Constructivism in Science Education

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Constructivism in Science Education

• Focus on learning and what we know about how
  people learn.

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Session Goals

• Establish a common understanding of
  constructivism as a learning theory
• Engage in a pendulum activity
• Connect these ideas of teaching and learning to
  the state assessment

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There is a biological basis for learning that can
inform our teaching practices. Dr. Larry Lowery
UC Berkeley
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Focus Question
When discussing the building of pathways in the
brain, Dr. Lowery makes the comment, This is
where the word constructivism comes from. What
does the word constructivism mean to you?
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Making Connections to Ideas on Constructivism

• Complete the following pages in your packet in
  this order
• Pre-assessment
• Pendulum Swingers Activity
• Post-assessment
• Discussion

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Constructivism

• The theory that people build their own knowledge
  and their own representations of knowledge from
  their own experience and thought.

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The Power of Childrens Thinking

• The moon is following us. It followed us the
  whole time we were in the car and now it is
  outside my bedroom window. Chris Preisinger,
  age 4

The sun moves around us. It goes down on one
side and comes up on the other. Zak Taylor, 3rd
grade
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What people learn is not simply a duplication of
what they observe in their surroundings, but the
result of their own thinking and processing
(building their own pathways).
Constructivists understand
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Quotes from 11 year old's science exams...

• When you breath, you inspire. When you do not
  breath, you expire."

"H2O is hot water, and CO2 is cold water"
"Water is composed of two gins, Oxygin and
Hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin. Hydrogin is gin and
water."
"Dew is formed on leaves when the sun shines down
on them and makes them perspire."
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How People Learn

• Students come to the classroom with
  preconceptions about how the world works. If
  their initial understanding is not engaged, they
  may fail to grasp the new concepts and
  information that are taught, or they may learn
  them for purposes of a test but revert to their
  preconceptions outside the classroom. (p. 10,
  How People Learn)

Think about your own teaching, what does this
statement mean?
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Learning activities must begin by considering

• students current knowledge
• how that knowledge is constructed

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Prior Beliefs

• Learners begin their formal study of science with
  ideas already in place about the natural world.
• Some parts of these ideas are correct, but some
  are not.

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Basis for Conceptual Change

• Learners become aware of conflict between what
  they thought was true and what they observe.
• Existing conceptions must fail to explain some
  new observation.
• For conceptual change to occur, their existing
  conceptions must be unsatisfactory.

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Process of Conceptual Change

• Learners make predictions about the situation
  based on prior understandings.
• When these predictions do not work, learners
  question their prior beliefs.
• This brings existing beliefs to the surface,
  giving the teachers access to what is in the
  learners minds.

• Teachers can help learners reconstruct their
  beliefs in ways that include the new information.

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Primary Role of the Teacher

• Ask questions to explore learners previously
  constructed information looking for
  preconceptions.
• Lead learners through exploratory activities that
  enable them to investigate on their own and come
  to their own conclusions.
• Interact with each to see how he or she is
  constructing the new information and help to
  formulate accurate scientific conclusions.

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When children have the opportunity to cultivate
their own skills and construct their own ideas
and concepts, then they can develop an
understanding of the world that is deep and real,
and begin to enjoy, understand, predict, and
generate new knowledge on their own.
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Welcome Back!
1 Consider how questioning can be used as
assessment to measure what students are
learning. 2 Make a connection to the Science
WASL
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Strategies to Assess What Students are Learning

• Formative assessments
• Pre-Assessments
• observations
• Summative assessments
• Post-Assessments
• State Assessment WASL
• End of Unit Assessments

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WASL-style questioning(in packet)

• Writing a Conclusion Item
• Planning an Investigation Item
• Variables Handout

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More Quotes from 11 year old's science exams
"Nitrogen is not found in Ireland because it is
not found in a free state"
"Mushrooms always grow in damp places and so that
is why they look like umbrellas."
"The body consists of three parts- the brainium,
the borax and the abominable cavity. The brainium
contains the brain, the borax contains the heart
and lungs, and the abominable cavity contains the
bowls, of which there are five - a, e, i, o, and
u."
"The tides are a fight between the Earth and
moon. All water tends towards the moon, because
there is no water in the moon, and nature abhors
a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this
fight."
"Planet A body of Earth surrounded by sky."
"To keep milk from turning sour Keep it in the
cow."
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