Constructivism Essay -- Philosophy, Piaget, Vygotsky

What is Constructivism?Constructivism has been a popular term use in skill since the 1990s but can be traced back to a much earlier time than that (Maddux & Cummings, 1999, p.8). Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are the two theorists who are nearly linked to the development of constructivism. Over the past decade, information has seen an alarming outgrowth in the number of students who are qualifying for special education go as well as students who are being labeled as at risk students. Having such an increase in special education the demand to find a teaching style that works ruff for students with disabilities has become extremely popular. An increase in popular terms and voguish forms of teaching instruction has developed in education. A popular roll word that has invaded the educational world is Constructivism even though constructivism is not a new term it does lack a concrete definition. The term constructivism has been used to explain everything from school reform to teaching styles, and most consequentially connect to a learning hypothesis. As you can imagine the term Constructivism has the electric potential to develop many misconceptions since it lacks a universal definition. Constructivism is an important theory of learning that is used to guide the development of new teaching methods(Baviskar, Hartle & Whitney, 2009, p.541). The framework of constructivism is build upon the understanding that learning is an active process that is student centered in the sense that, with the teachers help, learners select and transform information, construct hypothesis, and make decisions(Chrenka, 2001, p.694). It is important to understand that when speaking about constructivism we are referring to a learning theory not teach... ...dent-centered classroom, which allows students to act upon their prior knowledge and learn through work force on experience. If you have ever been involved with or around students with disabilities you may be extre mely hesitant to adopt a constructivist view on education. Students with disabilities require a much more structured learning surround in order to be successful. Many education professionals feel that the suppress learning experience and learning environment for students with disabilities would be one of a more teacher-directed or explicit teaching style. It would not be clean to assume that a constructivist approach to special education would be a complete failure. However, combining multiple constructivist strategies with some explicit teaching strategies you could kind of possibly be able to achieve success when teaching students with disabilities.