1. EDU 330: Educational Psychology Daniel Moos, PhD
Constructivism
EDU 330: Educational Psychology
Daniel Moos, PhD

2. Constructivism: Introduction (I)
Which way is the bus below traveling? To the left or to the right? Please do not share your answer with anyone yet…

3. Constructivism: Introduction (II)
ES students all over the United States were shown this picture and asked the same question.
When asked, "Why do you think the bus is traveling to the left?" 

They answered: 
"Because you can't see the door to get on the bus."

4. Constructivism: Assumptions, four facets (I)
How do children construct knowledge?
Learners construct knowledge that makes sense to them.
New learning depends on current understanding.
Social interaction facilitates learning.
The most meaningful learning takes place in real-world tasks.

5. Constructivism Today Two Variations on a Constructivist Theme
 Cognitive Constructivism (Piaget)
– Emphasizes the development of meaningful learning by focusing on the cognitive processes that take place within individuals
 Social Constructivism (Vygotsky)
– Emphasizes the development of meaningful learning by focusing on culture and social interactions 2

6. Constructivism: Application to the classroom
Provide learners with a varietyof examples and representations of content.
Connect content to the real world.
Treat verbal explanations skeptically.
Promote high levels of interaction.
Make assessment an integral part of the teaching-learning process.