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InSearchofUnderstanding: TheCaseforConstructivistClassrooms
WITHANEWINTRODUCTIONBYTHEAUTHORS JacquelineGrennonBrooks MartinG.Brooks
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AssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopment 1703NorthBeauregardStreetAlexandria,Virginia223111714USA Telephone:18009332723or(703)5789600Fax:(703)5755400 Website:http://www.ascd.orgEmail:member@ascd.org Copyright1993,1999bytheAssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopment.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedor transmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,oranyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermission fromASCD.ReaderswhowishtoduplicatematerialcopyrightedbyASCDmaydosoforasmallfeebycontactingtheCopyrightClearanceCenter,222 RosewoodDr.,Danvers,MA01923,USA(telephone:9787508044fax:9787504470).ASCDhasauthorizedtheCCCtocollectsuchfeesonitsbehalf. RequeststoreprintratherthanphotocopyshouldbedirectedtoASCD'spermissionsofficeat7035789600. ASCDpublicationspresentavarietyofviewpoints.TheviewsexpressedorimpliedinthispublicationshouldnotbeinterpretedasofficialpositionsoftheAssociation. JacquelineGrennonBrooksisAssociateProfessorintheCenterforScience,MathematicsandTechnologyEducationattheStateUniversityofNewYorkat StonyBrook.Email:jgbrooks@notes.cc.sunysb.edu MartinG.BrooksisSuperindendentoftheValleyStremCentralHighSchoolDistrictinValleyStream,NewYork.Email:vsdist1@li.net TypesetbyValerieSprague. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica. s7/1999 ASCDmemberprice:$13.95nonmemberprice:$16.95 ASCDStockNumber:199234 ISBN:0871203588 LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Brooks,JacquelineGrennon. Insearchofunderstanding:thecaseforconstructivist classrooms/withanewintroductionbytheauthorsJacqueline GrennonBooks,MartinG.Brooks. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferences. ISBN0871203588 1.Constructivism(Education).2.CognitioninchildrenUnited States.3.ActivelearningUnitedStates.4.Thoughtand thinkingStudyandteachingUnitedStates.I.Brooks,MartinG. II.Title. LB1590.3.B751999996468 CIP 10987654321040302010099
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CONTENTS
Introduction PartI.TheCallforConstructivism 1.HonoringtheLearningProcess 2.ConsideringthePossibilities 3.ComingtoKnowOne'sWorld PartII.SomeGuidingPrinciplesofConstructivism 4.PosingProblemsofEmergingRelevancetoStudents 5.StructuringLearningAroundPrimaryConcepts:TheQuestforExcellence 6.SeekingandValuingStudents'PointsofView 7.AdaptingtoCurriculumtoAddressStudents'Suppositions 8.AssessingStudentLearningintheContextofTeaching PartIII.CreatingConstructivistSettings 9.BecomingaConstructivistTeacher 10.PursuingMeaningfulVictories Bibliography vii
3 15 23
35 46 60 69 85
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DEDICATION
Forourparentsandtheirgrandchildren.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Weconsiderourselvesfortunatetohaveworkedovertheyearswithgroupsofoutstandingeducatorsandstudentsthroughoutthenationmostparticularlyinthe ShorehamWadingRiver(N.Y.)schooldistrict,theValleyStreamUnionFreeSchoolDistrict#13(N.Y.),theValleyStreamCentralHighSchoolDistrict(N.Y.),and attheStateUniversityofNewYorkatStonyBrookwhohavepermittedusaccesstotheirclassroomsandtheirthoughts.Ourinteractionswithandobservationsof thesepeoplehaveshapedourthinking.Itistheirworkthatwehighlightinthisbook.
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INTRODUCTION
Judgingfromourconferencepresentations,ourconsultingwork,andourmailsincethe1993publicationofthisbook,thebasictenetsofconstructivismclearlystrikea responsivechordwithagreatmanyteachersandadministrators. Constructivismisatopicontheconferenceprogramsofvirtuallyallprominentnationaleducationalorganizationsandhasbeenwidelydescribedandanalyzedin professionaljournals.Recentpublicationshavepresentedconstructivisttheoryinavarietyofcontexts:curriculummapping,teachereducation,andschoolleadership, tonamethree.Universityfacultyandnationalteacherassociationshaveendorsedconstructivistlessondesignandinstructionalpractices.Moreover,afewstate educationdepartments(NewYork,California,andKentucky,amongothers)haveidentifiedconstructivistteachingpracticesaspreferred,andhaveincludedexplicit examplesofstudentdesignedworkintheirstatecurriculumframeworksandstandards. Learning: NotaLinearProcess Interestingly,alloftheseeventshaveoccurredatatimewhenthepoliticsofeducationhastakenaturnawayfromtheprinciplesonwhichconstructivistbased educationrests.Thethinkingbehindthisturnisexquisitelysimple:develophighstandardstowhichallstudentswillbeheldaligncurriculumtothesestandards constructassessmentstomeasurewhetherallstudentsaremeetingthestandardsrewardschoolswhosestudentsmeetthestandardsandpunishschoolswhose studentsdon't. Thissimple,linearapproachtoeducationalrenewalisbadlyflawed.Itisvirtuallyidenticaltoalltheotherapproachestorenewalthathaveprecededit,anditmisses thepoint.Meaningful
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changeisnotaccomplishedthroughpoliticalpressurebut,rather,throughattentiontotheidiosyncratic,oftenparadoxicalnatureoflearning.Asmanystatesare discovering,''raisingthebar"bycommandmentresultsinajumpinhighschooldropouts,increasedspendingonstudentremediationandstaffpreparationfornew assessments,constrictionofcurriculumsastheyarealignedwiththenewassessments,andlossofpublicconfidenceinschoolsaslargenumbersofstudentsfailto meetthestandards.Missingfromthismixisevidenceofincreasedstudentlearning. Why?Learningisacomplexprocessthatdefiesthelinearpreceptsofmeasurementandaccountability.Whatstudents"know"consistsofinternallyconstructed understandingsofhowtheirworldsfunction.Newinformationeithertransformstheiroldbeliefsor...doesn't.Thequalityofthelearningenvironmentisnotmerelya functionofwherethestudents"endup"attestingtimeorhowmanystudents"endup"there.Thedynamicnatureoflearningmakesitdifficulttocaptureonassessment instrumentsthatlimittheboundariesofknowledgeandexpression. Pleasenotethatwearenotsayingthatclassroompracticesdesignedtochallengestudentsintransformingtheircurrentthinkingandstudentsuccessontestsare inherentlycontradictory.However,thereismuchevidence(fromNAEP[NationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress]andTIMSS[ThirdInternationalMathematics andScienceStudy],tonamebuttwosources)thatclassroompracticesspecificallydesignedtopreparestudentsfortestsdonotfosterdeeplearningthatisappliedto newsettings.Thisevidencehasledmanyschooldistrictstoquestionthephilosophicalunderpinningsofthelongdominantpretestteachposttestmodelofeducation. Despitecompletingalltheirassignmentsandpassingalltheirtests,toomanystudentssimplyarenotlearning. AProcessofMakingPersonalMeaning Consequently,manyprogramsandcurriculumsrecentlyadoptedindistrictsthroughoutthenationandcreatednotbypoliticalpressurebutbyteacherconvictionand demandarecenteredaroundthenotionthat,classroominstructionnotwithstanding,studentsmaketheirownmeaning.Examplesofsuch
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programsincludeprocesswriting,problembasedmathematics,investigativescience,andexperientialsocialstudies. Inaconstructivistclassroom,theteachersearchesforstudents'understandingsofconcepts,andthenstructuresopportunitiesforstudentstorefineorrevisethese understandingsbyposingcontradictions,presentingnewinformation,askingquestions,encouragingresearch,and/orengagingstudentsininquiriesdesignedto challengecurrentconcepts. Inthisbook,youwillreadaboutfiveoverarchingprinciplesevidentinconstructivistclassrooms. Teachersseekandvaluetheirstudents'pointsofview.Teacherswhoconsistentlypresentthesamematerialtoallstudentssimultaneouslymaynotconsider students'individualperspectivesonthematerialtobeimportant,mayevenviewthemasinterferingwiththepaceanddirectionofthelesson.Inconstructivist classrooms,however,students'perspectivesareteachers'cuesforensuinglessons. Classroomactivitieschallengestudents'suppositions.Allstudents,irrespectiveofage,entertheirclassroomswithlifeexperiencesthathaveledthemtopresume certaintruthsabouthowtheirworldswork.Meaningfulclassroomexperienceseithersupportorcontravenestudents'suppositionsbyeithervalidatingortransforming thesetruths. Teachersposeproblemsofemergingrelevance.Relevance,meaning,andinterestarenotautomaticallyembeddedwithinsubjectareasortopics.Relevance emergesfromthelearner.Constructivistteachers,acknowledgingthecentralroleofthelearner,structureclassroomexperiencesthatfosterthecreationofpersonal meaning. Teachersbuildlessonsaroundprimaryconceptsand''big"ideas.Toomuchcurriculumispresentedinsmall,disconnectedpartsandneverwovenintowhole clothbythelearner.Studentsmemorizethematerialneededtopasstests.Butmanystudents,eventhosewithpassingscores,areunabletoapplythesmallpartsin othercontextsordemonstrateunderstandingsofhowthepartsrelatetotheirwholes.Constructivistteachersoftenofferacademicproblemsthatchallengestudentsto grapplefirstwiththebigideasandtodiscernforthemselves,withmediationfromtheteacher,thepartsthatrequiremoreinvestigation.
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Teachersassessstudentlearninginthecontextofdailyteaching.Constructivistteachersdon'tviewassessmentofstudentlearningasseparateanddistinctfrom theclassroom'snormalactivitiesbut,rather,embedassessmentdirectlyintotheserecurrentactivities. TheSearchforUnderstanding Thepowerofthesefiveprinciplesiscompelling,butonlytothosenotweddedtolinearapproachestoeducationalrenewal.Weacknowledgethat,forsome,itis easiertodisseminateinformationfromthefrontoftheroom,assignchaptersfromtextbooks,andgradeworkbooksheetsandexamsthanitistohelpeachstudent searchforpersonalunderstandingandassesstheefficacyofthatsearch.And,itprobablyseemsmorereasonabletostructurelessonsaroundonerightanswertoeach questionthanitistovaluedifferent,oftencontrasting,pointsofview.And,yes,itispresumablymorecomfortingtothinkofallstudentsasblankslateswithsimilar cognitiveprofilesthanitistoviewthemasindividualswhoselifeexperienceshaveshapedsingularsetsofcognitiveneeds. Nonetheless,moreandmoreteacherscontinuetogravitatetowardconstructivistprinciplesbecause...well,becausetheymakesense.Teachingandlearningare complicated,labyrinthineprocessesfilledwithdeadends,falsepositives,contradictions,multipletruths,andagreatdealofconfusion.Tryingtosimplifyandquantify theteaching/learningdynamicwringsoutitsessenceandrendersitareductioadabsurdum. Overthepastseveralyears,then,thecaseforconstructivistclassroomshasbeenstrengthenedandalsohasbecomemoreacute.Virtuallyallschooldistrictsprofessto wanttheirstudentstobethinkersandproblemsolvers.Intheclassroom,theindividualsearchforunderstandingliesattheheartofthispursuit.Thelanguidinstructional practicesofthepast,evendressedinnewclothing,cannottrickstudentsintolearning.Engagementinmeaningfulwork,initiatedandmediatedbyskillfulteachers,is theonlyhighroadtorealthinkingandlearning. Duringaworkshopseveralyearsago,ateacher,reflectingonherowneducation,notedthattheteacherswhoinfluencedher
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Page1
PARTI THECALLFORCONSTRUCTIVISM
HonoringtheLearningProcess ConsideringthePossibilities ComingtoKnowOne'sWorld
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1 HonoringtheLearningProcess
FromtheWhiteHousetothestatehousetotheschoolhouse,politiciansandeducatorshavebeenwringingtheirhandsovertheconditionofeducationinournation. Someexcoriateourpresenteducationalsystem,citingreportsthatraisequestionsabouttheinabilityofAmericanstudentstoperformaswelloncontentareatestsas studentsfromothernations.Othersaretroubledbytheconditionofeducationinournationforverydifferentreasons.Foragrowingnumberofeducators,questions regardingunderstandingandmeaningandtherolesthatschoolsplayinencouragingorstiflingthesearchforunderstandingarefarmoreimportantthanquestions regardingachievementasmeasuredbytestscores. Manypromisingproposalshavebeenputforthtoaddresstheissuessurroundingstudents'constructionofmeaning.Theseproposalssuggestoverhaulingassessment practicestomakethemmorerelevantforstudents,establishingsitebasedmanagementteamsinschools,rethinkingtheefficacyoftrackingandabilitygrouping,and freeingschooldistrictsfromfederalandstatemandates.Weapplaudtheseefforts,butfindthattheseproposalsdon'tquitegodeepenough.Theydon'tspeakopenly enoughabouttheeducationsystem'sunderlyingsuppositionsaboutwhatitmeanstolearn,aboutwhatitmeanstobecomeeducated.Theydon'treachthenucleusof education:theprocessesofteachingandlearningthatoccurdaily,relentlessly,inexorablyinclassroomsthroughoutthenation.Educationalreformmuststartwithhow studentslearn
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andhowteachersteach,notwithlegislatedoutcomes.Afterall,theconstructionofunderstandingisthecoreelementinahighlycomplexprocessunderpinnedbywhat appearstobeasimpleproposition. TheConstructionofUnderstanding Itsoundslikeasimpleproposition:weconstructourownunderstandingsoftheworldinwhichwelive.Wesearchfortoolstohelpusunderstandourexperiences.To dosoishumannature.Ourexperiencesleadustoconcludethatsomepeoplearegenerousandotherpeoplearecheapofspirit,thatrepresentationalgovernment eitherworksordoesn't,thatfireburnsusifwegettooclose,thatrubberballsusuallybounce,thatmostpeopleenjoycompliments,andthatcubeshavesixsides. Thesearesomeofthehundredsofthousandsofunderstandings,somemorecomplexthanothers,thatweconstructthroughreflectionuponourinteractionswith objectsandideas. Eachofusmakessenseofourworldbysynthesizingnewexperiencesintowhatwehavepreviouslycometounderstand.Often,weencounteranobject,anidea,a relationship,oraphenomenonthatdoesn'tquitemakesensetous.Whenconfrontedwithsuchinitiallydiscrepantdataorperceptions,weeitherinterpretwhatwesee toconformtoourpresentsetofrulesforexplainingandorderingourworld,orwegenerateanewsetofrulesthatbetteraccountsforwhatweperceivetobe occurring.Eitherway,ourperceptionsandrulesareconstantlyengagedinagranddancethatshapesourunderstandings. Consider,forexample,ayounggirlwhoseonlyexperienceswithwaterhavebeeninabathtubandaswimmingpool.Sheexperienceswaterascalm,movingonlyin responsetothemovementsshemakes.Nowthinkofthissamechild'sfirstencounterwithanoceanbeach.Sheexperiencesthewavesswellingandcrashingontothe shore,whitecapsappearingthensuddenlyvanishing,andtheoceanitselfrollingandpitchinginaregularrhythm.Whensomeofthewaterseepsintohermouth,the tasteisentirelydifferentfromherpriorexperienceswiththetasteofwater.Sheisconfrontedwithadifferentexperienceofwater,one
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thatdoesnotconformtoherpriorunderstanding.Shemusteitheractivelyconstructadifferentunderstandingofwatertoaccommodatehernewexperiencesorignore thenewinformationandretainheroriginalunderstanding.This,accordingtoPiagetandInhelder(1971),occursbecauseknowledgecomesneitherfromthesubject northeobject,butfromtheunityofthetwo.Inthisinstance,theinteractionsofthechildwiththewater,andthechild'sreflectionsonthoseinteractions,willinall likelihoodleadtostructuralchangesinthewayshethinksaboutwater.Fosnot(inpress)statesitthisway:''Learningisnotdiscoveringmore,butinterpretingthrougha differentschemeorstructure." Ashumanbeings,weexperiencevariousaspectsoftheworld,suchasthebeach,atdifferentperiodsofdevelopment,andarethusabletoconstructmorecomplex understandings.Theyoungchildinthisexamplenowknowsthatthetasteofseawaterisunpleasant.Asshegrows,shemightunderstandthatittastessalty.Asa teenager,shemightunderstandthechemicalconceptofsalinity.Atsomepointinherdevelopment,shemightexaminehowsaltsolutionsconductelectricityorhowthe powerofthetidescanbeharnessedasasourceofusableenergy.Eachoftheseunderstandingswillresultfromincreasedcomplexityinherthinking.Eachnew constructionwilldependuponhercognitiveabilitiestoaccommodatediscrepantdataandperceptionsandherfundofexperiencesatthetime. StudentLearninginSchools Acceptingthepropositionthatwelearnbyconstructingnewunderstandingsofrelationshipsandphenomenainourworldmakesacceptingthepresentstructureof schoolingdifficult.Educatorsmustinvitestudentstoexperiencetheworld'srichness,empowerthemtoasktheirownquestionsandseektheirownanswers,and challengethemtounderstandtheworld'scomplexities.Duckworth(1993)describesherversionofteachingthusly:"Iproposesituationsforpeopletothinkaboutand Iwatchwhattheydo.Theytellmewhattheymakeofitratherthanmytellingthemwhattomakeofit."Thisapproachvaluesthestudents'pointsofviewand attemptstoencouragestudentsinthedirectionstheyhavechartedforthemselves.Schoolsinfrequentlyoperateinsuchaway,astheytypicallynarrowthebandof issuesforstudentsand
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sionoftheNativeAmericanpopulationinNorthAmericaisnotfrequentlydiscussedinclassrooms.Alternativeinterpretationsofsocialphenomenaarerarely considered. Third,althoughthereexistsagrowinginterestincooperativelearninginAmerica'sschools,mostclassroomsstructurallydiscouragecooperationandrequirestudents toworkinrelativeisolationontasksthatrequirelowlevelskills,ratherthanhigherorderreasoning.Thinkabout,forexample,themanyelementaryclassroomsin whichstudentssitaloneforportionsofalmosteverydaycompletingworkbookanddittosheets. Fourth,studentthinkingisdevaluedinmostclassrooms.Whenaskingstudentsquestions,mostteachersseeknottoenablestudentstothinkthroughintricateissues, buttodiscoverwhetherstudentsknowthe''right"answers.Consequently,studentsquicklylearnnottoraisetheirhandsinresponsetoateacher'squestionunlessthey areconfidenttheyalreadyknowthesoughtafterresponse.Doingotherwiseplacesthematsomerisk. Fifth,schoolingispremisedonthenotionthatthereexistsafixedworldthatthelearnermustcometoknow.Theconstructionofnewknowledgeisnotashighlyvalued astheabilitytodemonstratemasteryofconventionallyacceptedunderstandings. PerceivedSuccess Thepowerandsanctityofthecurriculumandthesubordinationofstudents'ownemergingconceptsareprofoundconcerns.Manystudentsstruggletounderstand conceptsinisolation,tolearnpartswithoutseeingwholes,tomakeconnectionswheretheyseeonlydisparity,andtoacceptasrealitywhattheirperceptionsquestion. Foragoodmanystudents,successinschoolhasverylittletodowithtrueunderstanding,andmuchtodowithcoverageofthecurriculum.Inmanyschools,the curriculumisheldasabsolute,andteachersarereticenttotamperwithitevenwhenstudentsareclearlynotunderstandingimportantconcepts.Ratherthanadapting thecurriculumtostudents'needs,thepredominantinstitutionalresponseistoviewthosewhohavedifficultyunderstandingtheunalteredcurriculumasslowor disabled.These
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thatstressesperformancelearnthattechnique,rules,andmemorymattermorethancontext,authenticity,andwholeness.Therefore,ratherthanseekingdeep understanding,thesestudentsseekshorttermstrategiesforaccomplishingtasksorpassingtests.Whenasked,severalweeksormonthslater,toapplywhatthey supposedlyhadlearned,moststudentscan't. MakingaDifference Thedebatethatframescurrentconceptionsofschoolreformwaslargelydefineddecadesago.FranklinBobbitt(1924,p.8)wrote:''Educationisprimarilyforadult life,notforchildlife.Itsfundamentalresponsibilityistoprepareforthe50yearsofadulthood,notforthe20yearsofchildhoodandyouth."Thecurrentcritiquesof AmericaneducationemanatingfrombusinessandindustrycertainlyhavetheirrootsinBobbitt'sconceptionofthepurposeofschooling.JohnDewey(1938), however,arguedthateducationaspreparationforadultlifedeniedtheinherentebullienceandcuriositychildrenbroughtwiththemtoschool,andremovedthefocus fromstudents'presentinterestsandabilitiestosomemoreabstractnotionofwhattheymightwishtodoinfutureyears.Deweyurgedthateducationbeviewedas"a processoflivingandnotapreparationforfutureliving." Schoolsandtheteacherswithinthemcandoboth:theycanbestudentcenteredandsuccessfullypreparestudentsfortheiradultyearsbyunderstandingandhonoring thedynamicsoflearningbyrecognizingthat,forstudents,schoolingmustbeatimeofcuriosity,exploration,andinquiry,andmemorizinginformationmustbe subordinatedtolearninghowtofindinformationtosolverealproblems.Adultmodelingandenvironmentalconditionsplayasignificantroleinthedevelopmentof students'dispositionstobeselfinitiatingproblemposersandproblemsolvers.Whenstudentsworkwithadultswhocontinuetoviewthemselvesaslearners,whoask questionswithwhichtheythemselvesstillgrapple,whoarewillingandabletoalterbothcontentandpracticeinthepursuitofmeaning,andwhotreatstudentsand theirendeavorsasworksinprogress,notfinishedproducts,studentsaremorelikelyto
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demonstratethesecharacteristicsthemselves.Barzun(1992)writes:
Anyonewhohasevertaughtknowsthattheartofteachingdependsupontheteacher'sinstantaneousandintuitivevisionofthepupil'smindasitgropesandfumblestograspa newidea(p.20).
Similarly,whentheclassroomenvironmentinwhichstudentsspendsomuchoftheirdayisorganizedsothatstudenttostudentinteractionisencouraged,cooperation isvalued,assignmentsandmaterialsareinterdisciplinary,andstudents'freedomtochasetheirownideasisabundant,studentsaremorelikelytotakerisksand approachassignmentswithawillingnesstoacceptchallengestotheircurrentunderstandings.Suchteacherrolemodelsandenvironmentalconditionshonorstudentsas emergingthinkers. ConsideringDevelopmentalPrinciples Students'cognitivedevelopmentalabilitiesareanothermajorfactorintheprocessofconstructingunderstanding.Itiscrucialthatteachershavesomeunderstandingof thefoundationalprinciplesofcognitivedevelopmentaltheory.Forexample,inonekindergartenclass,childrenwatchedtheirteachermoldthreebucketsofclayinto eightballseachandgiveoneballtoeachchild.Mostofthestudents''correctly"countedthetwentyfourballsandacknowledgedthateachchildgota"fair"share.Did thestudentsactuallyknowthatwhentheteacherdividedtheclayeachballbecame1/8ofabucketand1/24ofthetotalamountofclay?Theywereintheroomand theysawithappen.But,thechildreninthiskindergartenclasswereintellectuallybusygrapplingwithotherrelationshipsandunderstandings.Theywereengagedin notionsofcounting,distributing,andmatching,importantundertakingsinthedevelopmentoftheirconceptsofnumber.Mostofthemdidn'tconsidertheballofclay 1/8ofonetotalandsimultaneously1/24ofanothertotal.Theydidnotconstructtheconceptthatfractionsimplyrelativity.Theydidconstructandconsolidatemany otherconcepts.Theyseriatednumbersandestablisheda
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Theteacheropenedherfirstlessonwiththequestion:Whatdoyouthinklifescienceisallabout?Afewstudentsrespondedwithonewordanswerssuchas"living," "animals,""plants."Sheacknowledgedeachstudentwith"Yes"or"That'sright."Shethenreadastoryaboutafireengine.Immediatelyuponfinishingthestory,she saidtothestudents:"Thepointofthestoryisthatyoucanseemanythingsatafireandyoucanseemanythingsinscience.Everyonecometothefrontandgetyour textbooks."Aftersomeadministrativeworktookplace,theteacherhandedoutphotocopiesofsomewellknownopticalillusionsandsaid:"Inscience,youhaveto developacriticaleye.Writedownwhatyouthinkyousee."Hernextquestionswere:"Whocanseeavase?"and"Whocanseetwofaces?" Theteacher'slessonplanhadmanyoftheelementsofaconstructivistapproach,butherimplementationoftheplandidnot.Sheopenedthelessonwithanumbrella questionthataskedstudentstosharetheircurrentpointsofview.Butsheacceptedonewordanswers,askedforneitherelaborationonthepartofthespeakernor feedbackfromthegroup.Sheplannedforananalogicaldiscussionwithstudents.But,she,herself,drewtheanalogyforthestudentsratherthanaskingquestionsthat wouldhaveallowedthestudentstogeneratetheirownanalogies.Sheattemptedtointegrateher"science"topicwithliteratureandart,encouragingthestudentsto challengetheirownperspectives.Butshedefinedtherangeofperspectivesbyaskingifthestudentssaw
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It'simportantthatwe,together,exploretheconstructivistpropositionandwaystoputthispropositionintopractice.
