Becoming a Constructivist: Better Ways

By: Mr. Noriel E. Banes

Real-life situations are the best problem solving activities that can be used in the classroom. As constructivism proves to be effective in developing critical thinking skills of the students, it is on the other hand demanding on the engagement and collaboration among students and teachers. Thus, time is a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, the implementation of this approach is highly recommended, at least according to my own judgement.  Learning should be deep and understanding should go beyond the surface of the information. It must be sucked and deeply rooted in the minds of individual. I have created my list on how to become a better constructivist:

1. Be creative in thinking real-life scenarios to be used in the class – Since we want our students to foster creativity in the class, the activities given to them should also be coming from a creative mind of a teacher. The scenarios should be something that students can relate to.
2. Manage your time well – As it is true that collaboration and other group works and activities are very engaging, it is also very time consuming. I suggest that collaborative activities should have a deadline which is emphasized prior to giving the activities.  With this, teachers can ask the students to draw their time line in completing each task step by step.
3. Make yourself available – What I mean with this is that teachers should accommodate students’ queries and clarifications as to the learning objectives and activities they do. This creates collaborative relationship not only among students but with students and teachers as well. Be approachable and always have the ears to listen.
4. Fair assessment methods – Assessment tools and methods use to gauge the students learning should be fair and justifiable. It has to be in accordance with the learning objectives so as to maintain students’ motivation and interest in class.
5. Employ the art of questioning – The way a teacher throws questions is very vital to the total learning development of the students. Questions thrown should arouse student’s critical thinking. It should provoke the students to give meaning to the questions, synthesize information, and give solutions to the problems presented. IT has to be open-ended and avoid generic questions.

I am pretty sure that there are still a lot of ways and suggestions on how to become a better constructivist in learning. We all want to become great educators. We all want to see our students successful in their life. Teachers can give that to the students if we allow them to work with others and learn from each other. No amount of time can limit to the weight of learning that are engraved in the students mind as it is with the well-retained information that an individual can acquire a learning that one can use for his future. The creativity of a teacher, time management skills, availability, fairness, and intelligent questioning skills can contribute a lot for a well-defined teaching and learning process.