns, and clarity for teachers. The Clearing House, 89(3), 97-105. doi:10.1080/00098655.2016.1191311