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References Barzun,J.(1992).BeginHere:TheForgottenConditionsofTeachingandLearning.Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress. BenPeretz,M.(1990).TheTeacherCurriculumEncounter:FreeingTeachersfromtheTyrannyofTexts.NewYork:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress. Bobbitt,F.(1924).HowToMakeaCurriculum.HoughtonMifflin,Boston. Bruner,J.(1971).TheRelevanceofEducation.N.Y.:Norton. Dewey,J.(1938).ExperienceandEducation.NewYork:Macmillan. Duckworth,E.(April30,1993).Personalcommunication,presentationatInstituteforEducationalDialogueonLongIsland. Flanders,M.(1973).''BasicTeachingSkillsDerivedfromaModelofSpeakingandListening."JournalofTeacherEducation24,(Spring73):2437. Fosnot,C.T.(inpress)."RethinkingScienceEducation:ADefenseofPiagetianConstructivism."JournalforResearchinScienceEducation. Gardner,H.(1991b).TheUnschooledMind:HowChildrenThinkandHowSchoolsShouldTeach.NewYork:BasicBooks. Goodlad,J.(1984).APlaceCalledSchool.NewYork:McGrawHill. Katz,L.G.(1985)."DispositionsinEarlyChildhoodEducation."ERIC/EECEBulletin18,2.Urbana,Ill.:ERICClearinghouseorElementaryandEarlyChildhood Education. Noddings,H.(1990)."ConstructivisminMathematicsEducation."JournalforResearchinMathematicsEducation#4.Reston,Va.:NCTM. Papert,S.(1988)."TheConservationofPiaget:TheComputerasGristtotheConstructivistMill."InConstructivismintheComputerAge,editedbyG.Forman andP.B.Pufall.Hillsdale,N.J.:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates. Piaget,J.,andB.Inhelder.(1971).PsychologyoftheChild.NewYork:BasicBooks. Schoenfeld,A.(1988)."WhenGoodTeachingLeadstoBadResults:TheDisastersof`WellTaught'MathematicsCourses."EducationalPsychologist23,2:145 166.
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2 ConsideringthePossibilities
ContrastingParadigms ConstructivismstandsincontrasttothemoredeeplyrootedwaysofteachingthathavelongtypifiedAmericanclassrooms.Traditionally,learninghasbeenthoughtto bea''mimetic"activity,aprocessthatinvolvesstudentsrepeating,ormiming,newlypresentedinformation(Jackson1986)inreportsoronquizzesandtests. Constructivistteachingpractices,ontheotherhand,helplearnerstointernalizeandreshape,ortransform,newinformation.Transformationoccursthroughthecreation ofnewunderstandings(Jackson1986,Gardner1991b)thatresultfromtheemergenceofnewcognitivestructures.Teachersandparentscaninvitetransformations, butcanneithermandatenorpreventthem.Forexample,aftergazingatablockofwoodforthefirstthreemonthsofhislife,aninfantwhotouchestheblockwithhis newlyacquiredgraspingskilltransformshiscognitivestructures,andthusaffectshisunderstandingsoftheblock.Virtuallyallinfantsdothis.Ontheotherhand,many highschoolstudentsreadHamlet,butnotallofthemtransformtheirpriornotionsofpower,relationships,orgreed.Deepunderstandingoccurswhenthepresenceof newinformationpromptstheemergenceorenhancementofcognitivestructuresthatenableustorethinkourpriorideas. Whydoesn'tmorethinkingandrethinkingoccurinschools?Ourpositionisthatthemimeticapproachtoeducationistoocompellingformanyeducatorstogiveup.It isamenabletoeasily
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performedandwidelyacceptedmeasurement,management,andaccountabilityprocedures.Thisapproachhaslongdominatededucationalthinking,and,therefore, policymaking.Ifstudentscanbetrainedtorepeatspecificproceduresandchunksofinformation,thentheyareviewedas''havinglearned."Thepredominantwaysin whichstudentsareaskedtoexpressthislearningisthroughmultiplechoiceorshortanswertests.Thetypicalmannerinwhichteachersdocumentthislearningis throughpostinggrades. Theconstructivistvista,however,isfarmorepanoramicand,therefore,elusive.Deepunderstanding,notimitativebehavior,isthegoal.But,capturinganotherperson's understandingis,ifanything,aparadoxicalenterprise.Unliketherepetitionofprescribedbehaviors,theactoftransformingideasintobroader,morecomprehensive imagesescapesconcisedescription.Weseeneitherthetransformedconceptnortheprocessofconstructionthatprecededitstransformation.Theonlydiscernible aspectis,onceagain,thestudent'sbehavior,butadifferenttypeofbehavior.Intheconstructivistapproach,welooknotforwhatstudentscanrepeat,butforwhat theycangenerate,demonstrate,andexhibit. Traditionalinstructionoftenleadsstudentstobelievetheyarenotinterestedinparticularsubjectareas,suchasphysicsorforeignlanguageorliterature.The constructivistparadigmholdsdisinterestlessasafunctionoftheparticularsubjectareasthanasafunctionofthewaysinwhichstudentshavebeentaught.Figure2.1 summarizessomevisibledifferencesbetweentraditionalandconstructivistlearningenvironments. Take,forexample,two7thgradesciencelessonsonphotosynthesis.InMr.Randall'sclassroom,middleschoolscienceistaughtthroughacombinationoftextbook workandteacherdemonstration.Studentsperformexperimentsfromtimetotime,dependingupontheavailabilityofmaterialsandspace.Studentsreadawidelyused 7thgradesciencetextbook(Heimler,Daniel,andLockard1984),whichexplainsthat:
Photosynthesis(fohtohsinhthuhsus)isthechemicalchangethatproducesfood.Inphotosynthesis,carbondioxidegasandwaterarecombinedtoproducesugarandoxygen. Thesugarmaybechangedtostarch.Sunlightisnecessaryforphotosynthesis.Itsuppliestheenergyforthechemicalchange.Theenergybecomeslockedinthesugarandstarch moleculesthatareproduced(pp.176).
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TraditionalClassrooms Curriculumispresentedparttowhole,with emphasisonbasicskills. Strictadherencetofixedcurriculumis highlyvalued. Curricularactivitiesrelyheavilyon textbooksandworkbooks. Studentsareviewedas''blankslates"onto whichinformationisetchedbytheteacher. Teachersgenerallybehaveinadidactic manner,disseminatinginformationto students. Teachersseekthecorrectanswerto validatestudentlearning.
Curricularactivitiesrelyheavilyonprimary sourcesofdataandmanipulativematerials. Studentsareviewedasthinkerswith emergingtheoriesabouttheworld. Teachersgenerallybehaveinaninteractive manner,mediatingtheenvironmentfor students. Teachersseekthestudents'pointsofview inordertounderstandstudents'present conceptionsforuseinsubsequentlessons. Assessmentofstudentlearningis interwovenwithteachingandoccurs throughteacherobservationsofstudentsat workandthroughstudentsexhibitionsand portfolios. Studentsprimarilyworkingroups.
Studentsprimarilyworkalone.
Figure2.1 ALookatSchoolEnvironments
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yieldingbothaproductandabyproduct.Thisunderstandingcanserveasabasisfortheconstructionofamoresophisticatedunderstandingofphotosynthesisandthe abilitytousetheunit'svocabulary.FormanandKuschner(1977),indiscussingPiaget'sideasontheconstructionofknowledge,write:
Thinkofthechildnotunderstandingsomesystem,suchasthegameofbaseball,tounderstandingthatsystem.Knowingtheentirelistofruleswouldnotbecreditedas knowledge,toPiaget.Knowinghowtonavigatetherules,toinferwhyitmakessensetohittheballlightly,tofigureoutwhytherulesallowyoutorunpastfirstbasebutnot secondtheseexamplesofagenerativeuseoftherulesgiveevidencethatthelisthasbeenconstructedintoawholesystem(p.84).
Ms.Martina'sanalogicactivityservedasaninvitationforstudentstolookatphotosynthesisasawholesystem.Thestudents'owncreationofanalogieshelpedthemto constructaframework.Inordertocompletethetask,studentsaskedquestionsaboutphotosynthesis,nomeanfeatwith7thgraders,andstruggledtoputthe ''answers"intoameaningfulcontext. Let'sconsiderstudents'conceptionsofphotosynthesisinateacherpreparationclassofgraduatesandundergraduateswithbiologyandearthsciencemajors.Inone class,theprofessoraskedthestudentstoexplaintheprocessofphotosynthesisin"simple,"everydayterms.Thefollowingtworesponsesdemonstratethetentative natureoftheirunderstandings:"Ithassomethingtodowithmakingcarbondioxide.""No.it'snot.Theplantusescarbondioxidetomake...tomake...afood molecule...Ithink?" Thesearetwocollegestudentsenrolledinbothabiologycourseandateacherpreparationcourse.Theyacknowledgedembarrassmentatnotbeingabletodescribe photosynthesisconcisely.Infact,theyvolunteeredtoreconsiderthetopicandgivetheclassaminilessonatthenextclassmeeting.Onthatoccasion,theyaccurately, andenthusiastically,describedphotosynthesisonthebiochemicallevel.TheyusedsketchesandmodelsofthelightanddarkstagereactionsandtheCalvincycleand describedindetailthemanymolecularactivitiesthattakeplaceduringphotosynthesis.
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Theyfreestudentsfromthedrearinessoffactdrivencurriculumsandallowthemtofocusonlargeideas. Theyplaceinstudents'handstheexhilaratingpowertofollowtrailsofinterest,tomakeconnections,toreformulateideas,andtoreachuniqueconclusions. Theysharewithstudentstheimportantmessagethattheworldisacomplexplaceinwhichmultipleperspectivesexistandtruthisoftenamatterofinterpretation. Theyacknowledgethatlearning,andtheprocessofassessinglearning,are,atbest,elusiveandmessyendeavorsthatarenoteasilymanaged. Tounderstandconstructivism,educatorsmustfocusattentiononthelearner.But,opportunitiesforlearnerstolearnareheavilycontrolledbythestructureofschools. Thisbook,therefore,oftenchroniclesexamplesofteaching/learninginteractionsfromthepointofviewoftheteacherandthesettingforthepurposeofillustratinghow the''peopleincharge"mightbegintorestructurethelearningopportunitiestheymakeavailableintheirsettings.Butwemustalwaysrememberthatinordertorealize thepossibilitiesforlearningthataconstructivistpedagogyoffers,schoolsneedtotakeacloser,morerespectfullookattheirlearners. References Barzun,J.(1992).BeginHere:TheForgottenConditionsofTeachingandLearning.Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress. Ferrandino,F.(1991).Unpublishedmanuscript.NewYork:SUNYatStonyBrook. Forman,G.,andD.Kuschner.(1977).TheChild'sConstructionofKnowledge.Belmont,Calif.:WadworthCo. Gardner,H.(1991b).TheUnschooledMind:HowChildrenThinkandHowSchoolsShouldTeach.NewYork:BasicBooks. Heimler,C.,L.Daniel,andJ.D.Lockard.(1984).FocusonLifeScience.Columbus,Ohio:CharlesE.MerrillPublishingCo. Jackson,P.W.(1986).ThePracticeofTeaching.NewYork:TeachersCollegePress.
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3 ComingtoKnowOne'sWorld
Constructivism,asawayofcomingtoknowone'sworld,issupportedbyalongandhonorablebodyofliteratureandresearch,muchofwhichislistedinthisbook's bibliography.Wehighlightheretheworksofafewphilosophers,researchers,andtheoristswhohaveinformedourthinkingandpracticeandwhoseworkunderpins theconstructivistteachingprinciplesanddescriptorswediscussinPartsIIandIII.Thereisclearlyaconnectionbetweenconstructivismasanepistemologicaland philosophicalimageandconstructivismasaneducationalframework. AlthoughsomearguethatthefirstgreatdocumentedconstructivistwasSocrates,ourdiscussiondoesn'tstretchthatfarback.Inthemorerecentpast,several philosophers,psychologists,andeducatorshavestruggledtounderstandtheindividual'srelationshipwithnatureandsocietyandhavehelpedusreformulatemanyof thefundamentalquestionswehaveaskedourselves.Thenatureofknowledge,andthereforeoflearning,hasemergedovertimeasanessentiallineofinquiry. ThephilosopherEmmanuelKant,whoseworkbridgedthe18thand19thcenturies,attemptedtowedtwodisparateviewsofknowledge:theviewthatlogicalanalysis ofactionsandobjectsleadstothegrowthofknowledgeandtheviewthatone'sindividualexperiencesgeneratenewknowledge.Kantcontendedthatbothviews havemerit:analysis,bydefinition,occursafterthefactsensateexperiencesoccurbeforeorduringtheevent.Botharea
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negativereinforcementofunwantedbehaviors.OtherviewsofhumanbehaviorhavebeenlargelyignoredinAmericaneducation.Wadsworth(1971)writes:
Traditionally,Americanpsychologistsofthebehavioristschooldonotinfertheexistenceofinternalmentalprocesses(ofthought).Piaget'sconcepts,likeassimilation,are entirelyforeigntothebehavioristposition(p.6).
Piagetviewedconstructivismasawayofexplaininghowpeoplecometoknowabouttheirworld.Hebuttressedthisexplanationwithextensivedocumentationof behaviorshewitnessedandwithwellsupportedinferencesaboutthefunctionsofthemind.Piaget(1952)viewedthehumanmindasadynamicsetofcognitive structuresthathelpusmakesenseofwhatweperceive.Thesestructuresgrowinintellectualcomplexityaswematureandasweinteractwiththeworldwecometo knowandaswegainexperience.Throughmaturationandexperience,thegroundworkfornewstructuresislaid.Forexample,thecognitivestructuresrequiredto comprehendthatawoodencubeishardarerudimentaryandfarlesscomplexthanthestructuresnecessarytounderstandthatacubehaslength,width,andheight, andthatthesethreefactorscombinetodeterminethecube'svolume. Aninfant,yetunabletoholdormanipulatethecube,definesitbythesidesvisibletoheratthatpointintime.Whenthechild'smusculatureandmentalstructuresallow hertotouchit,sheispresentedwithnewinformationthatmustbeintegratedintoherthinking.Animportantcognitivestructurehaschangedtheinitial''nongrasping" structurehasbeenrefashionedintoanew"grasping"one.Thisprocessiscalledaccommodation.Thechild'snewlycreatedstructureallowsassimilationofthe experiencetooccurwithinhermind. InPiagetianterms,thetemporarycognitivestabilityresultingfromthebalanceofassimilationandaccommodationiscalledequilibrium.Piagetsuggestedthatthe creationofnewcognitivestructuresspringsfromthechild'sneedtoreachequilibriumwhenconfrontedwithinternallyconstructedcontradictionsthatis,when perceptionand"reality"conflict.ThequestforcognitiveequilibriumisamongthemostcontroversialofPiaget'snotions.
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SigelandCocking(1977)assertthatstudents'fundamentalquestisdiscrepancyresolution.Thestudentwhoperceivesthatthetwoinitialglassesheldequalamounts ofwaterandthetwosubsequentbeakersdidnothasnodiscrepancywithwhichtocontend.Inthisstudent'sworld,defined,inpart,bythecognitivestructures availabletoheratthatpointintime,thereisnothingdiscrepantaboutequalsbecomingunequal.However,thestudentwhorecognizesthatequalsmustremainequal, evenifthereceptaclesinwhichtheyareheldchangeshape,hasadiscrepancytoresolve.Typically,thediscrepancyisresolvedbythestudentincorporatingagreater numberofvariablesandnewinformationintoheranalysis.Thisisnottosaythatshewillnecessarilyconstructtheunderstandingheldbytheteacherorotherthinkersin theclass,justthatthenewunderstandingwilllikelybesomewhatmoresophisticatedthanthepriorone. Whatconstitutessophisticationisquiterelativeandcontextual,however.Considerthefollowingexample.Onecoldwintermorning,sittinginthecarataredlight,a threeyearoldchildnoticedacrossingguardintheintersectionwalkingawayfromhim.Theguardwaswearingaregulationuniformwiththebulkylongcoat,white gloves,andwhite,closefittinghood.Ingreatsurprise,thechildexclaimed,''Look,there'sasnowmancrossingthestreet!"Hethenadded,"Ididn'tknowsnowmen werereal." Thisthreeyearoldhadbroadenedhis"snowman"conceptfromstorybookcharactersandsnowdaysculpturingto"real"ones
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Comingtoknowone'sworldisafunctionofcaringaboutone'sworld.Caringaboutone'sworldisfosteredbycommunitiesoflearnersinvolvedintryingtoanswer similar,butnotnecessarilyidentical,problems.Theenergynecessaryforconstructionofproblemsolutionsdemandscommitment.Commitment,inturn,emanatesfrom construction.Anengineerwatchesanewlydesignedairplaneexecuteaflawlessperformanceandsays,''That'smybaby!"Anarchitect,afteryearsoflonghours workingonablueprintforacomplexstructure,says,"That'smybaby!"Afather,athisdaughter'sblackbeltkarateexhibitionsays,"That'smybaby!"Whythesame metaphor?Thereisacommitmentinherentinparenting,anactivitythatincludesdesign,investment,joy,andpain.Indeed,otheractivitieshighinthesequalities engendergreatcommitmentaswell. Designing,thinking,changing,evaluatingmostparticularlyinresponsetoafeltneedcreateinterestandenergy.Cognitiveprocessesworktoaddressaffectively drivenissues.Helpingstudentsorgroupsofstudentstoclarifyforthemselvesthenatureoftheirownquestions,toposetheirquestionsintermstheycanpursue,andto interprettheresultsinlightofotherknowledgetheyhavegeneratedistheteacher'smaintask. TheChallenge Piaget(1969)wrote:
Theheartbreakingdifficultyinpedagogy,asindeedinmedicineandinmanyotherbranchesofknowledgethatpartakeatthesametimeofartandscience,is,infact,thatthebest methodsarealsothemostdifficultones:itwouldbeimpossibletoemployaSocraticmethodwithouthavingfirstacquiredsomeofSocrates'qualities,thefirstofwhichwould havetobeacertainrespectforintelligenceintheprocessofdevelopment(p.69).
Aconstructivistframeworkchallengesteacherstocreateenvironmentsinwhichtheyandtheirstudentsareencouragedtothinkandexplore.Thisisaformidable challenge.Buttodootherwiseistoperpetuatetheeverpresentbehavioralapproachtoteachingandlearning.
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References Bruner,J.(1964).''TheCourseofCognitiveGrowth."AmericanPsychologist19. Bruner,J.(1986).ActualMinds,PossibleWorlds.Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress. Case,R.(1985).IntellectualDevelopment:BirthtoAdulthood.Orlando,Fla.:AcademicPress. Chomsky,N.(1977).LanguageandResponsibility.NewYork:PantheonBooks. Copple,C.,I.Sigel,andR.Saunders.(1984).EducatingtheYoungThinker.NewYork:D.VanNostrand. Fosnot,C.T.(inpress)."RethinkingScienceEducation:ADefenseofPiagetianConstructivism."JournalforResearchinScienceEducation. Gardner,H.(1991b).TheUnschooledMind:HowChildrenThinkandHowSchoolsShouldTeach.NewYork:BasicBooks. Haroutunian,S.(1983).EquilibriumintheBalance.NewYork:SpringerVerlag. Kelly,G.A.(1955).ThePsychologyofPersonalConstructs,2Vols.(Vol.1,ATheoryofPersonalityVol.2,ClinicalDiagnosisandPsychotherapy).New York:Norton. Kuhn,T.(1962).TheStructureofScientificRevolutions.Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress. Lienhard,J.(1993).TheEnginesofOurIngenuity,No.781:Error.Houston,Texas:NationalPublicRadio,KUHF. Piaget,J.(1952).TheOriginsofIntelligenceinChildren.NewYork:InternationalUniversitiesPress. Piaget,J.(1969).TheMechanismsofPerception.London:RoutledgeandKegerPaul. Piaget,J.,andB.Inhelder.(1971).ThePsychologyoftheChild.N.Y.:BasicBooks. Sigel,I.E.,andR.R.Cocking.(1977).CognitiveDevelopmentfromChildhoodtoAdolescence:AConstructivistPerspective.N.Y.:Holt,Rinehartand Winston. Skinner,B.F.(1938).TheBehavioralOrganism:AnExperimentalAnalysis.N.Y.:AppletonCenturyCrofts. Thorndike,E.L.(1926).TheMeasurementofIntelligence.Columbia,NewYork:TeachersCollegePress. Wadsworth,B.(1971).Piaget'sTheoryofCognitiveDevelopmentAnIntroductionforStudentsofPsychologyandEducation.N.Y.:Longman. vonGlasersfeld,E.(1981)."TheConceptsofAdaptationandViabilityinaRadicalConstructivistTheoryofKnowledge."InNewDirectionsinPiagetianTheory andPractice,editedbyI.E.Sigel,Brodinsky,andGolinkoff.Hillsdale,N.J.:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates.
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PARTII SOMEGUIDINGPRINCIPLESOFCONSTRUCTIVISM
PosingProblemsofEmergingRelevancetoStudents StructuringLearningAroundPrimaryConcepts: TheQuestforEssence SeekingandValuingStudents'PointsofView AdaptingCurriculumtoAddressStudents'Suppositions AssessingStudentLearningintheContextofLearning
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4 Principle#1: PosingProblemsofEmergingRelevancetoStudents
Onecommoncriticismofconstructivismisthat,asapedagogicalframework,itsubordinatesthecurriculumtotheinterestsofthechild.Criticscontendthatthe constructivistapproachstimulateslearningonlyaroundconceptsinwhichthestudentshaveaprekindledinterest.Suchcriticismsmissthemark. Posingproblemsofemergingrelevanceisaguidingprincipleofconstructivistpedagogy.However,relevancedoesnothavetobepreexistingforthestudent.Notall studentsarriveattheclassroomdoorinterestedinlearningaboutverbconstructs,motionandmechanics,biologicalcycles,orhistoricaltimelines,butmoststudents canbehelpedtoconstructunderstandingsoftheimportanceofthesetopics.Relevancecanemergethroughteachermediation. IndiscussingDewey'snotionthateducationoughttotakeintoaccountstudents'interests,Bruner(1971)writes:
...apointofdepartureisnotanitinerary.Itisjustasmistakentosacrificetheadulttothechildastosacrificethechildtotheadult.Itissentimentalismtoassumethatthe teachingoflifecanbefittedalwaystothechild'sinterestsjustasitisemptyformalismtoforcethechildtoparrottheformulasofadultsociety.Interestscanbecreatedand stipulated(p.117).
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Howdoesateacherhelpstudentsconsideratopicrelevant?First,theteachershouldbeginwithagoodproblem.Fornow,let'sconsiderthedefinitionofagood problemsolvingsituationofferedbyJoelGreenberg(1990).
1.Itdemandsthatstudentsmakeatestableprediction(onepreferablytestablebythestudents). 2.Itmakesuseofrelativelyinexpensiveequipment.Fancierequipmentmightbeused(toobtainhigherprecision),buttheproblemshouldworkwellatthelowtechendofthe spectrum. 3.Itiscomplexenoughtoelicitmultipleproblemsolvingapproachesfromthestudents. 4.Itbenefitsfrom(asopposedtobeinghinderedby)groupeffort(p.147).
Thesecriteriaareconsistentwithconstructivistpedagogyandspeaktobothsocialandcognitiveneedsintheclassroom,whetherthestudentsarekindergartners, teenagers,oradults. WewouldaddafifthrequirementtoGreenberg'slist.Forasituationtobeconsideredagoodproblemsolvingsituationinaclassroom,atsomepoint,theproblem solversmustviewtheproblemasrelevant.Problemswithlittleornoinitialrelevancetostudentscanbemaderelevantthroughteachermediationbeforeorafterthe problemisposed.Forexample,itisararehighschoolstudentwhoindependentlygrappleswiththenotionsofmomentumandenergyfortheintellectualthrillofit.But, withveryfewexceptions,thefollowingproblemofmomentumandenergy(whichmeetsGreenberg'sfourcriteria)hasengagedthediversegroupswithwhomwehave worked. Asetoffivehangingpendulawithequalsizemetalballsalltouchingeachotherinarestingpositionispresentedtostudents(seeFigure4.1onpage33).Theteacher raisesoneball,releasesit,andletsthestudentsnotethatoneballswingsoutontheotherside.Theteacherthenraisesandreleasestwoballsandthestudentsobserve thattwoballsswingoutontheotherside.Thentheteacherraisesthreeballsandasksthegrouptopredictwhatwilloccurwhenthethreeballsarereleased. Wehaveconductedthislessonwithmanygroups:highschoolstudents,collegestudents,schooladministrators,andteachersofeverygradelevelandsubjectarea. Theresponsesfromeverygroup
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Figure4.1
areconsistent,andinclude:(1)oneballwillgoout,buthigher(2)twoballswillgoout,buthigher(3)threeballswillgoout(4)theballswill''gocrazy"(5)theballs willstopand(6)theballswillswingtogether.Someclaimthatatwoballswingstartedbythethreeballimpactwillquicklybecomeatwoball/twoballswing.Some claimthatitwillresultinatwoball/threeballswing.Withoutexception,atleastfouroftheaboveresponsesarearticulatedbyeverygroupso,withoutindicatingthe "right"answer,wealwaysaskthestudentstoexplaintheirresponses,reacttoothers'responses,andindicatewhethertheyhavechangedtheirmindsuponhearing others'predictions.Withinahalfhour,thegroupsdemandthatwereleasethethreeballssotheycantesttheirtheories. Didanyofthepeoplewithwhomwe'vesharedthisactivitywakeupthatmorningponderingthevariablesthataffecttheswingofapendulum,ortryingtoremember thedefinitionofmomentum,orconsideringhowbothenergyandmomentumareconservedinthesamesystem?Probablynot.Infact,mostoftheadultswithwhom wehaveworkedacknowledgethatsuchponderingshavebeenfrighteningandalientothem.Sowhydidtheapparatusandthequestions,foratleastthedurationof thelesson,proveengaging?Whatmadetheproblemrelevant? Foronething,theapparatusoffersimmediatefeedback.Thisfeatureisa"hook"formanystudents.Butteachermediationisthekeyfactor.Thestructuringofthe lessonaroundquestionsthatchallengestudents'originalhypothesespresentsstudentswiththeinitialsparksthatkindletheirinterest.Studentsmustbegiventime
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andstimulationtoseekrelevanceandtheopportunitytorevealtheirownpointsofview.Studentsneedopportunitiestoponderthequestion,formtheirown responses,andaccepttheriskofsharingtheirthoughtswithothers. Thestudents'receptivenesstowardstudyingthevariablesinherentinthependulaapparatussetsthestageforsubsequentlessons,theprimaryaimofwhichisto encouragestudentstogenerateunderstandingsofhowtoquantifymomentum,force,andacceleration,andrecognizeitsexistenceinothersettings.Theteacheroffers, forexample,labsandexperiencesthatfocusexplicitlyonthestudents'thinking. Tothestudentswhoclaimthattwoballswillswinghigherwhenthreeballsarereleased,theteachercanassignalabinwhichstudentsdeterminethevariablesthat influencetheswingofapendulumusingbobsofdifferentweightsandstringsofdifferentlengths.Thestudentscanthendeterminehowtogetapendulumtoswing higher. Tothestudentswhoclaimthatoneballwillgoout(thetypicalreasonofferedisthatenergyneedsamediumthroughwhichtotravelinthiscase,aball),theteacher canassignalabinwhichcollisionsofdifferenttypesareexamined.Workingwithsteel,clay,andwoodenballs,studentscandesigndifferentcollisionsandreflecton whattheoutcomesofthosecollisionsmightmean. Thestudentswhoconservedbothmomentumandenergyintheinitiallessonmightbeaskedtoconsiderconservationofmomentumbeyondthoseinteractionsinwhich themomentumiscarriedbymaterialobjects,suchasinthehangingpendulasystem.Whataboutlight?Canmomentumbecarriedbylight?Thiscanbeafascinating question,butnotnecessarilyforeveryone. Mosthighschoolstudents,aswellasmostadults,conceptualizeforcesintermsoftheoutcomesthatthoseforcesproduce.Moststudentsdon'tunderstandthe conservationsandcancellationsofforceswellenoughtomakeameaningfulinquiryaboutlightarrivingonearthfromasupernovainspace.Forotherstudents,such challengesarenecessarytomaintainanengaginginquiryaboutmomentum.Theinquiringteachermediatestheclassroomenvironmentinaccordancewithboththe primaryconceptshehaschosenfortheclass'inquiryandhergrowingunderstandingofstudents'emerginginterestsandcognitiveabilitieswithintheconcept.
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Whenposingproblemsforstudentstoconsiderandstudy,it'scrucialtoavoidisolatingthevariablesforthestudents,toavoidgivingthemmoreinformationthanthey needorwant,andtoavoidsimplifyingthecomplexityoftheproblemtooearly.Complexityoftenservestogeneraterelevanceand,therefore,interest.Itis oversimplificationthatstudentsfindconfusing. TimeVersusCoverage Constructivistteachersoftenaskstudentstothinkaboutquestionstheywouldnotordinarilyconsiderontheirown.Ofcourse,highlydidacticteachersdothesame thing.Sowhat'sthedifference?Asignificantdifferenceisthatconstructivistteachersseektoaskonebigquestion,togivethestudentstimetothinkaboutit,andto leadthemtotheresourcestoanswerit.Thisisquitedifferentfromaskingthemanyspecificquestionsthatspringfromtheprescribedsyllabusand,whenthequestions arenotquicklyoraccuratelyanswered,answeringthemforthestudentstokeepthepaceofthelessonbrisk.Mostpackagedandstateordistrictendorsed curriculumshaveascopeandsequenceandfairlyrigidtimelines.Thesetimelinesarenotestablishedinservicetotheintellectualdevelopmentofthelearner.Theyare createdtostandardizeinstructionalpracticesandensurebroadcoverageofthewholecurriculum. Constructivistteachershavediscoveredthattheprescribedscope,sequence,andtimelineofteninterfereswiththeirabilitytohelpstudentsunderstandcomplex concepts.Rigidtimelinesarealsoatoddswithresearchonhowhumanbeingsformmeaningfultheoriesaboutthewaystheworldworks(Duckworth1986),how studentsandteachersdevelopanappreciationofknowledgeandunderstanding(Eisner1985),andhowonecreatesthedispositiontoinquireaboutphenomenanot fullyunderstood(Katz1985).Mostcurriculumssimplypacktoomuchinformationintotoolittletimeatasignificantcosttothelearner. Teacherseverywherelamenthowquicklystudentsforgetandhowlittleofwhattheyinitiallyrememberedtheyretainovertime.Ourpresentcurricularstructurehas engineeredthatoutcome.Studentshaven'tforgottentheyneverlearnedthatwhichwe
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LearningforTransfer Justasit'simportanttolookforandvaluethepointsofviewofthestudentswithwhomwework,we,aseducators,mustalso
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lookforandvaluethepowerofourownperspectivesasadults.Doingsobothclarifiesandcomplicates.Itclarifiesourunderstandingsofhowpeoplelearnand complicatesourunderstandingsofhowtoteach. It'scommonforeducatorstobeaskedtoadoptanewperspectiveoninstruction(forexample,toadoptthepracticeoflookingforandvaluingthestudents'pointsof view)whilesimultaneouslybeingrebukedforseekingtoreconsiderassessmentpractices,managementdesigns,classroomprotocols,andthemyriadothervariables thatdefineteachingandlearning.Ineffect,educatorsarebeingtoldtorespondtoexternalstimuliwhilestiflingtheirowninnerperspectives.Thisfragmentedapproach torestructuringoftencreatessettingsinwhichcontradictorypracticescoexist.Inattemptingtoencourageintellectualautonomy,schoolsoftensetupelaboratereward andpunishmentsystemstocontrollearning.Inattemptingtoencouragestudentstoappreciatetheinterrelatednessofpeople,phenomena,andideas,schoolsoffera seriesofcoursesunconnectedtooneanotherforexample,scienceandhistoryclasses.Wefilteroutmosthistoricalperspectivesfromscienceclassesbecausethere justisn'tenoughtimetocovereventhe''science"information.Then,wefilteroutsciencefromhistoryclassesbecausewehavesomehowconcludedthatpoliticalwars aremoreimportanttostudythanintellectualleaps.Indoingso,welosesightofouroriginalaims:toencouragestudents'intellectualdevelopmentandtofostertheir acquisitionoftheskillsnecessarytoservethatpurpose. Thefragmentationofthecurriculumandthepressuresoftimehavemadeintellectualinquirysohighlyspecializedthat,by7thgrade,mostcurriculumsare departmentalizedandheavilyladenwithinformationtobememorized.Duringtheirsixhoursinschooleachday,studentscanseesevenoreightdifferentteachers, eachchargedwithteachingadifferentcurriculum.Withinthisstructure,studentsquicklycometoperceiveknowledgeasseparate,parallelstrandsofunrelated information.Manyteachersassumethattransferoccursautomaticallyafterasufficientbaseofinformationisacquired.Surveysofhighschoolgraduates,however, indicatethattheinformationbaseisshorttermandtransferoccursonlysporadically(RavitchandFinn1987).
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Learningfortransferisanintellectualactivitythatmustbenurturedandmodelledinstitutionallyinschools,classrooms,andfamilies.Toomanymodelsoflearningare basedonassumptionsthatarefoundtobefaultyyearafteryearforlargesegmentsofthestudentpopulation.Constructivistsettingsarebasedondifferentassumptions andoffernewpractices.Learningtobeaconstructivistteacherisimportant,butnoteasy.Regularreflectionandanalysisofpersonalperspectivesonlearninghelpto clarifyandassessthoseperspectivesandtoalignteachingpracticesinaccordancewiththem. TheValueofChangingOne'sMind Theterms''naivebeliefs"(McCloskyetal.1980)and"misconceptions"(Lochhead1988)areusedincognitiveresearchtodiscusstheideaofhelpingstudents"change theirminds"abouthowtheyinterpretthephenomenaaroundthem.Changingone'smindisaninvaluableelementofthelearningprocess.Takethefollowingasan example. Studentsinan8thgradeEnglishclassputtogetherindividualmagazinesonselfselectedtopics.Themagazineassignmentwasintendedtobeinterdisciplinaryinnature, incorporatingavarietyofresearchandwritingskills.Onestudentchosethetopicofsneakers.Heneededhelpindevelopingasciencerelatedarticleforhismagazine. Throughinquiryanddiscussion,heandtheteacheragreedthatasneakerhastoabsorbshock,whilesimultaneouslyaffordingalittlebounce.Ithastogriptheroad, butnotenoughtomakethewearertrip.Thestudentindicatedthathowwellasneakerservesthesetwofunctionsdependsonitsdesign,buthedidnotinitiallyview thematerialsfromwhichthesneakerwasmadeasaffectingthosefunctions.Whileuncoveringthestudent'spointofview,theteacherbegantoformulatethenextday's lesson. Duringthenextday'sclass,theteacherconvenedthe"sneakers"investigator,the"racingcars"enthusiast,andthe"skateboards"fan.Shegavethestudentstworubber ballsandtoldthemthatexperimentingwiththeballsmayhelpthemputtogethersomethoughtsonhowsneaker,car,andskateboardmanufacturersdecidewhat blendsofmaterialstouseintheirsoles,tires,or
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wheels.Theteacherencouragedthestudentstoexaminethepropertiesofthetwoballs.Shetoldthemtorolltheballssimultaneouslydownaninclinedplaneandnote whathappens. Theballswerethe''happy"and"unhappy"ballsavailablefromsciencesupplyhouses.Oneismadefromthewidelyusedsyntheticrubberknownasneoprene.The otherisformedfromaproprietaryrubbercompounddevelopedandmanufacturedunderthetradenameNorsorextm.Althoughtheylookalmostidentical,theballs differinanumberofways.Thestudentsfirstnoticedthatoneball(theneoprene)rollsfaster.Fromthrowingtheballandmissingthecatch,theynextdiscoveredthat the"slow"ballhadnobounce.Afterthestudentsspentabout15minutesrollingandbouncingtheballs,sharingreasonsforwhatwashappening,andsuggestingterms like"friction,""bounciness,"and"force,"theteacherrejoinedthegrouptohelpthemconsiderthenotionthatblendingmaterialsofdifferentattributescancreatedesired newattributes. Beforethisexperiment,thestudentsviewedrubberasasingularnoun.Anitemeitherwasrubberorwasnot.Thisviewchangeddramatically.Afterexperimenting,the studentswereanimatedintheirreformulatedideasthatthevastarrayofsneakersfeaturedinshoestoresandsportsshopscouldalsobedistinguishedbythe "bounciness"ofmaterialsusedintheirmanufacturing,andthatthe"bounciness"wasnotonlyrelatedtothedesign,butwasafunctionofthesneaker'smaterial propertiesaswell.Theteachertoldthegroupwhentheywerewritinguptheirexperimentsthattherewasa"fancy"wordfor"bounciness."Noneofthemaskedwhatit was.Infact,theycontinuedinterruptinghertocommentonthe"bounciness"oftennisballs,basketballs,andtypesofracingtires. Thisexampleillustratesonlyonesmallareaofthestudents'knowledgebase.Butitisofinteresttonotethatthesethreestudents,inothersubjectareasandother classes,didnottypicallyaddressnuanceorsubtletiesintheirwritingordiscourse.It'salsointerestingtonotethatnoneofthesestudentsconsideredthistopicrelevant attheunit'sonset.Inmanyaspectsoftheirthinking,theyexhibitedan"either/or"frameofreference.Therelevanceemergedforthesestudentsinitiallythroughthe teacher'smediationofthetaskandsubsequentlythroughtheirowndesiretosolvewhatGreenberg(1990)calls"agoodproblem."
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<><><><><><><><><><><><> Thenotionofemergingrelevancewasoneofourfirstgenerateduniversalsorwhatwecallguidingprinciplesofconstructivistteaching.Aswestudiedthis principle,werealizedthatthenatureofquestionsposedtostudentsgreatlyinfluencesthedepthtowhichthestudentssearchforanswers.Posingproblemsofemerging relevanceandsearchingforwindowsintostudents'thinkingformaparticularframeofreferenceabouttheroleoftheteacherandabouttheteachingprocess.Itcannot beincludedinateacher'srepertoireasanaddon.Itmustbeabasicelementofthatrepertoire. References Blais,D.M.(November1988).''Constructivism:ATheoreticalRevolutionforAlgebra."MathematicsTeacher624631. Bruner,J.(1971).TheRelevanceofEducation.N.Y.:Norton. Driver,R.,E.Guesne,andA.Tiberghien,eds.(1985).Children'sIdeasinScience.Philadelphia:OpenUniversityPress. Duckworth,E.(November1986)."TeachingasResearch."HarvardEducationalReview56,4:481495. Dykstra,D.,Jr.,C.F.Boyle,andI.A.Monarch.(1992)."StudyingConceptualChangeinLearningPhysics."ScienceEducation76,6:615652. Eisner,E.,ed.(1985)."AestheticModesofKnowing."LearningandTeachingtheWaysofKnowing,84thYearbookoftheNationalSocietyfortheStudyof Education.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,pp.2336. Forman,G.,andP.B.Pufall,eds.ConstructivismintheComputerAge.Hillsdale,N.J.:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates. Greenberg,J.(1990).ProblemSolvingSituations,VolumeI.GrapevinePublications,Inc. Hunt,D.E.,andE.V.Sullivan.(1974).BetweenPsychologyandEducation.Hinsdale,Ill.:TheDrydenPress. Katz,L.G.(1985)."DispositionsinEarlyChildhoodEducation."ERIC/EECEBulletin18,2.Urbana,Ill.:ERICClearinghouseonElementaryandEarlyChildhood Education. Lochhead,J.(1985)."NewHorizonsinEducationalDevelopment."ReviewofResearchinEducation.Washington,D.C.:AmericanEducationalResearch Association. Lochhead,J.(1988)."SomePiecesofthePuzzle."InConstructivismintheComputerAge,editedbyG.FormanandP.Pufall.Hillsdale,N.J.:LawrenceErlbaum Associates.
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5 Principle#2: StructuringLearningAroundPrimaryConcepts:TheQuestforEssence
Structuringcurriculumaroundprimaryconceptsisacriticaldimensionofconstructivistpedagogy.Whendesigningcurriculum,constructivistteachersorganize informationaroundconceptualclustersofproblems,questions,anddiscrepantsituationsbecausestudentsaremostengagedwhenproblemsandideasarepresented holisticallyratherthaninseparate,isolatedparts.Muchoftraditionaleducationbreakswholesintopartsandthenfocusesseparatelyoneachpart.Butmanystudents areunabletobuildconceptsandskillsfrompartstowholes.Thesestudentsoftenstoptryingtoseethewholesbeforeallthepartsarepresentedtothemandfocuson thesmall,memorizableaspectsofbroadunitswithoutevercreatingthebigpicture.Think,forexample,ofassemblingabicycle.Thepackagecontainsprecisewritten directionsinsequentialorder,butmostofuscontinuallyrefertothepictureofthebicycleonthebox.Weneedtoseethe''whole"beforeweareabletomakesenseof theparts. InthenowdefunctChicagoMasteryLearningSystem,readingwaspresentedtostudentsasapproximately300discreteskillstobemasteredinsequentialorder. Mostskillscamewiththeirowntestsformastery.Studentsworkedoneachskillinsequenceuntilitwasmastered.Insucharrangements,theforestgetsobscuredby thetrees,andeachseparateskillbecomesitsownwholetobemastered.Somestudentsareabletomasterindividualreadingskillswithoutbecomingveryproficient readerswhilesomecom
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petentreadershaveadifficulttimewiththeseparateskills.Inotherwords,theparttowholeapproachisnotnecessarilypredictiveofstudentsuccess. Whenconceptsarepresentedaswholes,ontheotherhand,studentsseektomakemeaningbybreakingthewholesintopartsthattheycanseeandunderstand. Studentsinitiatethisprocesstomakesenseoftheinformationtheyconstructtheprocessandtheunderstandingratherthanhavingitdoneforthem.Withcurricular activitiesclusteredaroundbroadconcepts,studentscanselecttheirownuniqueproblemsolvingapproachesandusethemasspringboardsfortheconstructionofnew understandings.Inahighschoolsocialstudiesclass,forexample,ateacherstructuredaunitonconflictaroundthreeconflictsinvolvingAmericantroops:the RevolutionaryWar,theCivilWar,andWorldWarII.Theteacherwrotethenamesofthethreewarsonthechalkboardandthenaskedstudentstoreflectonwhat theyalreadyknewaboutthesewars,toselecttwoofthethreewars,andtocomparethembyillustratingtheirsimilaritiesanddifferences. Ratherthanpresentingfactstothestudentsabouteachofthethreewars,theteacherchoseanactivitythatencouragedstudentstoreflect,analyze,compare,and contrast.Hecreatedasettinginwhichstudentscouldlearnfactsfromeachotherandtheirtextbookwhileconstructingtheirownnewconceptualunderstandingsof thebroaderthemeofconflict.OnestudentinterpretedtheRevolutionaryWarandtheCivilWaraswarsfoughttoachievefreedom,whileseeingWorldWarIIasa warfoughttoprotectit.AnotherstudentdifferentiatedbetweentheCivilWarandtheothertwowarsbyfocusingonthenationalityofthesoldiers:theCivilWarpitted AmericanagainstAmerican.AthirdstudentreportedthatthecolorsoftheuniformswornbysoldiersduringtheRevolutionaryWarandWorldWarIIweredifferent. Shethoughtthattheywouldhavebeenthesame,sinceshenotedtheflaghadchangeddesign,butnotcolors. Allthreestudentsrespondedtothetask,butaretheirresponsesexamplesofbitsofinformationoraretheyexamplesofnewlyconstructedknowledge?Thestudents' facialexpressions,tonesofsurprise,andpauseswhileengaginginthetasksuggestedthattheywerestudentconstructions.This''material"couldhavebeen"covered" inalecture.But,inthatcase,thenewunderstandings
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wouldn'thavebeen''aha's"atall.Theylikelywouldhavebecomenewbitsofinformationinalongstringofpreviouslydisseminatedbits. ConceptualClusters Let'slookbrieflyattwootherapproachestostructuringcurriculumaroundprimaryconcepts.First,theNationalCenterforImprovingScienceEducation,after considerabledeliberationoverwhatisimportantinscienceeducationforadolescents,generatedalistof"conceptualthemes":causeandeffect,changeand conservation,diversityandvariation,energyandmatter,evolutionandequilibrium,modelsandtheories,probabilityandprediction,structureandfunction,systemsand interaction,andtimeandscale(Bybeeetal.1989).ThesethemesrepresenttheCenter'squestforessenceinscienceeducationthe"bigideas"ofscience. Asasecondexample,Melchior(1992),ajuniorhighschoolprincipalonLongIsland,discussesstructuringcurriculumaroundconceptsthattwigstudentreflection.He identifiesthemas"polarconflicts"andinvitesstudentstoreflectontheirrelationships.Thelistofconceptsincludes:independence/interdependence/dependence impulsivity/reflectionindividual/groupfantasy/realismfreedom/responsibilityreactive/proactiveinhumanity/sensitivitychaos/cosmosobjective/subjectiveand static/dynamic.Teachersintheschoolselectandusetheseconflictsinexploringthecurriculum.An8thgradeEnglishteacher,forexample,usedthefantasy/reality dichotomytoengageherstudentsinadiscussionofPoe's"TheTellTaleHeart,"whileaphysicaleducationteacherselectedtheimpulsivity/reflectiondichotomyto initiatediscussionsaboutsportsmanship.Thesepolarconflictscanbeappliedinallsubjectareas,servingasthe"bigideas"aroundwhichexplorationsofcontent specifictopicsarewoven.Theseexplorationscreateopportunitiesforstudentstostructurallyshifttheirthinkingaboutthephenomenaaroundthem.Thefactsthat accompanytopicsbecomemorerelevantforstudentsoncethestudentsbecomeengagedinreflectiononthebigconcepts. Learnersofallagesaremoreengagedbyconceptsintroducedbytheteacherandconstructedbythelearnerfromwholetopart,
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ratherthanparttowhole.It'smoreeffective,forexample,topermitbuddingwriterstoinventtheirownspellingandpublishtheirmaterialforotherstoreadandfor themselvestorereadthantoteachtherulesofgrammarandconventionalspellingandthenaskstudentstoputtheskillstogetherinanoriginalpieceofwriting. Problemsstructuredaround''bigideas"provideacontextinwhichstudentslearncomponentskills,gatherinformation,andbuildknowledge.Attemptstolinearize conceptformationquicklystiflethelearningprocess. Who'sinChargeofLearning? Weareallresponsibleforourownlearning.Theteacher'sresponsibilityistocreateeducationalenvironmentsthatpermitstudentstoassumetheresponsibilitythatis rightfullyandnaturallytheirs.Teachersdothisbyencouragingselfinitiatedinquiry,providingthematerialsandsuppliesappropriateforthelearningtasks,and sensitivelymediatingteacher/studentandstudent/studentinteractions.But,theteachercannottakesoleresponsibilityforthestudents'learning. Inarecentsurveyofresidentundergraduatesatalargestateuniversity,studentsreportedthattheirareasofleastgrowthwere"changingviews,""writing,"and "mathematicalability"(Ludwig1992,p.24).Theareasinwhichtheyreportedhavinggrownthemostwere"meetingnewanddifferentpeople","makingdecisions independently,""leadership,"and"socialconfidence."Althoughthedifferencesatfirstseemstartling,theyarereallyquitepredictable.Residentlifenecessitatesthe constructionofone'sownroleinthenewsocialorderofdormitories.Theenvironmentrequiresindependence.Becausestudentsareresponsiblefortheirown socialization,theymatureinthisarea.But,intraditionalacademicdomains,theinstructordetermineswhatistobelearned,howitistobelearned,andthepaceand rhythmofthelearning.Thelearner,toalargedegree,losescontrol.Withsomeoneelseincharge,personalgrowthdiminishes. "Lessismore"isanunderlyingthemeofScienceforAllAmericans(AAAS1989).Thisthemeisanimportantnotionforteacherstoexplore.Itprovocatively encouragesreorganizationofconcepts
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andinformation.Teacherscanenhancethelikelihoodofstudentlearningbydecreasingthenumberoffactsandspecificbitsofinformationtheywantstudentsto ''cover."Throughreflectiononandattentiontotheprimaryconceptsteachershaveculledfromtheirownexperiences,theycanprovidematerialsandquestionsthat guidestudentsinidentifyingtheirownconcepts. Wenowprovidetwodetailedexamplesofcurriculumdesignedaroundsome"bigideas":theconceptualthemesofclassificationandofpositiveandnegativespace. ConceptualTheme: Classification Ataconferenceafewyearsago,welearnedofanactivityRalphAdamsdesignedforhischemistryclassattheVernonVeronaSherrillHighSchoolinNewYork State.WeadaptedthisactivitytoillustratetheguidingprinciplesofconstructivismandhaveuseditincollegelevelteacherpreparationprogramsandK12inservice staffdevelopmentworkshops. Inthisactivity,smallgroupsofparticipantsexaminealistof95booktitles,eachwithaclassificationnameandanumber,andarrangethebooksonasevenshelf bookcasewithspaceforthirtytwobookspershelf,accordingtoagivensetofrules(seetheexampleinFigure5.1onp.51). Therulesfortheactivityarethat(1)thebooksmustbegroupedverticallybytheirclassificationnames,and(2)thebooksmustbeplacedontheshelvesinconsecutive orderhorizontally.Thestudentsquicklygettowork,frequentlyclarifyingtheinstructionswiththeteacherorfacilitatorwhentheyfindthatthetaskisnotaseasyasit originallyappears.Thegroupsworkindependentlyforoveronehour. Somegroupscutthefivepagesofbooktitlesintostripsandworkwiththosestripsastheyspreadthemoutoverthetabletopsandacrossthefloor.Othergroups focusonthebooknumbersandworkdirectlyonthebookshelf,askingformoreshelvesastheyrepeatedlychangetheirapproach.Othergroupsseekmathematical relationshipsamongthebooknumbersandthenumberofbooksineachclassification,andtheydelaythetaskofputtingthebooksontheshelvesuntiltheycan generatesomepredictablepatterns.It'sinterestingtonotethateachgroup'sinvestmentinitsapproachisusuallysostrongthatthereisvirtuallynopeering
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Figure5.1
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aroundtheroomandwhenonegroupcompletesthetask,theothergroupsdonotseektheirhelp.Eachgroupsimplywantstimetofinishtheirarrangementofthe books. Afterthegroupsfinishtheactivitywiththebooks,thetaskisreintroducedasametaphorfortheperiodictableofelements.Thoughthestudentsaren'texplicitlygiven themetaphoraheadoftime,thenewtaskprovidesthemanopportunitytoconsidertheclassificatorynatureoftheperiodictable.Themetaphoremerges.Thebooks representtheperiodicelementsthenumbersrepresenttheatomicnumbers,andtheclassificationsrepresentthechemicalfamilies.Consideranexample:theGroupO Familyofelementsisatthefarrighthandcolumnoftheperiodictable.Itincludestheinertgases:helium,neon,argon,krypton,xenon,andradon,originallythoughtto benonreactive,stableelementsthatdonotcombinewithanyotherelementstoformcompounds.Let'slookatthebooktitlesassociatedwiththeseelements.The bookclassificationisMysteryClassics,somewhatreminiscentofthemysteriousqualityoftheinertgases,whicharenotoftenfoundinnature.Book2,TheCaseof theLonelyRecluse,ishelium,withanatomicnumberof2.Heliumisarecluse.Heliumatomsalwaysexistseparately.Theyareneverpartofamolecule,nordothey formcompounds.Book10,RedLightatDawn,iselement10,neon,whichglowsbrightredwhenhighvoltageelectricityispassedthroughit.Book18,ABulb BrokeatMidnight,iselement18,argon,thegasinanordinarylightbulb.Thepuns,referencestoeverydaylifeandliterature,andunusualdescriptionsoftheelements continueforeachelementintheperiodictable.Thislessonconsistentlygeneratesenormousinterestinlearningmoreaboutthepropertiesandcharacteristicsofthe elements,asubjectmanypeoplemayfindintimidatingormaynotfindinitiallyrelevant.Withsomanyreferencestoliteratureandhistory,thelessonalsogenerates lamentsfromparticipantswhoclaimthattheyarenot''wellread"enough,butwhoexpressinterestinreadingsomeofthebooks. Thefollowingjournalexcerpt(Hees1992)fromapreservicescienceteacherwhohadjustcompletedthebookshelftaskspeaksofthedesiretoknowmore:
Mymostpersistentthought:Amongthefourofusfuturescienceteachers,weknewvirtuallynothingabouttheproper
Inordertounderstand,studentsmustsearchformeaning.Inordertosearchformeaning,studentsmusthavetheopportunitytoformandaskquestions.Flannery (1991)quotesArbor,whostatesthat:
...ametaphorisgoodandusefulaslongasitsimperfectionsarekeptinmind.Theimperfectionsarethedissimilaritiesthatexistbetweentheprincipalandsubsidiarysubjects. Despitedangers,theseimperfectionsareimportanttothefunctioningofmetaphorsbecause''itistheirimperfectionswhichsetthemintheboundaryregionofscientificthought wheretheycanexercisetheiruniquepowerofactingasconnectinglinkswithotherworldsofexperience."
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Figure5.2
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Figure5.3
Figure5.4
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Figure5.5
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twodimensionsonpaper.Theteacherwantedtominimizethestudents'evaluationoftheirowndrawing''competence"andfocustheirenergiesonexploringthe conceptofperspective.Beingcontainedintheviewfinder,negativespaceapproximatedthecharacteristicsofpositivespace.Suchanapproximationhelpedthe studentsbegintoseenegativespaceasifitwerepositivespace,aperspectivethattheteacherfoundhelpfulininformingthemiddleschoolstudents'perspectivetaking abilities. Theseactivitiesrequiredecentration,thecognitiveacknowledgmentthatone'sownviewisnottheonlyonenornecessarilythe"correct"one,butisoneofmany.It's interestingtonotethatthestudentswhofoundactivities2and3"boring"and"nofun"werestudentswho,inotheractivities,evidencedalimitedabilitytodecenter.A teacherlisteningcarefullycanusesuchcommentswhendesigningfutureactivities. TheChancetoSeeMore Structuringcurriculumaround"bigideas"andbroadconceptsprovidesmultipleentrypointsforstudents:somebecomeengagedthroughpracticalresponsesto problems,someanalyzetasksbasedonmodelsandprinciples,andothersinterpretideasthroughmetaphorsandanalogiesfromtheiruniqueperspectives.The environmentandtheuseofbroadconceptsinviteeachstudenttoparticipateirrespectiveofindividualstyles,temperaments,anddispositions. Studentengagementisafunctionofmanyvariables,twoofwhichareone'sinterestinthetopicandone'sperceptionofpersonalcompetence.Anideawon't automaticallyengagestudentssimplybecauseitis"big."Classification,aswehavediscussed,isa"bigidea."However,presentingclassificationasadittothatrequires studentstogroupitemsbytheirinitialconsonantsoundtrivializestheconceptandcontributeslittletothedevelopmentofunderstanding.Theteacher'sabilitytofoster collegialinteractionamongstudents,mediatetheemergenceofrelevance,andmatchcurricularquestionstothestudent'spresentsuppositionsencouragesthestudent's searchforunderstanding.
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References AmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScience.(1989).ScienceforAllAmericans.Washington,D.C.:AAAS. Bybee,R.,C.Buchwald,S.Crissman,D.Heil,P.Kuerbis,C.Matsumoto,andJ.McInerney.(1989).ScienceandTechnologyEducationfortheElementary Years:FrameworksforCurriculumandInstruction.Andover,Mass.:TheNationalCenterforImprovingScienceEducation. Ferrandino,F.(1991).Unpublishedmanuscript.NewYork:SUNYatStonyBrook. Flannery,M.C.(1991).BittenbytheBiologyBug:EssaysfromTheAmericanBiologyTeacher.Reston,Va.:NationalAssociationofBiologyTeachers. Hees,B.(1992).Unpublishedmanuscript.NewYork:SUNYatStonyBrook. Ludwig,J.(September1992).''ClosingtheGap:GettingandUsingFeedbackfromStudents."InAssessmentatSUNY:Principles,Process,andCaseStudies. StonyBrook,N.Y.:UniversityFacultySenate:SUNYCentralAdministration. Melchior,T.(Summer1992)."TheDisparateNatureofLearningOrTeamTeachingIsNotEnough."TeachingThinkingandProblemSolving.Philadelphia: ResearchforBetterSchools14,3.
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6 Principle#3: SeekingandValuingStudents'PointsofView
Seekingtounderstandstudents'pointsofviewisessentialtoconstructivisteducation.Themorewestudythelearningprocess,themoreweunderstandhow fundamentalthisprincipleis.Students'pointsofviewarewindowsintotheirreasoning.Awarenessofstudents'pointsofviewhelpsteacherschallengestudents, makingschoolexperiencesbothcontextualandmeaningful.Eachstudent'spointofviewisaninstructionalentrypointthatsitsatthegatewayofpersonalized education.Teacherswhooperatewithoutawarenessoftheirstudents'pointsofviewoftendoomstudentstodull,irrelevantexperiences,andevenfailure.Huntand Sullivan(1974)state:
Ifaneducationalsystemhasonlyuniversalgoalsandalimitedvarietyofeducationalapproaches,itisnotsurprisingthattheresultsformanystudentswillendinfailure.Thisis becausethesestudentsdidnotfitthesystem.Itisnotentirelythestudentswhoarefixedandunchangeableitisalsothesystem(p.45).
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Figure6.1
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Hecontinuedinthetypicallefttoright,toptobottomfashion.
Figure6.2
Afterplacingthefirsteightleprechaunsintwoevenlyspacedrows,hehadtwoleprechaunsleftoverbutnoroomonthegreenpapertobeginathirdrow.Aftera moment'sthought,hesolvedhisprobleminthefollowingmanner:
Figure6.3
ThenextdaytheteacherreturnedNicholas'papertohimwiththeword,''backwards,"writtenonit.WhenNicholaswenthome,
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heaskedhismotherwhatthewordonthegreenpapermeant.Whenhismothertoldhim,Nicholaslookedsurprised.''It'snotbackwards,"hesaid.Hepointedand counted,"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.ThenIdidn'thaveanyroom,soIdid9and10."Nicholas'mothersuggestedthathetakethepaperbacktohisteacherandexplainhis reasoning.Thenextmorning,however,Nicholastookthepaperoutofhisbackpackandleftitonthekitchentable.Whenhismotheraskedhimwhyhewasn'ttaking ittoschool,heshruggedandsaidhedidn'twanttotakeit.Whenhismotheragainencouragedhimtodoso,Nicholassaid,"No.Itdoesn'tmakeadifference."He boundedoutofthehousetowardthebusstopanddidn'tmentionthegreenpaperwiththetenleprechaunsagain. Whenhesaidthatbringingthepaperbacktotheteacherdidn'tmakeadifference,wedon'tknowwhataspectofthesituationNicholashadinmind.Wasthewhole assignmentnotworthfurtherdiscussionfromhisperspective?Wastryingtoexplainhispointofviewnot"worthit"?Wedon'tknow. Ofcourse,wealsodon'tknowwhattheteacherhadinmindwhenshewrotetheword"backwards"onthegreenpaper.Didtheteacherthinkthatwriting "backwards"onhispaperwasgoingtohelphimseriatethenumbers"better"or"correctly"thenexttime?BecauseNicholasdidnotyetreadindependently,didshe thinkthathercommentwasgoingtogenerateadiscussionbetweenparentandchildathomethatwouldhelpNicholaslearnthelefttoright,toptobottom,in consecutiveorderformatusedinreadingreadinessprograms?ForwhomdidshewritethecommentNicholas,hisparents,orherself?And,givenwhatshesawon thepaper,whatareherownconceptionsoftheword"backwards"? Clearly,thereismuchthinkingunderpinningthisinteractionthateludesus.Theteacher'smotivesingivingtheassignmentandwritingtheword"backwards"and Nicholas'reasonsfornotbringingthepaperbacktoschoolareunknowntous.However,wedoknowthatNicholaslearnedalesson,anditwasprobablynotthe lessontheteacherhadintended.Thelessonheprobablylearnedhasmoretodowiththesocialcontextoftheclassroom.Andifthatlessonisrepeatedoftenenoughin thisandotherclassrooms,Nicholaswillsoonlearnthatarticulatinganddefendinghisownpointofviewisnotasvaluedasferretingoutandrecitingbacktheteacher's pointofview.
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Also,inthiscase,thejudgmenttheteacherreachedaboutNicholas'reasoningwasbasedonsuppositionsthatturnedouttobefaulty.Let'slookatoneresponsethat mighthaveconfirmedordeniedtheteacher'ssuppositionsandmayhaveservedNicholasbetter.Theteachermighthaveaskedthebeautifullysimplequestion:''Can youtellmehowyouputtheseleprechaunsinthisorder?"ShemayhavediscoveredNicholas'initialreasoningandalsoofferedhimtheoptionofrethinkinghisinitial ideas.Hadshedonethis,Nicholascouldhavebeenchallengedtoreexaminehiswork,animportantactivityinhiscognitivedevelopmentanactivitythatdependson theteacher'swillingnesstoaskgoodquestionsandlisten. OpportunitiestoExpressOne'sPointofView Wedon'tintendtominimizetheenormoustaskoftheteacherbyimplyingthateveryutteranceorartifactrenderedbyastudentcanbegivencarefulattention.They cannot.Seekingstudents'pointsofviewisanoftenparadoxicalendeavor.Thetimingandcontentofteachers'mediationsgreatlyaffectsthewillingnessofstudentsto revealtheirthinking. Sohowdoteachersmaximizeopportunitiesforstudentstoexpresstheirpointsofview,torevealtheirconceptions,toreflectontheirconceptions,andtogrow intellectually?Teachers'abilitytouncoverstudents'conceptionsis,toalargedegree,afunctionofthequestionsandproblemsposedtostudents.Forexample,asking studentstoplacethefourseasonsinchronologicalorderbeginningwithwinterwillelicitadifferentsetofresponsesthanaskingstudents"Whyarethereseasons?"The firsttaskwillhelptheteacherjudgeifthestudentsknowthe"right"answertothespecificquestionasked.But,sometimes,asinNicholas'case,eventhe"right"maybe obscured.Thesecondtaskwilllikelyprovideawindowintothestudents'conceptionsoftheearth'srotations,revolutions,anddistancefromandangleinrelationship tothesun. Differenttypesofcurricularproblemsgiverisetodifferenttypesofstudentresponsesandclassroominteractions.Iftheteacher'squestiscoverageofthecurriculumin preparationfora
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multiplechoicetest,perhapsthefirsttaskwillservethatpurposemoredirectly.However,ifstudentunderstandingistheteacher'squest,thesecondtaskwillbemore significantinassessingthoseunderstandingsandstructuringensuingactivities. AskingStudentstoElaborate It'simportanttonotethatmoststudentshavebeentrainedtoviewbothateacher'saskingforelaborationandateacher'schallengetotheirideasassuresignsthattheir responsesareincorrect.Generallyspeaking,ateacherasksasecondquestionofastudentonlywhensheconsidersthefirstresponseincorrect.Becauseofthis,both thechallengingofideasandtheseekingofelaborationautomaticallythreatenstudents.However,whenthesetwopracticesbecomearegularclassroomcustom, studentsovercometheiringrainedaversiontothedreadedsecondquestion,andcometounderstandthattheteacherisgenuinelyinterestedinknowingmoreabout whattheythinkandwhy. Ina6thgradeclassroom,agroupofstudentswerestudyingbuoyancy.Sittingaroundatubofwater,theteacherheldapaperclipinonehandandaplasticunifixcube intheother.Shegavethetwoitemstoonestudent,Jane,andaskedtheotherstopredictwhatwouldhappenwhenJanedroppedthembothintothewater.Bob quicklyindicatedthattheunifixcubewouldfloatandthepaperclipwouldsink.Theteachersaid,''Telluswhyyouthinkthat."Bobthenimmediatelychangedhis predictionandsaidthatthepaperclipwouldfloatandthecubewouldsink.Theteacherresponded,"Pleasetelluswhyyouthinkthat."Theteacherhadchallenged bothofBob'sresponses,andhewasnowthoroughlyconfused.Helookedtoherandasked,"Whichoneisit?"Sheasked,"Whatdoyouthink?"Hethoughtfora momentandthen,returningtohisinitialhypothesis,explainedwhyhethoughtthatthepaperclipwouldsink(itwasmadeofmetal)andwhyhethoughtthecubewould float(itwasmadeofplastic).AfterJanereleasedtheitems,Bobsawthathisinitialimpulsehadbeenaccurate.TheteacheraskedBobifhethoughtthesameresult wouldoccurifheweretorepeatwhatJanehadjustdone.Hesaid,"Yes.Ithinkso.Letmetry." Theteacher'sfollowupquestiontoBob's"correct"responsehadmadehimabandonhisinitialperspective.Herfollowup
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questiontohissecondresponseledhimtorethinkthewholeissueand,equallyimportantly,revealhispointofview.Theteachernowhadinformationaboutthe variablesheconsideredwhenthinkingaboutbuoyancy. WhatReallyCounts? Acommunitynewspaperrecentlyranaseriesofarticlesrelatingtoasurveyconductedatthelocalhighschool.Manypeopleinthecommunityareconcernedabout whatisdescribedinthesearticlesas''rampantcheating."Thefirstsurveyquestionforthehighschoolstudentswasworded:"Haveyouevercopiedahomework assignmentthatcounted?"Itisinterestingthatthesurveydeveloperswerespecificallyinterestedinthehomeworkthat"counted."Oneislefttowonderwhich homework"counts"andwhichhomeworkdoesn't,andhowstudentscometoknowthedifference.Fromourperspective,itwouldbeinterestingtofindoutwhy studentswouldcopyhomeworkthatdoesn't"count"andwhyteacherswouldassignsuchwork.Focusingsomuchattentiononcheatingandcountingcertainlyhasthe potentialtodivertattentionfromtheprocessesofteachingandlearning.Andaren'tteachingandlearningwhatreally"count"? Focusingonwhetherornotstudentsareawareofcertaininformation,orcancomputewithcertainalgorithms,orcanrecitecertainverses,impliesalinearmodelof knowledgebuilding.Inthismodel,thereislittlereasontoaskforstudents'pointsofviewbecausetheirpointsofviewarenotasvaluedasaretheir"right"or"wrong" answers.Butknowledgeisnotlinear,noristheprocessoflearning.Learningisajourney,notadestination.Eachpointofviewisatemporaryintellectualstopalong thepathofeverincreasingknowledge. Studentstryto"steal"others'pointsofviewbecauseschoolshavesomehowsubordinatedtheformationofconceptsandthebuildingofideastohighstakesgamesof "right"and"wrong"answersthatproducewinnersandlosers.Thesystemitselfgivesstudentsthemessagethatit'sbettertobe"right"thantohaveinterestingideas. Facedwiththissortofpressure,manystudents
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7 Principle#4: AdaptingCurriculumtoAddressStudents'Suppositions
Learningisenhancedwhenthecurriculum'scognitive,social,andemotionaldemandsareaccessibletothestudent.Therefore,somesortofrelationshipmustexist betweenthedemandsofthecurriculumandthesuppositionsthateachstudentbringstoacurriculartask.Thisnotionleadsustoourfourthguidingprincipleof constructivistteaching:theneedforteacherstoadaptcurriculumtaskstoaddressstudents'suppositions.Ifsuppositionsarenotexplicitlyaddressed,moststudentswill findlessonsbereftofmeaning,regardlessofhowcharismatictheteacherorattractivethematerialsmightbe. Overtheyears,ourviewofthisguidingprincipleofconstructivistteachinghasevolved.Therootsofourunderstandingsofconstructivismtookholdintheideaof matchingthecurriculum'scognitivedemandstostudents'cognitiveabilities.Ourinitialconceptionofthisprocesswassomewhatlinear:ifthesuccessfulcompletionofa curriculartaskrequired,forexample,studentstoconservediscontinuousquantity,andthestudentsintheclasswerenotyetabletodoso,wefeltthatthetaskought notbegiven.Wehavecometorealize,however,thatrequiringaonetoonematchbetweenthecognitivedemandsofcurriculartasksandstudents'cognitiveabilities (asweperceivethem)canbelimitingforstudents,andcanresultinthefailureofschoolstoexposestudentstoappropriatelychallengingconcepts.
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AddressingSuppositions Abriefhistoryofthisprinciple'sderivationillustratesitscentralitytocreatingconstructivistclassrooms.TheseminalworksofJeanPiagetformedtheframeworkon whichwebasedthefoundationalpremiseofthisprinciple.Piagetobservedpatternsinthedevelopmentofhisownchildren'sreasoningandthenobservedand reportedthesamepatternsinotheryoungchildren.Ashisownchildrengrew,healsoreportedconsistenciesinolderchildren'sresponsestointellectualtasks.These patternshavebeensupportedbymanyotherscholarsandresearchers(Inhelder,Sinclair,andBovet1974Elkind1974SigelandCocking1977Wadsworth1978 andLowery1974a,b,c).Inbrief,Piagetandotherspostulatethatatdifferentperiods,childrenusedifferentmentalstructurestothinkaboutandmakesenseoftheir world.Thestructuresavailabletochildrenaredeterminedbytheirbiologicalreadinessandlifeexperiences. Piaget'smostwidelyknownconceptualizationofcognitivedevelopmentidentifiesfourstagesatwhichmentalstructuresappeartoemerge:(1)thesensorimotorperiod, theperiodbetweenbirthandabouttwoyearswhentheinfantlearnsbyphysicallyactingontheenvironmentandaccommodatingnewschemes,learningthatobjects haveconstantshapesandthatbodilymovementscanbecoordinatedwithotherobjects(2)thepreoperationalperiod,theperiodroughlybetweentheagesoftwo andsevenyears,whenthechildlearnslanguageandotherformsofrepresentation,andbeginstorelateobjectsandideastooneanotherintimeandspace(3)the concreteoperationalperiod,theperiodroughlybetweentheagesof7and11years,whenthechild'sreasoningprocessesbroadentoincludewhatisknownaslogic, butlogicmostlyintermsofwhatistangibleandobservableand(4)theformaloperationalperiod,theperiodthatbeginssometimeduringorbeyondadolescence, whenanindividualcanuseabstractlogicalstructuresindiverseproblemareas. Atfirstblush,Piaget'sstagetheoryplacesintocontextmuchofwhatweseestudentsdoinschool.EvenmorecompellingarePiaget'sideasincombinationwithother theoriesofdevelopment,suchasErikson's(1950)conceptualizationsofthepsychosocialdilemmasweencounteratdifferenttimesofourlives,Elkind's
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(1970)explanationsofcognitiveconquests,Kohlberg's(1969)notionsofmalemoraldevelopment,andGilligan's(1982)extensionofKohlberg'sworkhighlighting howfemalesrespondtomoraldilemmasandchoices.Thesetheories,togetherwithPiaget'swork,addmuchrichnesstoourobservationsandunderstandingsof developinghumanbeings. Butultimately,asweindicateinChapter3,stagetheoriesdon'tprovetobeveryhelpfulinexplainingtherelationshipbetweenteachingandlearning.Infact,a superficialunderstandingofstagetheorygivesteacherslittlemorethannewlabelstousewhendescribingstudents.Achildcaneasilybecomeknownas''only concreteoperational,"andbeviewedasincapableoflearningmuchfromanactivitydesigned,forexample,togeneratereasonswhycertainobjectsfloat.Butachild doesnothavetodemonstrate,apriori,theabilitytoengageinproportionalreasoningtobeabletolearnbyobservingfloatingorsinkingobjectsinapoolofwaterand generalizingrulestoexplainwhathesees. Categorizingstudents'generalabilitiesdoesnothelpteachersindevelopingappropriateinstructionalstrategiesforparticulartopicsandconceptsbecauseatanyone pointintime,peopleuseseveraldifferentcognitivestructures.Thewidelyknownconservationtasksprovideanexample:achildconcludesthatthequantityofbeans pouredfromawidejartoanarrowjarremainsconstant,whilequestioningwhetherornotthequantityofwaterpouredfromjartojarremainsconstant(Piagetand Szeminska1965).Whilebothareconservationtasks(thegroupofindividualbeansrepresentdiscontinuousquantityandthewaterrepresentscontinuousquantity),the childconservesinonedomainandnottheother.Thisisknownasdcalage.Dcalagereferstothegapbetweenanindividual'suseofacognitivestructureinone domainandlackofimmediatetransferofthatstructuretootherdomains. Inanotherexample,achildstatesthatwaterpouredfromonejartoanotherjarofadifferentshapeisunchanged,whilequestioningwhetherornotcoffeebeansweigh thesamebeforeandaftergrinding(SigelandCocking1977).Again,bothareconservationtasks,butthechildthinksaboutconservationusingdifferentmental structureswhenthecontent(continuousordiscontinuous
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quantity)isdifferent.Thus,ourunderstandingsofthenotionofdcalagecautionusagainstusingbroadlabelswithstudents.
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Annaplacedonemorelinkinthebalancetrayandnoticedthatbalancewasnotachieved.Shelookedconfusedandplacedanotherlinkinthetrayandthenathird. Stillnobalance.Sheplacedonemorelinkinthetray.Balancewasachieved.Shesmiledandlookedattheteacher.
Teacher:Howmanycubesdidittaketobalanceonewasher? Anna:Four. Teacher:Andhowmanytobalancetwowashers? Anna:(counting)Eight. Teacher:IfIputonemorewasheronthisside,howmanymorelinkswillyouneedtobalanceit? Anna:(Ponderedandlookedquizzicallyattheteacher)Four. Teacher:Tryit. Anna:(aftersuccessfullybalancingwithfourlinks)Eachwasheristhesameasfourlinks. Teacher:Now,letmegiveyouareallyhardquestion.IfItookFourlinksoffofthebalance,howmanywasherswouldIneedtotakeoffinordertobalanceit? Anna:One!
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Figure7.1
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realmtoequalityofweight.HeaskedMelissatoplaceachainlinkinonehandandawasherintheother. ''Whichoneisheavier?"heasked.Melissarepliedthatthewasherfeltheavier.TheteacherthenaskedMelissatotrytofigureouthowmanychainlinksweighedabout thesameasonewasher,usingherhands.Thoughthelessonendedshortlybecausethestudentsmovedtomusicclass,theteacherendedwithabeginning,knowing howhewasgoingtoworkwithMelissaatthenextopportunity.Hewouldcontinuetohelphermakethetransitionfromspacetoweight. Originally,theteacherwasseekingonlythe"right"answer.LostinthissearchwastherichnessofMelissa'sperspective...untiltheteachersoughtit.Thebeautyof multipleperspectivesandtheenergyofcreativethoughtareoftenlostinclassrooms.Studentsinclassroomsthatemphasize"rightness"and"wrongness"ceasetooffer theirviewsonissuesunlesstheyfeelconfidentthattheirviewsaresharedbytheteacher.Ineffect,onlyoneperspectivegetsacknowledgedanddiscussed,andthe classroombecomesanacutelyparochialsetting. 2ndGradersStudyScience Inthe1stgradeexample,theteacheradaptedthelessonbecauseatleastonestudentbroughttothetaskasuppositionquitedivergentfromtheoneaddressedbythe curriculumguide.Two2ndgradeteacherslearnedtheimportanceofconstantlymonitoringstudentunderstandingandadaptinglessonsaccordinglywhentheir44 studentscompletedataskinasurprisingway.Inthesetwo2ndgradeclassrooms,studentswerestudying"ChangesinFall."Theteachersencouragedthestudentsto considerthetopicthroughquestionssuchas:Whatmakesatreeinthefalllookdifferently?Areallleavesthesame?Arealltreesthesamecolor?Whatdoesaleaf looklike?CanIdescribesomechangesIobserve?DoIseepatterns? Afterseeingfilmstrips,takinganaturewalk,collectingleaves,makingleafrubbings,observingtreesaroundtheschool,anddrawing,laminating,andclassifyingfall leaves,theteachersfeltthattheexperiencehadbeen"concretized"sufficientlytoallowthechildrentogeneralizetosimilarsituations.Yet,whenaskedto
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''paintafallpicture,"andgivenafullrangeofpaints,everychildintheclasspaintedgreentrees. Theteachersconcludedthattheactivitiesinwhichthestudentshadjustengagedhadnotinfluencedtheirconceptionsofhowonepaintsapictureofafalltree.They realizedthatforthese2ndgraders,lookingatindividualleavesandlookingatawholetreegeneratedseparateunderstandings.Thisledtheteacherstothinkabouthow teachersreallyknowwhattheirstudentslearnfromvariouslessons?Theywereremindedthat,intheirwords,"teachersmustconstantlyquestionthechildrenasto whattheyaredoingandobserving...dialoguemustconstantlyoccur"(JehleandReynolds1983). Thesefirsttwoexamplesillustratethenecessitytoprovidebothprecursorandextensionactivitiestolessonssuggestedbythecurriculumpublisherordesignedbythe teacher. 6thGradersStudySocialStudies AnotherexampleofhowlearningopportunitiesareenhancedbydifferentiatedcurriculumexperiencesinvolvesMan:ACourseofStudy(MACOS),an interdisciplinarycurriculumdesignedfor10yearoldstudentsbyJeromeBrunerandhiscolleaguesinthe1960sandstillusedtodayinsomeschools.Inone6thgrade class,studentsusingMACOSexploredthebiologyandlifecycleofthesalmon.Thestudentswereaskedtothinkaboutexperimentsdesignedandimplementedby scientistswhostudythehabitsandbehaviorofsalmon.Thestudentswerepresentedwithdatarevealingthatalmostallsalmonreturntotheirhomestreams,butthat onlyonequarterofsalmonwithpluggednostrilsreturntotheirhomestreams.Theywerethenaskedquestionssuchas:"Whatinnateabilityofsalmonhelpsthemfind theirhomestreams?" Oneapproachtoansweringthisquestionrequiresproportionalandcorrelationalreasoning.Correlationalreasoningistheabilitytoconcludethatthereisorisnota relationship,whethernegativeorpositive,betweentwoormoresetsofdata.Studentsstudyingthesalmoncandistinguishbetweenandcomparetheratiooffish whosenaturalolfactorysensehadbeenaffectedwiththeratioofthosefishwhosesensehadnot.Veryfewofthestudents,however,werethenabletocomparethe differentialratiostodataaboutwhetherornotthefisharrivedbackattheir
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homestreams.Butsomeofthestudentswereabletogeneratecorrelationswithteachermediation. Theteacheraskedthestudentstodescribetheirthinking.Sherealizedthattheyhadtroublekeepingtheir''if...then"statementsclear.Theteacherviewedtheir grapplingwiththelanguageastheirwayofcomingtounderstandtheconcept.Forthesestudents,theteacherprovidedcurriculumthataddressedtheirsuppositionsas revealedbythequestionstheywerereadytopose.However,forthemajorityofstudentsintheclass,nocorrelationscouldbededuced.Theirsuppositionsaboutfish behaviorandsensorydeprivationdidnotallowthemtogeneratemuchnewknowledgefromthe"scientific"datapresented. Theteacherhadtoadaptthecurriculumtomaximizethelikelihoodthatitwouldfacilitatethedevelopmentofcorrelationalreasoning,ortheprecursorstoit,orhelp studentsgeneratesomenewknowledgeoffishbehavior.Shedidthissimplybyreflectingquestionsbacktostudents.Onestudentaskedhowthescientistpluggedthe salmon'snostrils.Theteacherreflectedthequestionbacktotheclass,thenorchestratedstudenttostudentdialogues.Subsequentquestionsandhypothesesbeganto fly:Didtheyusepolesornets?Whydidn'tthefishdiewhiletheywereoutofthewater?Howlongcanfishstayoutofthewater?Howcouldtheybreatheiftheir nostrilswereplugged?Dofishbreathethroughtheirnostrils?Blankstaresturnedtodirectedgazesandunderstandingsbegantoemerge.Theteacherstayedwithinthe generalconcept,adaptedherlessonplans,andfosteredtheemergingrelevanceoftheconceptforherstudents.Oncesomerelevancewasestablished,thestudents engagedinthecurriculumwiththecommitmentthatfostersunderstanding. 7thGradersStudyEnglish/SocialStudies Let'scontinueourdiscussionofadaptingcurriculumtoaddressstudents'suppositionsbylookingata7thgradeEnglish/socialstudiesclassbeginningaunitonGreek mythology.Muchliteratureinthefieldofcognitivedevelopmentstatesthatstudentsneedarichrepertoireofexperiencesandactions(Arlin1975)inordertodevelop abstractthoughtstructuresinspecificcontentareas.Thisdoesn'tmeanthatstudentsmustnecessarilyhaverepertoiresofexperiencesandactionsrelatingdirectlytothe topic
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Figure7.2
Thenextassignmentinvitedthestudentstoconsiderbeginningnotionsofhypotheticalreasoning.ThisactivitywasinspiredbyEdwardPackard'sseries,DesignYour OwnAdventure.Packardsequenceshisplotsthroughlogicalpossibilities.Hisinitialsetting
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Figure7.3
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Fewstudentshadproblemswiththeformat,althoughsomestruggledwiththeimaginativedemandsofthetask.Thestudentseventuallyproduced16to20page booksoncoloredconstructionpaper,illustratedwithpictures,andboundwithdesignedcovers.Studentswereeagertoreadoneanother'sstoriesandalthoughthe teacherhadspentallyearcoachingthemonnonjudgmentalfeedback,theycommentedtoeachotherindecidedlyevaluativetones,generallypositive. Duringthislesson,studentswhowereabletoreasonhypotheticallywereencouragedtodoso.Forthemajorityofthestudents,whodidn'texhibitevidenceofthis typeofreasoning,guidancewasprovidedbytheteacherwhenrequested.Forsomegroups,theteacherreducedthecomplexityofthehypotheticalportionofthetask byhavinganestablishedpatternthatstudentscouldfollow.Sheevenpresentedtosomegroupsablankflowchartmodel,althoughsheworriedthatshemightbe robbingthemoftheopportunitytocreatesomethingthemselvesforthepurposeofexpeditingthefinalproduct.Whatsurprisedherwasthestudents'eagernessto receivethehelp.Showingsomestudentsanexampleofa''final"productbeforetheystruggledtoolongmadetheirgoalamoreattainablereality,ratherthanan overwhelmingtasktheycouldn'tvisualizecompleting. Inasubsequentlesson,thestudentswerepresentedwith25to30differentcommonhouseholdobjects,includingabattery,apotholder,ashoelace,andacontainer ofsuntanlotion.Thestudentswereaskedtogenerateasmanycategoriesaspossibleutilizingatleastthreeobjectspercategory.Someofthestudentgenerated categorieswere:games,redobjects,plastic,medicinalitems,kitchentools,andsquareobjects.Bycoincidence,theassistantprincipalenteredtheroomduringthis lessonand,uponseeingthestudentsbusilyexaminingtheoddarrayofitemsonthefrontdesks,asked,"What'sgoingonhere?"Thestudentsusedtheterm "categorizing"astheyexplainedtheirassignment. ThestudentswerethenaskedtodothesameactivityfortheGreekgodsandgoddesses.Thisactivityrequiredthestudentstounderstandthemythsandthe characteristicsofthegodsandgoddessessufficientlyenoughtoalignthemincategories.Someofthecategoriesthestudentsdevisedwere:godsandgoddesses withoutchildren,childrenofZeus,godswhosenamesbeginwith
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theletterH,andgodsandgoddesseswhohadtemplesbuiltforthem. Theintroductionofthistaskinvolvedthecognitivestructurecalledclassification.Studentswereaskedtospontaneouslygeneratetheclassificationcategoriesandapply thosecategoriestothelistofitems.Judgingthecharacteristicsofgodsandgoddesses,basedmostlyorsolelyonreadingmaterial,isanabstractprocessthroughwhich studentswereaskedtoreasoninductively.Althoughtheframeworkofthetaskwasclassificatory,theteachermadetheframeworkmoreaccessibletothestudents throughtheuseofcommonmaterials.Suchactivitieschallengestudents.Theelementofnoveltyattractsthem,yetthesecurityoftheirbeingabletouseanintact cognitivestructuregivesthemasenseofconfidence. 8thGradersStudyScience Let'sexamineKatie'sexperiencewitha''WeightsandPulleys"unitinher8thgradescienceclass.Theintroductorylessoncalledforgivingthestudentssingleand doublewheeledpulleys,weights,andstringandaskingthemto"play"inpairs.Duringthistime,whileotherstudentseagerlycreatedsimplemachines,Katietalked withherpartner. Thesecondlessonbeganwithaworksheetexplainingsequentialsteps,achartonwhichstudentsweretokeepnotes,andconsiderableteacherdirectionforweighing variousobjectsandtesting"forcetotypeofpulley"relationships.Katiemadeonlythefirstmachine.Shecouldweightheobjectwithaspringscale,butcouldnot understandhowtodiscoverforce. Aspartofthethirdlesson,thestudentswereaskedtoconsidertwopictures,oneofasinglepulleywitha100lbs.bucketservingasaweightandoneofamore complexpulleysystemwitha100lbs.blockservingasaweight.TheteacherusedthisopportunitytoascertainthenatureofKatie'sunderstandingoftheconcepts exploreduptothispoint.TheteacheraskedKatie,"Inwhichpicturedoyouthinkitwouldbeeasiertolifttheobject?" Katiechosethecomplexpulley.Theteacheraskedwhy.Katierespondedthatthebucketwasheavier.Althoughshechosethepictureherteachersuspectedshe would,theteachercouldn'tunderstandherreasoning.Theteacher,unsurethatKatiecompre
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hendedthattheweightineachsystemwasthesame,drewthelabel''100lbs."oneachpicture.Thefollowingdialogueensued:
Teacher:Theyeachweigh100lbs.Dotheyweighthesame? Katie:Yes. Teacher:Whichoneisheavier? Katie:Thebucket. Teacher:Why? Katie:Becausethebucket'sheavier. Teacher:Buttheyeachweigh100lbs. Katie:Butthebuckethassandinitanditlooksheavier.
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Intheclassroom,theoperantexpressionofthechild'sabstractionsmayappeartobe''incorrect"ifoneusesadultlogicasthecriterionbywhich"correctness"is judged.Dewey(1902)wrote:
Thefundamentalfactorsintheeducativeprocessareanimmature,undevelopedbeing,andcertainsocialaims,meanings,andvaluesincarnateinthematuredexperienceofthe adult(p.4).
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Cowan,P.(1978).Piaget:WithFeeling.N.Y.:Holt,RinehartandWinston. Dewey,J.(1902).TheChildandtheCurriculum.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress. Elkind,D.(1970).ChildrenandAdolescents:InterpretiveEssaysonJeanPiaget.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress. Elkind,D.(1974).ASympatheticUnderstandingoftheChild,BirthtoSixteen.Boston:AllynandBacon,Inc. Elkind,D.(1976).ChildDevelopmentandEducation:APiagetianPerspective.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress. Erikson,E.H.(1950).ChildhoodandSociety.NewYork:Norton. Gilligan,C.(1982).InaDifferentVoice.Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress. Ginsburg,H.,andS.Opper.(1979).Piaget'sTheoryofIntellectualDevelopment:AnIntroduction.EnglewoodCliffs,N.J.:PrenticeHall. Haroutunian,S.(1983).EquilibriumintheBalance.NewYork:SpringerVerlag. Inhelder,B.,H.Sinclair,andM.Bovet.(1974).LearningandtheDevelopmentofCognition.Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress. Jehle,H.,andC.Reynolds.(1983).Unpublishedmanuscript.NewYork:ShorehamWadingRiverSchools. Kohlberg,L.(1969).StagesintheDevelopmentofMoralThoughtandAction.NewYork:Holt,Rinehart&Winston. Labinowicz,E.(1985).LearningfromChildren:NewBeginningsforTeachingNumericalThinking.MenloPark,Calif.:AddisonWesley. Labinowicz,E.(1980).ThePiagetPrimer:Thinking,Learning,Teaching.MenloPark,Calif:AddisonWesley. Lowery,L.(1974a).LearningAboutInstruction:Questioning.Berkeley:UniversityofCalifornia. Lowery,L.(1974b).LearningAboutLearning:ClassificationAbilities.Berkeley:UniversityofCalifornia. Lowery,L.(1974b).LearningAboutLearning:ConservationAbilities.Berkeley:UniversityofCalifornia. Piaget,J.,andC.Szeminska.(1965).TheChild'sConceptionofNumber.NewYork:Norton. Sigel,I.E.,andR.R.Cocking.(1977).CognitiveDevelopmentfromChildhoodtoAdolescence:AConstructivistPerspective.N.Y.:Holt,Rinehartand Winston. Wadsworth,B.(1978).PiagetfortheClassroomTeacher.NewYork:Longman.
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8 Principle#5: AssessingStudentLearningintheContextofTeaching
Wehaveallbeeninclassroomswheretheteacherposesaquestiontothestudentsandhandsshootupexcitedly.Theteacherthenpeersabouttheroomandcallson astudent.Thestudentanswers,andtheteachersays,''No."Theteacherthencallsonasecondstudent.Thatstudentanswers,andtheteacher,shakinghisheadfrom sidetoside,says,"Uhuh."Theteacherthencallsuponathirdstudent,andassheanswers,theteachersays,"Close,butnotquite."Afourthintrepidstudentraiseshis hand.Uponanswering,theteachershakeshisheadaffirmativelyandsays,"Yes,THAT'Stherightanswer!" Whatimplicitlessonsdosuchteacherbehaviorsconveytostudents?Probablyseveral.First,studentslearnthatthereisonecorrectanswertoeachquestionposedby theteacher,andthattheirchallengeistocomeupwiththatanswer.Second,theylearnthattheyplacethemselvesatsomeriskiftheyraisetheirhandsbeforebeing certainthattheyhavefiguredouttheone,rightanswer.Theteacherisnotapttosay,"Gee,Ineverthoughtaboutitthatway.Canyousaymoreaboutthat?"or"That's acreativewayoflookingattheissue.Howdidyouarriveatthatanswer?"Instead,theteacher'slikelyresponseis"No"unlessthestudentoffersthepreciseanswer beingsought. Theproblemwithsuchlessonsisclear."No"hurtsandmakesstudentsfeelinvalidatedandfoolish."No"communicatestostudentsthattheiridiosyncraticthinking aboutissuesisnotpar
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totheIndies?''"Pinta"isrightand"Merrimac"iswrong.Thisseemsreasonablystraightforward,butitisactuallyquitecomplex. Studentsoftencorrectlyhearthequestionsposedbyteachers,buttheysimplydon'tknowtheanswers.Itisalsotruethatstudentsoftencorrectlyanswerthequestions theyaskthemselvesthequestionstheythinktheyheartheirteachersask.Itwouldbeinterestingtoknowwhatquestionthestudentthoughthewasansweringwhen stating"Merrimac."Ifthestudentwasansweringadifferentquestionfromtheonetheteacherposed,knowingthatquestionwouldhelptheteachertoreorientthe studenttotheexplorerathandandtoassessthestudent'spresentunderstandingofthetimeperiod.Ifthestudentunderstoodthequestioninthesamemannerthe teacherhadinmind,theteacherwouldknow(1)thatthestudenthadn'tyetassimilatedcertainspecificinformation,and(2)that"Merrimac"meanssomethingtothe studentandcouldbeawindowintothestudent'spointofview. "Rightness"and"wrongness,"then,relateasmuchtothefilteringsystemusedbyadultstosortthroughstudents'responsesastothestudents'conceptionsoftheissues andquestionstowhichtheyrespond.Toteachers,inaccurateresponsesare"wrong."Tostudents,inaccurateresponsesoftenrepresentthestateoftheircurrent thinkingabouttopics. Thinkofhowdifferentthelearningandassessmentprocessesinschoolwouldbeifteacherscametoviewthemselvesascognitivelylinkedwiththestudentstheyteach. Ratherthanusingassessmentresultsasindicesonlyofindividualstudentknowledge,suchinformationmightshedlightontherelationshipbetweenthestudentandthe teacher.Inthisparadigm,thestudentisnotassessedinisolation,butinconjunctionwiththeteacher,andbothlearnasaresultofassessment.Newman,Griffin,and Cole(1989)speaktothispoint:
Insteadofgivingthechildrenataskandmeasuringhowwelltheydoorhowbadlytheyfail,onecangivethechildrenthetaskandobservehowmuchandwhatkindofhelpthey needinordertocompletethetasksuccessfully.Inthisapproachthechildisnotassessedalone.Rather,thesocialsystemoftheteacherandchildisdynamicallyassessedto determinehowfaralongithasprogressed(pp.7778).
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Inthisapproach,theteacherisabletomonitorsimultaneouslythecognitivefunctioningofthestudent,thedispositionofthestudent,andthestatusofthe teacher/studentrelationship.Studentconceptions,ratherthanindicating''rightness"or"wrongness,"becomeentrypointsfortheteacher,placestobeginthesortsof interventionthatleadtothelearner'sconstructionofnewunderstandingsandtheacquisitionofnewskills. Howdoestheteacherofferinterventionofthatnature?Byusingassessmentasatoolinservicetothelearner,ratherthanasanaccountabilitydeviceandnotasa teachereffectivenessmeasure,teacherscanbegintorethinkthedynamicrelationshipbetweenteachingandassessment.Let'sgettoknow12yearoldGreg,andsee ifthatacquaintanceclarifiestheconnectionbetweenteachingandassessment. AssessmentinServicetotheLearner: ACaseStudy Gregisa7thgraderinachildcenteredmiddleschool.Heachievesminimalacademicsuccessanddemonstratesanoticeablysubduedaffect.Hejustisn't"makingit" inschool.Throughouthisacademicfolder,thereareteachercommentssuchas:"Greghasfailedtocompletefiveassignmentsandhasnotacceptedoffersofextra help."Duetolimitedacademicsuccess,GreghasbeenputinremedialmathandEnglishclassessincetheprimarygrades.Affectively,heevidenceslethargy,apathy, andisolation.Hechoosesseatsperipheraltotheotherstudentsandteacher,frequentlycommentsonbeingtired,andoversleepsmanymornings.Priormedical examinationshaverevealednophysicalailments. Greg'sapparentindifferenceisespeciallyevidentinhisSpanishclass.Seekingawayofreachinghim,theteacherdecidedtofocusmoreofherattentionsonGregin ordertodeterminespecificallythetypesofproblemsolvingskillshedemonstratesinthecontextoflanguagetranslation. Ononeparticularmorning,anotherstudentwaspresentingareportdescribinghistermproject,astudyoftheinternational,littlespokenlanguage,Esperanto.The studentgavehispeersoneparagraphinEnglishandasecondonetranslatedintoEsperanto
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Aprofessorofzoologydidnotlikeitverymuchwhenhisstudentsenteredlateat thebeginningofhislecture,andatthattime,interruptinghisreading,healways expressedhisannoyancetothetardystudents.Ononeoccasion,whenthe professorwasreadingaboutahorse,acertaintardystudententeredthe classroom.Totheamazementofthestudents,contrarytohiscustom,the professorsaidnothingtothestudentandcontinuedhisreading.Finishinghis readingaboutthehorse,hesaid,''Now,gentlemen,afterthehorseletusturnto thedonkey,"andturningtowardthelatecomer,hesaid,"Ibegyousitdown." "Donotgetexcited,Mr.Professor,"repliedthestudent."Icanlistentoadonkey standing,too." Profesorodezoologiotreneamis,kiamlastudentojmalfruisallakomencodela lekciokajtiam,interrompantesianlegadon,liciamesprimadissianmalplezuronal lamalfruintastudento.Unfojon,kiamlaprofesorolegispricevalo,enirisenla legejoniumalfruintastudento.Allamirodelastudentoj,kontrausiakutimola profesoroneniondirisallastudentokajdaurigissianlegadon.Finintelalegadon pricevalo,lidiris:Nun,sinjoroj,postla"cevalo"nitransirualla"azeno,"kaj, turnintesinallamalfruinta,lidiris:Mipetas,sidigu.Nemaltrankviliguvin, sinjoroprofesoro,respondislastudento,mipovasauskultiazenonankau starante.
Figure8.1
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primitivestrategies,sodidGregforsakehisnewstrategieswhentheywerenotimmediatelysuccessful.WhenGreg'sfirstattemptattranslationprovedunsuccessful,he putdownhispencilandsaid:''Idon'tknowhowtodothis."Thefollowingdialogueensued:
Teacher:Thewaythatyoutrieddidn'twork.Whatcanyoudonow? Greg:Idon'tknow. Teacher:Youstartedoutcounting.Canyouchangeitsomehowtomakeitwork? Greg:No. Teacher:Youfirstcountedthelines.Iwonderifitwouldworkouttocountthesentences? Greg:Oh,yeah.(liftinghisbodyclosertothetable)
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Gregcontinuedtomakeinferencesbasedoncriteriaotherthansentencepositionalone.Hesuggestedthat''standing,too"couldberewordedas"alsostanding." Therefore,theEsperantowordbeginningwith"st"couldmean"standing,"althoughitwasthelastwordintheEsperantosentence.Gregcontinuedtoapplyandinfer certainsyntacticalandgrammaticalrulesoncetheteacheracknowledgedthathewas"ontosomething."HisteacherreasonedthatGregperceiveshimselfaswasting time,andasallowinghimselftobehurt,whenheperseveresonassignmentsthatarereturnedtohimhighlycorrected.BecauseGreg'sconceptsabouthimself,like otherconceptualizations,areinfluencedbythefeedbackhereceivesfromothers,hislackofprogressinSpanishclassseemstohavemoretodowithhisgraphicskills (unconventionalspellingandcrypticsentences),coupledwithlowselfesteem,thananinabilitytosuccessfullyreasonoutthetranslationprocess. Inthisexample,Gregwasn'tinitiallywillingtotakeriskswhenconfrontedwithproblemsforwhichhehadnoimmediatesolution.However,whenhewasofferedways ofmodifyinghisownstrategies,heappearedmorewillingtotakerisksandrevealhisthoughtprocesses.Eveninachildcenteredschoolthatexplicitlyvalues intellectualautonomy,Greghasbeeninanumberofclassroomswithmany"right"answers,andhehasn'toftenknownmanyofthoseanswers.Greg'sSpanishteacher doubtsthathetakeshisownthinkingveryseriously.Indeed,whenperiodicallygivenfeedbackfocusedontheparticulartaskathand,Gregoftenchoosesnotto engagehimselfinthedialogue. ManyfactorsareinvolvedinGreg'sfunctioning,severalofwhichmaybefarbeyondthatwhichtheschoolcanaffect.However,whenGregwaspresentedwith nonjudgmentalfeedbackthatimplicitlyvaluedhisideasandcomments,heappearedwillingtotakerisksandengageinthetask.It'simportanttonoteherethat,inthe processofassessingGreg'sunderstandingoflanguageconstructs,theteacherwasalsoabletohelpGregtolearnaboutsomeofthosesameconstructs.Assessment andteachingmergedinservicetothelearner.
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Belowisajournalentryillustratingthechallengeinofferingnonjudgmentalfeedback.Thisentrywaswrittenbyapreserviceteacher,butitrepresentsthesame sentimentsofferedtousbyteachersatvariousexperiencelevels.
ThefirstthingthatInoticedwasthedifficultyinfindingdescriptionsthatwerenonevaluative.''Good"wasjustasforbiddenas"bad."Ilookedup"evaluate"inthedictionary. Thedefinitionwas:todetermineorfixthevalueoftodeterminethesignificanceorworthof.Todeterminethesignificanceorworthof!Howdoesateacherdeterminewhatis significantinanotherperson'slearning?Isanyone'sabilitytocommunicate"worth"lessthananyoneelse's?However,eventhoughIfeelthatIunderstandwhyevaluatinga person'swork
Asecondjournalentryillustratesthelinkbetweenwhatateacherasksstudentstoconsiderandhowtheteacherstructuresclassroominteractions.Thispreservice physicsteachercontinuedtoreflectontheproblemofexcessCO2emissionsaswellasthechallengeofnonjudgmentalteacher/studentinteractions:
IjustgothomeandrealizedIhadgame5oftheWorldSeriesonthecarradiowhiledrivingandIdon'tknowwhathappened.Why?BecauseIwasrealizingthatmyselectionofa quadraticfittodescribetherelationshipbetweenexhaustemissionsandfuelefficiencywasn'tworking.Me,themostavidbaseballfanofalltime,missinganinningoftheWorld SeriesbecauseIwaspreoccupied.WasI"engaged"orwhat? It'sfunnybecausemy"paper"fromtheactivitycamebackwithaquestionastowhyIchosetouseaquadratic.IdidbecauseIhaddeterminedthreepointsonagraphandwith threesetsofcoordinatestheonlynonlinearexpressionIcouldfitwasquadratic.Icouldn'tseewhy"they"couldn'tappreciatethishavingseenitandhavingusedalinearmodel themselves,whichprovidedatmorethanonepointnegativeemissions.Anyway,IrealizedasIleftclassthatwhatwasreallyneededwasadyingexponentialfunction(e.g.,ex)
Page94 similartotheexpressionusedforradioactivedecayorheatloss.So,ineffect,Ihadmodifiedmyresponsetwice,fromlineartoquadratictoexponential,butthe''criticism"was justifiedsinceIdidnotrationalizetheuseofaquadratic.Ionlyindicatedwhylinearwasnotacceptable. Anyway,themostdifficultaspectofassessingtheworkofsomeoneelseistofindnonjudgmentaldescriptors.Ifounditrelativelyeasytoposequestions,althougheventhenit wasnecessarytocomposethequestioninsuchawayasnottoimplyjudgments.Forexample,"whydon'tyou..."isnotagoodwaytophraseaquestionbecauseitimpliesthat theotherpersonshouldhavebeendoingsomethingelseandwasthereforewrong.Youhadmentionedaseriesofdescriptors,whichwererichinlanguage.Outsideofusing questions,Ireallycouldnotcomeupwithneutraldescriptors.Doyouhaveexamples? Whilewetriedtobenoncriticalinourremarks/questionsonthepapersweevaluated,westillreceiveda"strong"reactionfromthesubmitters.Ihavetotakeitthatwestill,onour comments/questions,impliedtoomuchjudgmentof"rightness"or"wrongness."Itwouldseemthisisaskillthatwilltakemoretimeandefforttodevelop.Actually,whenIreflect onit,itmakessensewhenyouconsidertheritualthatmostteachersgothroughaftereachtest.Theymoreorlessgetsurroundedbystudentsbringingtheirtestsup,lookingfor afewextrapoints,claimingtheywerewrongfullymarkedforvariousreasons(Ferrandino1991).
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Becausetestingdrivesteaching,mostteacherswilleventuallyceasemuchoftheirteachingandpreparetheirstudentsfortherealityofhavingtopassamultiplechoice test.Bruner(1971)reinforcesthedangersofthissortofapproachtoeducation:
Amethodofinstructionshouldhavetheobjectiveofleadingthechildtodiscoverforhimself.Tellingchildrenandthentestingthemonwhattheyhavebeentoldinevitablyhas theeffectofproducingbenchboundlearnerswhosemotivationforlearningislikelytobeextrinsictothetaskpleasingtheteacher,gettingintocollege,artificiallymaintaining selfesteem.Thevirtuesofencouragingdiscoveryareoftwokinds.Inthefirstplace,thechildwillmakewhathelearnshisown,willfithisdiscoveryintotheinteriorworldof culturesthathecreatesforhimself.Equallyimportant,discoveryandthesenseofconfidenceitprovidesistheproperrewardforlearning(pp.123124).
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alsorelatetoaparticularbodyofknowledge,butratherthanstructuringassessmentaroundspecificbitsofinformation,theyinvitestudentstoexhibitwhattheyhave internalizedandlearnedthroughapplication.Theoverarchingquestionposedbysuchactivitiesis''Whatdoyouknow?"Thesetwooverarchingquestionsarequite different. Thisbookillustratesassessmenttasksthatstudentsandteachershavefoundmeaningful.However,wedonotrefertothemasassessmenttasks,butratheras problems,broadconcepts,bigideas,learningtasks,andclassroomlessons.Thepointis:Differentiatingbetweenteachingandassessmentisbothunnecessaryand counterproductive.Assessmentthroughteaching,throughparticipatinginstudent/teacherinteractions,throughobservingstudent/studentinteractions,andthrough watchingstudentsworkwithideasandmaterialstellsusmoreaboutstudentlearningthantestsandexternallydevelopedassessmenttasks. Assessmentthroughteachingisnatural,butnotparticularlyeasy.Indeed,fromtheteacher'sperspective,constructingauthenticclassroomactivitiesandassessing studentlearningthroughthemrepresentsamoredifficultchallengethanadministeringamultiplechoicetest.Mostmultiplechoicetestsarereadilyaccessible,come withtemplates,andareeasytoadministerandscore.It'salmostalwayseasiertoteachandtestthecurriculumthantomediateandassesslearning.Meaningfultasks aremoredifficulttoconstructandrequirethemindfulengagementoftheassessor.Buttheadvantagesofmeaningful,contextboundassessmentaremanifest.First, learningcontinueswhileassessmentoccurs.Workingthroughcomplexproblemsrequiresstudentstoapplyaprioriunderstandingstonewsituationsandtoconstruct newlymodifiedunderstandings.Inthetraditionaltestteachtestmodel,theprocessoflearningallbutshutsdownwhileassessmentoccurs.Second,becauseauthentic assessmenttasksrequirestudentstoapplypriorknowledgetonewsituations,theteacherisabletodistinguishbetweenwhatstudentshavememorizedandwhatthey haveinternalized.Third,contextboundassessmentmakesmultiplepathstothesameendequallyvalid.Indiscussingwhattheycall"assessmentwhileteaching," Newman,Griffin,andCole(1989)note:
Aweaver,anexplorer,ananalyst...wehavedescribedtheteacherinmanyways.Now,let'slookatthespecificbehaviorsthatcomprisethesediversefunctions. References Bruner,J.(1971).TheRelevanceofEducation.N.Y.:Norton. Elkind,D.(Spring1969).''PiagetianandPsychometricConceptionsofIntelligence."HarvardEducationalReview39,2:319337. Elkind,D.(1970).ChildrenandAdolescents:InterpretiveEssaysonJeanPiaget.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress. Elkind,D.(1976).ChildDevelopmentandEducation:APiagetianPerspective.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress. Ferrandino,F.(1991).Unpublishedmanuscript.NewYork:SUNYatStonyBrook. Griffin,M.(October24,1992).Unpublishedmanuscript.NewYork:SUNYatStonyBrook. Kant,E.(1965).TheCritiqueofPureReason,trans.byN.K.Smith.NewYork:St.Martin'sPress. Kuhn,D.,J.Langer,L.Kohlberg,andN.S.Haan.(1977)."TheDevelopmentofFormalOperationsinLogicalandMoralJudgment."GeneticPsychology Monographs95:97188. Mayer,M.(1961).TheSchools.NewYork:DoubledayandCompany. Newman,D.,P.Griffin,andM.Cole.(1989).TheConstructionZone:WorkingforCognitiveChangeinSchool.Mass.:CambridgeUniversityPress. Piaget,J.,andC.Szeminska.(1965).TheChild'sDevelopmentfromChildhoodtoAdolescence:AConstructivistPerspective.N.Y.:Holt,Rinehartand Winston. Sigel,I.E.(1978)."ConstructivismandTeacherEducation."TheElementarySchoolJournal78,5. Sigel,I.E.(May1986)."HumanDevelopmentandTeacherEducationorWhatTeachersAreNotTaughtAboutHumanDevelopment."Paperpresentedatthe InternationalConferenceonEducation,ChapelHill,N.C. VermontDepartmentofEducation.(September1991).VermontMathematicsPortfolioProjectTeacher'sGuide.Burlington,Vt.:DOE.
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PARTIII CREATINGCONSTRUCTIVISTSETTINGS
BecomingaConstructivistTeacher PursuingMeaningfulVictories
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9 BecomingaConstructivistTeacher
Mostteacherswithwhomwe'vemet,regardlessoftheapproachestheyhaveusedinthepast,viewconstructivismasthewaythey've''alwaysknownpeoplelearn." Mostoftheseteachersbelievethattheyhavebeenpreventedfromteachinginaccordwiththatknowledgebyacombinationofrigidcurriculums,unsupportive administrators,andinadequatepreserviceandinserviceeducationalexperiences.Onceofferedtheopportunitytostudyandconsidertheroleofconstructivismin educationalpractice,theytendtoviewtheinclusionofsuchteachingpracticesasnaturalandgrowthproducing.Onceteachersareexposedtothesepractices,they enthusiasticallyexperimentwithconstructivistpedagogyuntilitbecomespartoftheveryfabricoftheirclassrooms. Still,someteachersresistconstructivistpedagogy.Theyusuallydosoforoneofthreereasonscommitmenttotheirpresentinstructionalapproach,concernabout studentlearning,orconcernaboutclassroomcontrol.Someteachershavetoldusthat,althoughtheyarecompelledbythepowerandpromiseofconstructivist teaching,theyaretoodeeplyintotheirteachingcareerstoconsidertearingdownandrebuildingtheirinstructionalpractices.Othersseenoreasontochangebecause theircurrentapproachesseemtoworkwellfortheirstudentsthatis,theirstudentstakecomprehensivenotesandpassimportanttestsperformwellonworksheets completeassignmentsneatlyandontimewritewellstructuredandwellresearchedindividualor
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groupreportsandreceivegoodgradesfortheirwork.Stillotherteachers,whilefocusedtovaryingdegreesonhowwelltheyperceivetheirapproacheshaveworked forstudents,aremoreconcernedabouthowwelltheirapproacheshaveworkedforthem.Theseteacherstendtobemoreconcernedwithbehaviormanagement issuesthanwithstudentlearning,andtheyarefearfulthattheconstructivistapproachtoteachingwillerodesomeoftheircontrol.Whenateacherarrangesclassroom dynamicssothatsheisthesoledeterminerofwhatis''right"intheclassroom,moststudentslearntoconformtoexpectationswithoutcritique,torefrainfrom questioningteacherdirectives,toseekpermissionfromtheteachertomoveabouttheroom,andtolooktotheteacherforjudgmentalandevaluativefeedback.The restdisengage.Empoweringstudentstoconstructtheirownunderstandings,therefore,isperceivedbytheseteachersasathreateningbreakfromtheunwrittenbut widelyunderstoodhierarchicalcovenantthatbindsteachersandstudents. Becomingateacherwhohelpsstudentstosearchratherthanfollowischallengingand,inmanyways,frightening.Teacherswhoresistconstructivistpedagogydoso forunderstandablereasons:mostwerenotthemselveseducatedinthesesettingsnortrainedtoteachintheseways.Theshift,therefore,seemsenormous.And,if currentinstructionalpracticesareperceivedtobeworking,thereislittleincentivetoexperimentwithnewmethodologiesevenifthepedagogyundergirdingthenew methodologiesisappealing. Butbecomingaconstructivistteacherisnotasoverwhelmingasmanyteachersthink.Wehavefoundthatthefollowingsetofdescriptorsofconstructivistteaching behaviorsprovidesauseableframeworkwithinwhichteacherscanexperimentwiththisnewapproach.Thissetofdescriptorspresentsteachersasmediatorsof studentsandenvironments,notsimplyasgiversofinformationandmanagersofbehavior.Itisbasedonourowninteractionswithstudentsandobservationsinthe classroomsofmanyotherteachers.Thedevelopmentofthesedescriptorshasalsobeeninformedbytheworkofseveralresearchersandtheoreticians,includingSigel, Elkind,Kuhn,andArlin(seebibliography).
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1.Constructivistteachersencourageandacceptstudentautonomyandinitiative. Whilethephilosophiesandmissionstatementsofmanyschoolspurporttowantstudentstobethinking,exploringindividualswhogeneratehypothesesandtestthem out,theorganizationalandmanagementstructuresofmostschoolsmilitateagainstthesegoals.So,ifautonomy,initiative,andleadershiparetobenurtured,itmustbe doneinindividualclassrooms. Autonomyandinitiativepromptstudents'pursuitofconnectionsamongideasandconcepts.Studentswhoframequestionsandissuesandthengoaboutansweringand analyzingthemtakeresponsibilityfortheirownlearningandbecomeproblemsolversand,perhapsmoreimportant,problemfinders.Thesestudentsinpursuitof newunderstandingsareledbytheirownideasandinformedbytheideasofothers.Thesestudentsaskfor,ifnotdemand,thefreedomtoplaywithideas,explore issues,andencounternewinformation. Thewayateacherframesanassignmentusuallydeterminesthedegreetowhichstudentsmaybeautonomousanddisplayinitiative.Forexample,studentsina12th gradeEnglishclassreadOedipusRex.TheteacheraskedthestudentstowriteanessaydescribingthebookasOliverStone,thecontroversialfilmdirector,might thinkaboutit,andthentocomparethatinterpretationtotheirunderstandingsofSophocles'views.Totwigtheirinterest,theteacheraskedonegroupofstudentsif theycouldfindproofinthetextthatOedipushadactuallysleptwithhismother.Afterporingoverthetext,thisgroupconcludedthat,accordingtothechronologyof events,Oedipuscouldnotpossiblyhavedoneso.ThestudentsthenwroteessaysdefendingtheirpositionsandretoldthestoryastheyimaginedOliverStonemight have. Conscientiousstudentswhoareacculturatedtoreceivinginformationpassivelyandawaitingdirectionsbeforeactingwillstudyandmemorizewhattheirteacherstell themisimportant.Robbingstudentsoftheopportunitytodiscernforthemselvesimportancefromtriviacanevoketheconditionsofawellmanagedclassroomatthe expenseofatransformationseekingclassroom.
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2.Constructivistteachersuserawdataandprimarysources,alongwithmanipulative,interactive,andphysicalmaterials. Concepts,theorems,algorithms,laws,andguidelinesareabstractionsthatthehumanmindgeneratesthroughinteractionwithideas.Theseabstractionsemergefrom theworldofphenomenasuchasfallingstars,nationsatwar,decomposingorganicmatter,gymnastswhocanhurltheirbodiesthroughspace,andalltheotherdiverse happeningsthatdescribeourworld.Theconstructivistapproachtoteachingpresentstheserealworldpossibilitiestostudents,thenhelpsthestudentsgeneratethe abstractionsthatbindthesephenomenatogether.Whenteacherspresenttostudentstheunusualandthecommonplaceandaskstudentstodescribethedifference, theyencouragestudentstoanalyze,synthesize,andevaluate.Learningbecomestheresultofresearchrelatedtorealproblemsandisthisnotwhatschoolsstriveto engenderintheirstudents? Forexample,studentscanreadhistoricalaccountsoftheeffectsofthesocialpoliciesoftheearly1980sontheeconomicandeducationalprofileoftheAfrican AmericanpopulationintheUnitedStates.Or,studentscanbetaughttoreadthecensusreportsandallowedtogeneratetheirowninferencesaboutsocialpolicies. Theformerreliesontheauthorityofastranger.Thelatterreliesontheingenuityoftheindividualstudent.Listsoffiguresandpagesofchartsareprobablynotthefirst imagesevokedwhentheterms''handson"or"manipulative"areheard.Butthecensusdatacantellaloudstoryiftherightpagesandlistsarehighlightedinthecontext ofagoodquestion. 3.Whenframingtasks,constructivistteachersusecognitiveterminologysuchas"classify,""analyze,""predict,"and"create." Thewordswehearanduseinoureverydaylivesaffectourwayofthinkingand,ultimately,ouractions.Theteacherwhoasksstudentstoselectastory'smainidea fromalistoffourpossibilitiesonamultiplechoicetestispresentingtothestudentsaverydifferenttaskthantheteacherwhoasksstudentstoanalyzetherelationships amongthreeofthestory'scharactersorpredicthowthestorymighthaveproceededhadcertaineventsinthestorynotoccurred.Analyzing,interpreting,predicting, andsynthesizingare
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mentalactivitiesthatrequirestudentstomakeconnections,delvedeeplyintotextsandcontexts,andcreatenewunderstandings. Ina3rdgradeclassroom,ateacherreadastorytoherstudentsaboutthreechildrenwhobecamelostinaforest.Afterstrugglingmightily,yetunsuccessfully,tofind theirway,oneofthethreechildren,abraveanddaringyoungster,volunteerstogooffaloneinsearchofhelpwhiletheothertwowaitinaclearing.Atthispoint,the teacherstoppedandaskedthestudentstopredicthowthestoryislikelytoendandtorevealthereasonsbehindtheirpredictions:ifastudentpredictsthathelpwillbe foundandtheothertwochildrenrescued,sheisaskedtoindicatewhy.Theoverwhelmingmajorityofstudentspredictedjustthatthatallthreewouldberescued andtheyexplainedtheirpredictionsbypointingtothecompetenceofthechildwhowentoffinsearchofhelp.Thestudentsuseinformationandimpressionsgarnered fromthetexttopredicthowthestorywaslikelytoend.Framingtasksaroundcognitiveactivitiessuchasanalysis,interpretation,andpredictionandexplicitlyusing thosetermswithstudentsfosterstheconstructionofnewunderstandings. 4.Constructivistteachersallowstudentresponsestodrivelessons,shiftinstructionalstrategies,andaltercontent. Thisdescriptordoesnotmeanthatstudents'initialinterest,orlackofinterest,inatopicdetermineswhetherthetopicgetstaught,nordoesitmeanthatwholesections ofthecurriculumaretobejettisonedifstudentswishtodiscussotherissues.However,students'knowledge,experiences,andinterestsoccasionallydocoalesce aroundanurgenttheme.SuchwasthecaseduringthePersianGulfWar.Studentsatallgradelevelswerecompelledbytheimagestheysaw,thereportstheyheard, andthefearstheyexperienced.ThesocialstudiesteacherattemptingtocontinuediscussionsontheRenaissance,thescienceteachermovingaheadwiththeKrebs Cycle,andtheartteacherinthemiddleofaunitonsymmetryallexperiencedasimilarphenomenonthestudentswerepreoccupiedwiththewar.Whenmagnetic eventsoccurthatexertanirresistiblepullonstudents'minds,continuingwithpreplannedlessonsisoftenfruitless. Thisdescriptordoesaddressthenotionof''teachablemoments"throughouttheschoolyear.Aseducators,wehaveeach
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experiencedmomentsofexcitementintheclassroom,momentswhenthestudents'enthusiasm,interest,priorknowledge,andmotivationhaveintersectedinwaysthat madeaparticularlessontranscendentalandenabledustothinkwithprideaboutthatlessonforweeks.Werecallthegleaminourstudents'eyes,theirexcitement aboutthetasksanddiscussions,andtheirextraordinaryabilitytoattendtothetaskforlongperiodsoftimeandwithgreatcommitment.Ifwewerefortunate,we encounteredahandfuloftheseexperienceseachyear,andwonderedwhytheydidnotoccurmorefrequently. It'sunfortunatethatmuchofwhatweseektoteachourstudentsisoflittleinteresttothematthatparticularpointintheirlives.Curriculumsandsyllabidevelopedby publishersorstatelevelspecialistsarebasedonadultnotionsofwhatstudentsofdifferentagesneedtoknow.Evenwhenthetopicsareofinteresttostudents,the recommendedmethodologiesforteachingthetopicssometimesarenot.Littlewonder,then,whymoreofthosemagnificentmomentsdon'toccur. Althoughsometeachersmaynothavemuchlatituderegardingcontent,allgenerallyhaveagooddealofautonomyindeterminingthewaysinwhichthecontentis taught.Forexample,acertainelementarysciencecurriculumcalledforstudentstobeginlearningaboutthe''scientificmethod"andtoconductsomerudimentary experimentsusingthismethod:askaquestion(developanhypothesis),figureoutawaytoanswerthequestion(setupanexperiment),tellwhathappens(recordyour observations),andanswerthequestion(supportorrefutetheinitialhypothesis).One5thgradeteacheraskedherstudents,inpreparationforthisassignment,totalk abouttheirfavoritethingsathome.Onestudent,Jane,spokeabouthercat.Aclassmate,Eric,discussedhishouseplants.Capitalizingontheirresponses,theteacher askedJaneandErictothinkofquestionseachhadaboutthecatandtheplants.Janewantedtoknowifhercatwouldlikeothercatfoodsasmuchashelikedthe brandhenormallyate.Ericwantedtoknowhowplantsgrow. Throughtheteacher'smediation,Janeorganizedanexperimenttoanswerherquestionaboutcatfood.Shearrangedfourdifferentbrandsofcatfoodinfourdifferent bowlsandplacedthemonthefloor.Whenthecatenteredtheroom,sheobservedwhich
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bowlhewenttoinitiallyandfromwhichbowlheate.Janechangedthepositionsofthebowlsandtriedtheexperimentagain.Ultimately,sheconcludedthathercat preferredonebrandovertheothers. Withhisteacher'smediation,Ericfocusedhisquestion:Doesthehumanvoiceaffectthegrowthofaplant?Ericplantedfourbeanseedsinfourdifferentpotsand placedthemallonthesameshelfnearawindow.Eachdayhetookeachpot,oneatatime,intoanotherroom.Hespokedailytooneofthebeanplants.Hesang dailytoasecondplant.Heyelleddailyatathirdplant.Andhecompletelyignoredthefourth.Herecordedhisobservationsoverfourweeksandconcludedthatthe plantstowhichhespokeandsanggrewthemost. Thestudents'thinkingdrovetheseexperiments,andtheteacher'smediationframedtheprocessesthatfollowed.Thecurriculumcontentexplorationofthescientific methodwasaddressedfaithfullyinadifferentmannerforeachstudent. 5.Constructivistteachersinquireaboutstudents'understandingsofconceptsbeforesharingtheirownunderstandingsofthoseconcepts. Whenteacherssharetheirideasandtheoriesbeforestudentshaveanopportunitytodeveloptheirown,students'questioningoftheirowntheoriesisessentially eliminated.Studentsassumethatteachersknowmorethantheydo.Consequently,moststudentsstopthinkingaboutaconceptortheoryoncetheyhear''thecorrect answer"fromtheteacher. It'shardformanyteacherstowithholdtheirtheoriesandideas.First,teachersdooftenhavea"correctanswer"thattheywanttosharewithstudents.Second, studentsthemselvesareoftenimpatient.Somestudentsdon'twantto"wastetheirtime"developingtheoriesandexploringideasiftheteacheralreadyknowsthatthey are"onthewrongtrack."Soteacherssometimesfeelgreatpressurefromstudentstoofferthe"right"answer.Third,someteachersadheretotheoldsawabout knowledgebeingpower.Teachersstrugglingforcontroloftheirclassesmayusetheirknowledgeasabehaviormanagementdevice:whentheysharetheirideas,the studentsarelikelytobequietandmoreattentive.Andfourth,timeisaseriousconsiderationinmanyclassrooms.Thecurriculum
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mustbecovered,andteachers'theoriesandideastypicallybringclosuretodiscussionsandmovetheclassontothenexttopic. Constructivistteachers,thecaveatspresentedintheprecedingparagraphnotwithstanding,withholdtheirnotionsandencouragestudentstodeveloptheirown thoughts.Approximated(orinvented)spellingisagoodexampleofthisapproach.Asveryyoungstudentsarelearninghowtoputwordsintowriting,theybeginto approximatetheconventionalspellingsofwords.Akindergartenstudenttitledasignlanguagebookshehadillustratedbywritingonthecover''Mysinlngebk."The teacherchosenottocorrectherspellingbut,instead,topermithertocontinueapproximatingthespellingofwords.Interestingly,whenreadingthebookathometo herparentsonlyonedayafterwritingthistitle,thegirlsaid,"Oh,Ileftthetwoo'soutofbook."Noonetoldthegirlthatherspellingwasincorrect.Shereformulated herownworkintheprocessofsharingit.Herreformulationwasaselfregulatedevent.Theteacher'splantoshareherunderstandingoftheconventionalspelling,in thiscase,becameunnecessary. 6.Constructivistteachersencouragestudentstoengageindialogue,bothwiththeteacherandwithoneanother. Oneverypowerfulwaystudentscometochangeorreinforceconceptionsisthroughsocialdiscourse.Havinganopportunitytopresentone'sownideas,aswellas beingpermittedtohearandreflectontheideasofothers,isanempoweringexperience.Thebenefitofdiscoursewithothers,particularlywithpeers,facilitatesthe meaningmakingprocess. Overtheyears,moststudentscometoexpecttheirteacherstodifferentiatebetween"good"and"bad"ideas,toindicatewhenresponsesare"right"and"wrong,"and totransmitthesemessagesinafairlystraightforwardfashion.Dialogueisnotatileinthemosaicofschoolexperiencedbymoststudents. Consequently,moststudentslearntoofferbriefresponsestoquestions,andtospeakonlywhentheyarereasonablycertainthattheyaresupportingeithera"good" ideaorthe"right"answer.Theseclassroomsoundbytesmayassistteachersinmovingspeedilythroughthecurriculum,buttheydon'thelpstudentsconstructnew understandingsorreflectonoldones.
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Agroupof8thgradeteachersdecidedtheywantedtoofferawiderliteratureselectiontotheirstudentsandtoengagethestudentsinmorethoroughanalysesof importantideas.TheyorganizedaseriesofBooktalks.InaBooktalk,agroupofabouteightstudentsandanadultreadanddiscussthesamebook.Thestudents selectthebooktheywishtoreadfromamasterlistcompiledbytheteachers,andtheschool'sscheduleisalteredsothatthegroupscanmeettwicefor45minutes duringathreeweekperiod.Duringthefirstmeeting,theadultdistributesthebookstothestudents,setsthecontextforthebookbyaskingquestionsaboutstudents' priorexperiencesthatrelatetothestoryline,andbeginstoreadthebookaloudtothestudents.Thesecondmeetingisdevotedtoadiscussionaboutthebook. InoneBooktalk,studentshadreadSteinbeck'sOfMiceandMen.Theissuesraisedbystudentsduringthepostreadingdiscussion,issuesgeneratedbyquestions andcontradictionsposedbytheteacher,includedtreatmentofpeoplewithdisabilities,sexism,thedistributionofwealthandpowerinournation,friendship,and death.Theteacherorchestratedthediscussionsothatquietstudentsalsohadachancetospeak,buttheideasthatdrovethediscussionbelongedtothestudentsand werefueledbystudenttostudentdialogue. Studenttostudentdialogueisthefoundationuponwhichcooperativelearning(Slavin1990)isstructured.Reportsstatethatcooperativelearningexperienceshave promotedinterpersonalattractionamonginitiallyprejudicedpeers(Cooperetal.1980),andsuchexperienceshavepromotedinterethnicinteractioninboth instructionalandfreetimeactivities(Johnsonetal.1981). Thebenefitsofpeertopeerdialogueamongteachersreinforcesitspotentialforstudents.Preserviceteachersinonesciencemethodscoursewereaskedtodesign,in cooperativelearninggroups,asystemforafamilytogenerateelectricityforitshome,usingwindmills.Thestipulationthatnobatteriescouldbeusedwasincludedin theinstructions.Duringawholeclassdiscussionofeachgroup'sworkinprogress,theissueofenergystorageledquicklytoadiscussionofbatteries.Moststudents defined''battery"intermsofwhatonetypicallypurchasesinastore:anelectrolyticcellsuchasthetypeusedintoysandflashlights,orlargercellssuchasthoseused topowerautomobiles.Threestu
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dents,however,demurred,anddefinedabatteryasanydevicethatcanstoreenergy,suchasanexpandedballoonoratankofhotwater.Thedialoguesthatensued resultedin,forsomestudents,thetransformationofperspectivesand,forothers,theonsetofreflectiononanewtopic. Twoweekslater,whilethissameclassgrappledwithanother,seeminglysimpleproblemhowtoredrawsilhouettesinhalftheoriginalsizeonestudent,aftermuch considerationofthequestion,declared:''Nowwe'retryingtofigureoutwhat`hal'reallymeans.Istillwanttoknow:Whatisabattery!"Ineachofthesesessions,the studentsaddressedtheirquestionsandstatementstooneanother.Theteacherclarifiedthequestionstheyraisedofoneanotheranddemandedaccuracyofword choice,butthecommunicationcurrentswerebetweenandamongthestudentsandledtodeeperunderstandingsofthetopicsathand. 7.Constructivistteachersencouragestudentinquirybyaskingthoughtful,openendedquestionsandencouragingstudentstoaskquestionsofeach other. Ifwewantstudentstovalueinquiry,we,aseducators,mustalsovalueit.Ifteachersposequestionswiththeorientationthatthereisonlyonecorrectresponse,how canstudentsbeexpectedtodevelopeithertheinterestinortheanalyticskillsnecessaryformorediversemodesofinquiry?Schoolstoooftenpresentstudentswith oneperspective:ColumbuswasacourageousexplorerwhodiscoveredAmerica(WhatdoesthatimplyabouttheNativeAmericansherewhenhecameashore?) andPi=3.14(ButC/dcircumference/diameteryieldsanothernumberandifPiiscomputedasthequotientoftwointegers,howcanitbeconsideredirrational?). Complex,thoughtfulquestionschallengestudentstolookbeyondtheapparent,todelveintoissuesdeeplyandbroadly,andtoformtheirownunderstandingsofevents andphenomena.Knowing,forexample,thatColumbus'shipscarriedwiththemdiseasesforwhichNativeAmericanshadnoantibodiesandthatColumbusandhis menenslavedNativeAmericansforthereturnvoyagehomeenablesstudentstoviewthehistoricaldevelopmentofournationintermsofColumbus'calculatedand uncalculatedrisks,andtheNativeAmericans'subsequentoppression.Similarly,
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knowingthattherearedifferentwaystocomputewithandconceptualizePi,andthatthesearchforPi'sprecisevaluehasinfluencedmodernresearchrelatingtothe scienceofchaos,enablesstudentstoformimportantquestionsthatmayleadtodeeperunderstandingofgeometryandmathematicalfunctions.Fosteringappreciation foramultiplicityoftruthsandoptionsisthe''real"missionofeducationbecause"real"problemsarerarelyunidimensional. Inone3rdgradeclassroom,ateacherformed"consultantgroups."Eachstudentbecameaconsultantonaselfselectedtopicandwasresponsibleforkeepingtherest oftheclassinformedaboutthattopic.Eachconsultantbelongedtoasmallgroupofstudentswhowerechargedwithquestioningeachotherinordertolearnaboutthe chosentopics. Onestudentbecamequiteknowledgeableaboutvolcanoessomuchso,infact,thathegave"lectures"onthetopictootherclasses.Oneday,thestudentwas describingtohisgrouphowvolcanoesdevelopincertainregions.Ashisgroupmembersconsideredthisnewinformation,onestudentaskedhimaboutwhethera volcanocouldbedevelopingunderneaththeschool.Ifitwerepossible,hewantedtoknowhowtheywouldknowifoneweredeveloping.Thestudentconsultant carefullyponderedthisquestionandsaid,"Idon'tthinkthatvolcanoescoulddevelophere,butI'mnotsure.But,Ithinkwewouldknowifavolcanoweredeveloping here." "How?"oneoftheotherstudentsasked. "Well,"thestudentconsultantresponded,"ifavolcanowereundertheschool,thegrasswouldbeturningbrownfromtheheat.Aslongasthegrassisgreen,Ithink we'resafe." Discoursewithone'speergroupisacriticalfactorinlearninganddevelopment.Schoolsneedtocreatesettingsthatfostersuchinteraction. 8.Constructivistteachersseekelaborationofstudents'initialresponses. Initialresponsesarejustthatinitialresponses.Students'firstthoughtsaboutissuesarenotnecessarilytheirfinalthoughtsnortheirbestthoughts.Through elaboration,studentsoftenreconceptualizeandassesstheirownerrors.Forexample,onemiddle
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schoolmathematicsteacherassignedhisclassproblemsinatextbook.Astudent,lookingquiteconfused,askedtheteacherifherapproachtosolvingoneofthe problemswasappropriate.Theteacheraskedthestudenttoexplainwhatshehaddone.Asshewasexplainingherapproachinastepbystepmanner,she recognizedherownproceduralerror.Shesmiledandsaid,''Iforgottomultiplybothsidesoftheequationby"x ."Theteacherbasedhisresponsestothestudenton thepremisethathecouldlearnmoreaboutwhatteachingstepstotakeinsubsequentlessonswiththestudentthanhecouldlearnfromsimplyfixingthemistakefor her. Occasionally,perhapsoften,theadultfilterthroughwhichteachershearstudentresponsesfailstocapturethestudents'meanings.Studentelaborationenablesadultsto understandmoreclearlyhowstudentsdoanddonotthinkaboutaconcept.Forexample,acolleagueofourswashavingadiscussionwithhisfiveyearolddaughter abouttherelativemeritsoflivinginthesuburbsversusNewYorkCity.TheirfamilyhadvisitedNewYorkseveraltimes,andtheyounggirlwascuriousaboutwho livedthere.Afterafewminutes,shementionedthat42ndStreetwasinNewYork.Herfatheragreed,andaskedherifshecouldnameotherstreetsinNewYork. Shementioned52ndStreetand62ndStreet.Herfatheraskedherwhatstreetwasabove62ndStreet. "72ndStreet,"shereplied.Then82ndStreet,92ndStreet,and102ndStreet.Herfatherwasnowconvincedthathisdaughterwasabletocountbytens,andheasked herwhatwasbelow42ndStreet. "Thesubway,"shereplied. Studentsandteachersoftendiscoverhowdisparatetheirperspectivessometimesare.It'sonlythroughthatdiscoverythatindividualscanengageintheprocessof tryingtoreconcilethetwo. 9.Constructivistteachersengagestudentsinexperiencesthatmightengendercontradictionstotheirinitialhypothesesandthenencouragediscussion. Cognitivegrowthoccurswhenanindividualrevisitsandreformulatesacurrentperspective.Therefore,constructivistteachersengagestudentsinexperiencesthatmight engendercontradictionstostudents'currenthypotheses.Theythenencouragediscussionsofhypothesesandperspectives.Contradictionsareconstructedbylearners. Teacherscannotknowwhatwillbeperceivedasacontradictionbystudentsthisisaninternalprocess.
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Butteacherscanandmustchallengestudents'presentconceptions,knowingthatthechallengeonlyexistsifthestudentsperceiveacontradiction.Teachersmust, therefore,useinformationaboutthestudents'presentconceptions,orpointsofview,tohelpthemunderstandwhichnotionsstudentsmayacceptorrejectas contradictory. Studentsofallagesdevelopandrefineideasaboutphenomenaandthentenaciouslyholdontotheseideasaseternaltruths.Eveninthefaceof''authoritative" interventionand"hard"datathatchallengetheirviews,studentstypicallyadherestaunchlytotheiroriginalnotions.Throughexperiencesthatmightengender contradictions,theframeworksforthesenotionsweaken,causingstudentstorethinktheirperspectivesandformnewunderstandings.Considerthefollowingexample: Duringan11thgradediscussionaboutthecausesofWorldWarI,onestudentcontendedwithgreatconvictionthattheassassinationoftheArchdukeFerdinandof Austriacausedthewar.Theteacherthenasked,"IftheArchdukehadnotbeenassassinated,canyoutelluswhatwouldhavehappenedwiththeeconomyandpolitics oftheregion?" Afteramoment'sthought,thestudentsaid,"Iguesstheywouldn'thavechangedthatmuch." Theteacherthenasked,"Wouldanythingelsehavechanged?HowaboutGermany'squesttoruleEurope?" Thestudentreplied,"Ican'tthinkofanythingthatwouldhavechanged,exceptthatmaybetheArchdukewouldstillbealive." "Then,"continuedtheteacher,"whatwasitthatmadethiseventthecauseofthewar?" Thestudent,nowquiteenmeshedinthought,said,"Iguessthatmaybeit[thewar]couldhavehappenedanyway.But,thekillingofAustria'sArchdukegavethe GermansanexcusetobegintheirplantoconquerallofEurope.WhenRussiaandFrancejumpedintohelpSerbia,theGermansdeclaredwaronthem,too.But,I thinkIseewhatyoumean.Itwasprobablygoingtohappenanyway.Itjusthappenedsooner." Notethatthiselaborateexplanationdidn'tcomefromtheteacher.Itcamefromthestudent.Notealsothatthestudentsaid,"IthinkIseewhatyoumean,"asifthe meaningcamefromtheteacher.Butitdidnot.Themeaningwasconstructedbythestudent
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whowasreadyandabletounderstandadifferentpointofview.Whenthestudentrevealedhisoriginalperspective,theteacherwaspresentedwiththeopportunityto intervenebutthecontradictionwasconstructedbythestudent. Inthisexample,theteacherchallengedthestudent'sthinkingwithquestions.Thequestionsprovidedamechanismforthestudenttorevealverysophisticated understandingsoftheeventsandpoliticalsubcurrents.Theteacherneverdirectlytoldthestudenttolookattheassassinationasacatalystratherthanacause.She simplywantedtopresentawayforthestudenttoconsiderthisperspectiveasanoption.Thestudentquicklyembracedthisview.Someotherstudentsintheclass didn'tdistinguishbetweenacatalyticeventandacausalevent.Theydidn'tconstructthesame''contradiction"thatthisstudentconstructed.Theteacherthendirected theclassdiscussiontootherstudentswithsubsequentquestionssuchas:"Whoalsothinksthatwarwouldhavejusthappenedsooner?""Why?""Whodisagrees?" "Forwhatreason?"Withoutacknowledgingoneanswerasbetterthananother,everyonecanparticipateandlistentoothers. 10.Constructivistteachersallowwaittimeafterposingquestions. Severalyearsago,aspartofitsprofessionaldevelopmentefforts,aschooldistricthiredagraduatestudenttotapescriptlessonsinindividualclassrooms.Theproject wasorganizedtoprovidefeedbacktoteachersabouttheirinstructionalpractices:severaloneminutesnippetsweretaperecordedduringalesson,andthen transcribedintowritingfortheteachers'reflection.Oneteacher,generallyacknowledgedtobehighlyskilled,wasappalledtodiscoverthatsheaskedandanswered questionsinvirtuallythesamebreath.Studentshadnotimetothinkaboutthequestionssheaskedandquicklylearnedsimplytowaitforhertoanswerherown questions. Similarly,anotherteacherfoundoutthatshehadinadvertentlyorchestratedcompetitioninherclassroom.Thefirsttwoorthreestudentstoraisetheirhandswere,by andlarge,theonlyonesevercalledon.Ifstudentsdidn'tgettheirhandsintheairimmediately,theywereeffectivelylockedoutofthe"discussion."
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Thesetwoexamplesillustratetheimportanceofwaittime.Ineveryclassroom,therearestudentswho,foravarietyofreasons,arenotpreparedtorespondto questionsorotherstimuliimmediately.Theyprocesstheworldindifferentways.Classroomenvironmentsthatrequireimmediateresponsespreventthesestudents fromthinkingthroughissuesandconceptsthoroughly,forcingthem,ineffect,tobecomespectatorsastheirquickerpeersreact.Theylearnovertimethatthere'sno pointinmentallyengaginginteacherposedquestionsbecausethequestionswillhavebeenansweredbeforetheyhavehadtheopportunitytodevelophypotheses. Anotherreasonstudentsneedwaittimeisthat,aswehavediscussed,thequestionsposedbyteachersarenotalwaysthequestionsheardbythestudents.TheGatling gunapproachtoaskingandansweringquestionsdoesnotprovideanopportunityfortheteachertosensethemannerinwhichmostofthestudentshaveunderstood thequestions.Besidesincreasingwaittimeafterquestioninginlargegroupformats,wehavehadsuccesswithposingquestionsandthenencouragingsmallgroupsof studentstoconsiderthembeforethewholegroupisinvitedbacktogethertoreportonthedeliberations.Thisformatallowstheteachertocallonstudentstodeliver thegroup'sinitialresponseswithoutputtinganyoneonthespot.Inaddition,anystudentinthegroupcansubmita''minorityreport."Thus,teacherstakesensitive leadershipovertheorchestrationofclassroomdialogueandprovideopportunitiesforallstudentstoparticipateindifferentwayswhileencouragingstudents'intellectual autonomywithregardtoconceptformation. 11.Constructivistteachersprovidetimeforstudentstoconstructrelationshipsandcreatemetaphors. Inone2ndgradeclassroom,studentsweregivenmagnetstoexplore.Inashorttime,almostallofthestudentshaddiscoveredthatoneendofamagnetattractedthe othermagnetwhiletheoppositeendrepelledit.Soon,mostofthestudentsdiscoveredthatifoneofthemagnetswereturnedaround,themagnetsthathadattracted eachothernowrepelledeachother.Thisactivitytooknearly45minutes,duringwhichsomestudentswentbeyondtheseinitialrelationshipsandjoinedforceswith theirpeerstocreate
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magnetic''trains,"andtocreatepatternswithironfilings.Agreatnumberofrelationships,patterns,andtheoriesweregeneratedduringthisactivity,andnoneofthem camefromtheteacher.Theteacherstructuredandmediatedtheactivityandprovidedthenecessarytimeandmaterialforlearningtooccur,butthestudents constructedtherelationshipsthemselves. Encouragingtheuseofmetaphorisanotherimportantwaytofacilitatelearning.Peopleofallagesusemetaphorstobolstertheirunderstandingsofconcepts.One kindergartenstudent,afterafieldtriptopickstrawberriesatalocalfarm,ranhometohisparentssaying"Youshouldhavebeenthere.Itwasaredheaven." Ataninserviceseminarofferedtoexperiencedteachersandadministratorsonthetopicofeducationalchange,participantswereaskedtothinkofmetaphorsforthe processofchangeintheirworksettings.Oneparticipantlikenedchangetothemakingofwine:Theseedsmustbeplantedinfertilegroundthegrapesmustbe harvestedattherightmomentandthewinethenmustbeagedinvatsorbottles.Anotherparticipantthoughtofeducationalchangeasasymphonyorchestra:There mustbeaconductorwhodecideswhatpiecesshallbeplayedandwhohelpsallthemusicianstoplaytogether.Athirdparticipantsawchangeasakintopreparinga meal:Thereisachefwhoselectsthemenu,choosescomplementarycondiments,appliesthemaccordingtoarecipe(orwhim),andletsthefoodcookuntilitisready forconsumption.Metaphorshelppeopletounderstandcomplexissuesinaholisticwayandtotinkermentallywiththepartsofthewholetodeterminewhetherthe metaphorworks.Andallofthistakestime. 12.Constructivistteachersnurturestudents'naturalcuriositythroughfrequentuseofthelearningcyclemodel. Thelearningcyclemodelhasalonghistoryinscienceeducation.ThemostpopulardescriptionofthismodelwaspublishedbyAtkinandKarplus(1962).Highlighting theimportantroleofselfregulationinthelearningprocess,themodeldescribescurriculumdevelopmentandinstructionasathreestepcycle. First,theteacherprovidesanopenendedopportunityforstudentstointeractwithpurposefullyselectedmaterials.Theprimarygoalofthisinitiallessonisforstudents togeneratequestionsandhypothesesfromworkingwiththematerials.This
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stephashistoricallybeencalled''discovery."Next,theteacherprovidesthe"conceptintroduction"lessonsaimedatfocusingthestudents'questions,providingrelated newvocabulary,framingwithstudentstheirproposedlaboratoryexperiences,andsoforth.Thethirdstep,"conceptapplication,"completesthecycleafteroneor moreiterationsofthediscoveryconceptintroductionsequence.Duringconceptapplication,studentsworkonnewproblemswiththepotentialforevokingafresh lookattheconceptspreviouslystudied. Notethatthiscyclestandsincontrasttothewaysinwhichmostcurriculum,syllabi,andpublishedmaterialspresentlearning,andthewaysinwhichmostteachers weretaughttoteach.Inthetraditionalmodel,conceptintroductioncomesfirst,followedbyconceptapplicationactivities.Discovery,whenitoccurs,usuallytakes placeafterintroductionandapplication,andwithonlythe"quicker"studentswhoareabletofinishtheirapplicationtasksbeforetherestoftheclass. Let'stakealookathowthiscycleevolvedina9thgradeearthscienceclassroom.Inthisclassroom,theteachertoldthestudentsabouttheChinookwinds,thewarm, dry,fastwindsthatblowdownfromtheRockyMountainsintotheregionjusteastofthemountains.Thewindscanbe4050warmerthanthesurroundingair.In thisexample,thematerialmadeavailablefordiscoverypurposeswasascenarioforthestudentstoconsider.Theteacheraskedthestudentstoworkinsmallgroups togenerateadiagramthatcouldexplainwhythisoccurrencemighthappen.Asthegroupsbegantowork,theteacherlistenedtohisstudents'deliberations,intervening indifferentwaysdependentonthecourseofthedialogueoccurringamongthestudents.Heaskedagroupthatwas"stuck"tobeginbydrawingthevegetationonthe sidesofthemountain.Whiletryingtodothedrawing,thestudentsbegantotalkaboutrainfall,whereitcomesfrom,thepatternsofcloudmovement,andsoon.At thatpoint,theteachermovedtoagroupofstudentshavingaconversationabouthowhotairrises.Theteacheraskedanothergroup,"Whydoesthewarmwindmove downifhotairrises?" Onegirlinthegroupsaidemphatically,"That'swhatIdon'tunderstand?"Musictoaconstructivistteacher'sears!
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Theteachersaid:''Youknowwhatyourproblemisnow.Don'tforgetthatthewindisfast,too."Andtheteachermovedontostudentswithwhomhehadnotyet interactedthatday. Whatwastheconceptintroductiontofollowthisdiscoveryopportunity?Theteacherwantedtointroducetheconceptofadiabaticpressureamostsophisticated conceptthatwithoutconsiderationofheatgainandheatloss,windspeed,andmoistureconditionsislargelyinaccessible.TheChinookwindsactivityallowedthe teachertoassesswhatelementsoftheconceptarewithinthestudents'intellectualreach. <><><><><><><><><><><><> These12descriptorshighlightteacherpracticesthathelpstudentssearchfortheirownunderstandingsratherthanfollowotherpeople'slogic.Thedescriptorscan serveasguidesthatmayhelpothereducatorsforgepersonalinterpretationsofwhatitmeanstobecomeaconstructivistteacher. References Atkin,J.M.,andR.Karplus.(1962)."DiscoveryorInvention?"ScienceTeacher.29,5:45. Cooper,L.,D.Johnson,R.Johnson,andF.Welderson.(1980)."TheEffectsofCooperative,Competitive,andIndividualisticExperiencesinInterPersonal AttractionsAmongHeterogeneousPeers."TheJournalofSocialPsychology111:243252. Johnson,D.,andR.Johnson.(1981)."EffectsofCooperativeandIndividualisticLearningExperiencesonInterethnicInteraction."JournalofEducational Psychology73,3,444449. Slavin,R.(1990).CooperativeLearningTheory,ResearchandPractice.EnglewoodCliffs,N.J.:PrenticeHall.
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10 PursuingMeaningfulVictories
Beashamedtodieuntilyouhavewonsomevictoryforhumanity. HoraceMann
SchoolsthroughoutAmericaarefilledwithstudentslikeAva,studentswhohavebeenacculturatedtodevaluethinking,tofeeluneasyaboutindepthanalysis,andto viewanythingotherthan
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rapidcoverageofthecurriculumaswastingtime.Thesestudentsarefrequentlysuccessfulinschool.Theystudy,completetheirassignments,passtheirtests,and receivegoodgrades.Yet,thesearenotmeaningfulvictories.Theyarethevictoriesofformoversubstance,ofsuperficialityoverengagement,ofcoverageoverdepth. Everyday,millionsofstudentsenterschoolwantingtolearn,hopingtobestimulated,engaged,andtreatedwell,andhopingtofindmeaninginwhattheydo.And everydaythatwe,aseducators,stimulateandchallengeourstudentstofocustheirmindsonmeaningfultasks,tothinkaboutimportantissues,andtoconstructnew understandingsoftheirworlds,weandtheyachieveameaningfulvictory. BoldActionsandChanges Meaningfulvictoriesrequireboldactions.Manyrecentschoolreforminitiativesarebuiltonthetimehonoredbutterriblyflawedtestteachtestmodelofinstruction. Thecallfornationalstandardsandnationalexaminationsandthecallformorestringentexitoutcomesatalllevelsarestructuredaroundthismodel.Ironically,these initiativesareyokedtotheveryapproachesthathavebroughtabouttheneedforschoolreforminthefirstplace.Theyareattemptstostandardizegoalsanddevelop assessmentdevices.Theyarejourneysdownthesameoldroads,andare,therefore,familiar,timid,andsuperficialasreforminitiatives.Thecoreofthematterisstill notbeingaddressed. Assessmentandstandardsareundeniablyimportantissues,buttheyhavealwaysbeenandremainthetailthatwagsthedog.Meaningfulschoolreformmustaddress thecentralunitoftheentireenterprise,theclassroom,andmustseektoalterthewaysteachingandlearninghavetraditionallybeenthoughttointeractinthatunit. Creatingconstructivistclassroomsrequiresboldchangesinstitutionaladaptationsthatbreaksignificantlyfrompastandcurrentpracticestocreatenewstructuresand normsfortheinstitutionsundergoingchange.Wehavesixsuggestions.
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1.Structurepreserviceandinserviceteachereducationaroundconstructivistprinciplesandpractices. Educatorsneedinformationregardingdevelopmentalprinciplesandstrategiesforenablingstudentstoconstructtheirownunderstandingsofimportantconcepts.So muchofwhataspiringandpracticingteachersaretaughtisrootedinthebehavioralsoilofstimulus/responsetheory.Butthissoilhasbeenusedfortoomanyyears, andisbecomingmorewidelyseenasnutrientdeficient.It'stimetoreplantourideasaboutteachingandlearninginricherfields. RatherthanpresentingSkinnerandThorndikeintheeducationalpsychologycourserequiredofundergraduates,exposestudentstotheresearchofPiaget,Vygotsky, Elkind,Dewey,andGardner.RatherthanteachingundergraduatesaboutmasterylearningandtheHunterModelintheirmethodscourses,exposethemtothe importantmethodologicalworkofSigel,Fosnot,Forman,Wadsworth,Labinowicz,Duckworth,Karplus,andJoyceandWeil. Thephilosophicalunderpinningsofthetheoriesandpracticestowhichpreserviceteachersareexposedhavealastingimpactontheirperceptionoftheteachingrole. Oncepracticing,teachershaveanevenrichercontextinwhichtodevelopandapplytheirnewlyemergingtheoriesandmethodologies.Bothpreserviceandinservice teachereducationmustpromoteteachingpracticesthatmediatestudentconstructionoftheirownunderstandings,therefore,teachereducationprogramsmust themselvesbeconstructivistbased(Brooks1984,BrooksandBrooks1987,LoucksHorsleyetal.1990,Fosnot1989inpress). Wehavefoundthatteachersmorereadilyunderstandandpracticeconstructivistmethodologieswhen(1)theyareexposedtospecificprogramsandapproacheswith constructivistframeworks,suchaswholelanguageteachingapproaches,manipulativemathematicsprograms,handsonsciencemodels,cooperativelearning techniques,andinteractive/flexiblegroupingparadigms,and(2)theyhaveclassroomsupportforalteringtheirpractices,suchaspeercoaching,scripttapingof lessons,andteamteaching.Butunlessteachersaregivenampleopportunitiestolearninconstructivistsettingsandconstructforthemselveseducationalvisionsthrough whichtheycanreflectoneducationalpractices,
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theinstructionalprogramstheylearnwillbetrivializedinto''cookbook"procedures. 2.Jettisonmoststandardizedtestingandmakeassessmentmeaningfulforstudents. InChapter1,weindicatethatoverhaulingassessmentproceduresisapromisingreformproposalthat,byitself,doesnotgofarenough.Inconjunctionwith restructuredteachingpractices,however,therestructuringofassessmentprocedurescanbehighlysignificant.(SeeChapter8forseveralclassroomstrategies.) Bythetimemoststudentsenter3rdgrade,theyhavetakenseveralhighstakes,standardizedtestsandarealreadyviewedaseitheracademicallysuccessfulor unsuccessfulbytheadultsintheschoolstheyattend.Testresultsbecomenotthemeanstoassessmovementtowardendsandtoshiftdirectionsifnecessary,butthe endsthemselves.Schoolsoveremphasizetestresultsteachersgaugetheirownefficacybythem,parentsfixateonthem,andstudentscometofearthem.Ultimately, testresultsobscureopportunitiestohonorandvalueindividualdifferencesandinsteadtranslatedifferencesintoclassificationsthatplace,eventrap,studentsinarange ofsettingssuchasremedialandgiftedprograms. Further,mosttests,particularlyfactbased,multiplechoicetests,areunreliableasindicesofwhatstudentsdoordonot"know."Inpreparingforsuchtests,students mustguesswhichdiscretebitsofinformationtheteacherorthestateconsidersmostimportant.Conceptsareoftencompletelylostinthewhirlofactivitythat surroundspreparingstudentstotaketests. Worstofall,inmostschoolsettings,testingisnotpartoftheinstructionalprogram.Itisaseparateevent,apartfrominstruction,withalifeofitsown.Teachingoften ceasescompletelyinpreparationfortesting. Inaconstructivistsetting,assessmentofstudentlearningisdonenaturallywithinthecontextoflessonsandactivities.Teachersanalyzestudentproductsandexhibitions asbenchmarksandgarnerinformationforuseindevelopingfutureactivitiesandinformingongoingpractice. Beforemovingon,twopointsneedtobemade.First,wearenotcallingforanationalsetof"authentic"tasksforallstudentsin
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aparticulargrade.Authenticityisintheeyeofthebeholder,andwhatisauthentictotheadulttaskdevelopermaynotbeespeciallyauthentictomanystudents.And, whatisauthenticinonesettingmaynotbeauthenticinanother.Undersuchconditions,wewillhavesimplyreplacedoneaccountabilityparadigmthatdrivesinstruction (testing)withanotherthatdoesthesamething(''authentic"taskassessment). Second,ifassessmentmeasureslearning,andlearningisidiosyncratic,thenitisunlikelythatonetask,oneportfolioprotocol,oronemodeofexhibitioncouldbe appropriateforallstudents.Somestudentsarestillbeingdeniedtheopportunitytodemonstratewhattheyhavelearnedinthemosteffectivemannerforthem.Thisis whywereiteratetheimportanceofstudent/studentandteacher/studentinterplayinrevealingwhathasbeenlearned:teachersmuststructuretheenvironmentto recognizeandacceptmultipleformsofexhibition,andstudentsmustselectthosethatareappropriateforthem. 3.Focusresourcesmoreonteachers'professionaldevelopmentthanontextbooksandworkbooks. Formanyyears,therehasbeengrowingpressurefrompoliticians,legislators,stateleveladministrators,andevenlocalschoolboardstomakeeducation"teacher proof."Thethinkingisthatbecausesometeachersarelesscompetentthanothers,theexperienceforstudentsmustbestandardizedbyrequiringallteacherstousethe samematerialsandteachingmethodologies.Theprimaryproblemwiththislineofreasoningisthattheteacherswhowereunabletostructuretheirownmaterialsand methodologiesinacompetentfashionaretheverysameteacherswhohavedifficultyimplementingstandardizedcurriculumsandapproaches.Thestudentsintheir classescontinuetosuffer,asdostudentsinallclassesrequiredtouseteacherproofmaterialsandslavishlyfollowteacherproofsyllabi. Welleducatedandsupported,teachersaremediatorsbetweenstudentsandtheenvironmentasstudentscometounderstandcomplexconcepts.Theseteachers structuretheenvironmentandsettheintellectualandsocialtoneintheclassroom.Illeducatedandunsupported,teachersmerelydisseminateinformationanddistribute suppliesasstudentsmovethroughafixedcurriculum.
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Thepurchaseofteacherproofmaterialsdivertsresourcesfromprofessionaldevelopment. Schoolsystemsthatviewtheirmissionasfittingthecurriculumtothechildgenerallygiveteachersmuchfreedominselectinginstructionalmethodologiesandmaterials. Schoolsystemsthatviewtheirmissionasfittingthechildtothecurriculumgenerallyholdthecurriculumassacrosanctandrequireuniformityofmaterialsand methodologies.It'sourviewthattheprofessionaldevelopmentofteachersultimatelyhasafargreaterimpactonstudentlearningthandostandardizedcurriculums. Thetermprofessionaldevelopmentrefersnotonlytoinserviceeducationbuttotheformationoffocusedteachersupportgroups,theschedulingofcommonplanning time,conferenceattendance,theuseofexternalandinhouseconsultants,andsustainedpeercoaching.Alloftheseactivitiesneedtobeboundtogetherbyacommon thread,orvision,relatingtotheeducationofstudents. 4.Eliminateletterandnumbergrades. Justastestingdrivesinstruction,gradingdrivestesting.Wehaveaskedmanyteacherswhytheygivefactbasedmultiplechoiceteststotheirstudents.Mostteachers, particularlysecondaryschoolteachers,indicatethattestresultsenablethemtogive''objective"gradestotheirstudents.Manysecondaryteachersalsoreportthatthey feelcompelledtogivegradesbecausecollegesanduniversitieswanttobeabletodifferentiateamongstudentswhoapplyforadmission. Ourconcernhastodowiththeinvidiouseffectsofgrading,bothovertandsubtle.Overtly,gradescommunicatethatsomestudentsare"smarter"thanothers.Grades areusedtoplacestudentsintotracks,whichusuallyhaveaprofoundeffectonstudents'optionsforcollege,career,andincome.Subtly,gradesbecometherewards andpunishmentsforschoolperformance.Thepursuitoftherewardsandavoidanceofthepunishmentsoverwhelmthesearchforunderstanding.Forexample,several elementaryschoolreadingprogramsacrossthenationrewardstudentswithtrinkets,pizzas,orstickersforthenumberofbooksread:themorebooks,thelargerthe reward.Theintrinsicvalueofreadingbecomesobscuredintheseprogramsbythequestfortherewards(Kohn1986).Theimportanceoflearningand
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understandingisdemeaned.Naturally,thishasacorrelativeeffectonclassroomdynamics.ReturningtotheinteractionbetweenAvaandthelibrarian,therealmessage inAva'scommentswas:''let'scoverthematerialsothatIcanhandinmyassignmentandgetagoodgrade."Studentscometoviewthestruggletoconstruct understandingasanimpedimenttotheachievementofgoodgrades. 5.Formschoolbasedstudygroupsfocusedonhumandevelopmentalprinciples. Anunderstandingofhumandevelopmentisveryimportant.Mosteducatorshavelearnedaboutcurriculumandinstructionalmethodologiesbydesigningandcreating theirown.Feweducators,however,havelearnedmuchaboutdevelopmentthroughtheirownresearchanddesign.Mostinformationaboutdevelopmenthasbeen "handeddown"inlargelectureclassestakentoearnthenecessarycreditsforteachercertification. Tocreateschoolsthatrecognize,value,andrespondtothecognitive,social,andemotionalneedsofstudents,educatorsneedtocarefullystudythosefactorsinthe contextoftheirownsettingsonanongoingbasis.Schoolsareresearchinstitutions.Schoolshaveaccesstoimportantdataonstudentdevelopmentalldaylong.We needtostartsystematicallycollecting,analyzing,andusingthesedatatoinformclassroompractices. Studygroupscomprisedofinterestedcoreparticipantsneedtotakeonleadershiprolesindefiningthatwhichtheywanttostudy.Itmightbeapolicythatdoesn't seemtowork,astudentwhoisn'tmakingit,aconceptthatnoonelearns,ormyriadotherissues.Together,themembersofthestudygroupguideeachotherin formulatingabetterunderstandingofhowtheycanmaketheirschool,intheparticulardomainunderstudy,amorehumane,growthproducingsetting.Wehavefound thatasthestudygroupmatures,sodoesitsoutreachtootherpartsoftheschool. 6.Requireannualseminarsonteachingandlearningforadministratorsandschoolboardmembers. Administratorsdirectlysuperviseandevaluateteachers,andboardsofeducationsettheeducational"missions"fortheirdistricts.Teachersinterestedinteachingfor understandingwillbe
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placedingreatconflictiftheiradministratorswritelessonobservationsandendoftheyearevaluationsthatsuggestamoretraditionalapproachandiftheirboardsof educationviewstandardizedtestscoresastheprimaryindicatorsofstudentlearning. Severalyearsago,abuildingprincipalobservedafairlytraditional2ndgradelessononspelling.Studentswereaskedtoplaceeachofthe15wordsfromtheirspelling listsintosentences.Thiswassupposedtodemonstrateboththestudents'abilitytospellthewordsandtheirunderstandingofeachword'smeaning.Manystudents appeareddisinterested. Inthepostobservationconference,theprincipalandteacherfocusedonstudentbehaviorsandproductsandtogetherexploredoptionsforengagingstudentsin writinggroupsandwordstudygroups.Theysettleduponintroducingspellingthroughwriting.Administratorsandteachersabletoengageinsuchdiscussionscan favorablyaffectthetypeofeducationalprogramofferedtostudents.Onewaytofosterthisisthroughtheestablishmentofannualseminarsthataddresspedagogical issuesforadministratorsandboardofeducationmembers.Theseseminarshelpteachers,administrators,andboardofeducationmembers''speakthesamelanguage" andfocusonstudents. NewImages Boldchangesrequiretheestablishmentofnewnormsandstructuresforschoolsandschoolsystems.Thisisnoeasytask.Butthealternativeisthestatusquoornew versionsofit. Whatimagesareevokedinmostpeople'smindsuponhearingtheword"school"?Raisingone'shandbeforeansweringquestions,listeningtoteachersandtaking notes,takingtests,luggingtextbooksfromclasstoclass,writingbookreports,standinginstraightlines,seekingpermissiontovisittherestroom.Thesearethevery images,practices,andexpectationsuponwhichschoolinghasbeenstructuredsincethefirstcommonschoolswereerectedwelloveracenturyago.Theyareimages ofcontrol,notlearning. Anewsetofimages,reflectiveofnewpractices,isneededimagesthatportraythestudentasathinker,acreator,andaconstructor.Schoolscanbecomesettingsin whichstudentsare
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encouragedtodevelophypotheses,totestouttheirownandothers'ideas,tomakeconnectionsamong''content"areas,toexploreissuesandproblemsofpersonal relevance(eitherexistingoremerging),toworkcooperativelywithpeersandadultsinthepursuitofunderstanding,andtoformthedispositiontobelifelonglearners. Theoldimagesofschooldonotspeakdirectlytothecentralissueofschoolreformwaystoevokestudentlearningthroughtheirsearchforunderstanding.The imagesofconstructivismdo. References Brooks,M.(1984)."AConstructivistApproachtoStaffDevelopment."EducationalLeadership42,3:2327. Brooks,M.G.,andJ.G.Brooks.(Fall1987)."BecomingaTeacherforThinking:Constructivism,Change,andConsequence."TheJournalofStaffDevelopment8, 3:1620. Cremin,L.A.,ed.(1957).TheRepublicandtheSchool:HoraceMannontheEducationofFreeMen.NewYork:TeachersCollegePress. Fosnot,C.T.,(inpress)."RethinkingScienceEducation:ADefenseofPiagetianConstructivism."JournalforResearchinScienceEducation. Fosnot,C.T.(1989).EnquiringTeachers,EnquiringLearning:AConstructivistApproachforTeaching.NewYork:TeachersCollegePress. Joyce,B.,andM.Weil.(1972).ModelsofTeaching.NewYork:PrenticeHall. Kohn,A.(1986).NoContest:TheCaseAgainstCompetition.Boston,HoughtonMifflin. LoucksHorsley,S.,J.G.Brooks,M.O.Carlson,P.Kuerbis,D.Marsh,M.Padilla,H.Pratt,andK.Smith.(1990).DevelopingandSupportingTeachersfor ScienceEducationintheMiddleYears.Andover,Mass.:TheNationalCenterforImprovingScienceEducation.
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ABOUTASCD
Foundedin1943,theAssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopmentisanonpartisan,nonprofiteducationassociation,withinternationalheadquartersin Alexandria,Virginia.ASCD'smissionstatement:ASCD,adiverse,internationalcommunityofeducators,forgingcovenantsinteachingandlearningforthesuccess ofalllearners. MembershipinASCDincludesasubscriptiontotheawardwinningjournalEducationalLeadershiptwonewsletters,EducationUpdateandCurriculum Updateandotherproductsandservices.ASCDsponsorsaffiliateorganizationsinmanystatesandinternationallocationsparticipatesincollaborationsand networksholdsconferences,institutes,andtrainingprogramsproducespublicationsinavarietyofmediasponsorsrecognitionandawardsprogramsandprovides researchinformationoneducationissues. ASCDprovidesmanyservicestoeducatorsprekindergartenthroughgrade12aswellastoothersintheeducationcommunity,includingparents,schoolboard members,administrators,anduniversityprofessorsandstudents.Forfurtherinformation,contactASCDviatelephone:18009332723or7035789600fax: 7035755400oremail:http://www.ascd.org. ASCD'sExecutiveDirectorisGeneR.Carter. 19992000ASCDExecutiveCouncil President:JoannaChoiKalbus,LecturerinEducation,UniversityofCaliforniaatRiverside,Redlands,California PresidentElect:LeRoyE.Hay,AssistantSuperintendentforInstruction,WallingfordPublicSchools,Wallingford,Connecticut ImmediatePastPresident:ThomasJ.Budnik,SchoolImprovementCoordinator,HeartlandAreaEducationAgency,Johnston,Iowa BettyeBobroff,ExecutiveDirectorNewMexicoASCD,Albuquerque,NewMexico MarthaBruckner,ChairandAssociateProfessor,DepartmentofEducationalAdministrationandSupervision,UniversityofNebraskaatOmaha,Nebraska JohnW.Cooper,AssistantSuperintendentforInstruction,CanandaiguaCitySchoolDistrict,Canandaigua,NewYork MichaelDzwiniel,HighSchoolChemistryTeacher,EdmontonPublicSchools,Edmonton,Alberta SharonA.Lease,DeputyStateSuperintendentforPublicInstruction,OklahomaStateDepartmentofEducation,OklahomaCity,Oklahoma LeonLevesque,Superintendent,LewistonSchoolDistrict,Lewiston,Maine FrancineMayfield,Director,ElementarySchoolBasedSpecialEducationPrograms,SeigleDiagnosticCenter,LasVegas,Nevada AndrewTolbert,AssistantSuperintendent,PineBluffSchoolDistrict,PineBluff,Arkansas RobertL.Watson,HighSchoolPrincipal,Spearfish402,Spearfish,SouthDakota SandraK.Wegner,AssociateDean,CollegeofEducation,SouthwestMissouriStateUniversity,Springfield,Missouri PeytonWilliamsJr.,DeputyStateSuperintendent,GeorgiaStateDepartmentofEducation,Atlanta,Georgia DonaldB.Young,Professor,CurriculumResearch&DevelopmentGroup,UniversityofHawaii,Honolulu,Hawaii