Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

Constructivist/Engaged Learning Approaches 285
and project-based learning. Engaged learning includes collaborative and cooperative, as well
as individualized, activities. When engaged learning experiences are utilized in the classroom,
students become independent thinkers and learners who participate in, and extend, their own
learning processes. Students develop life-long skills and strategies that help them apply knowledge
in situations outside the classroom. Students are actively involved in their own learning.
Journal entry: I have always considered myself to be a good teacher; however, my goal is to be an effective
one. I consider myself a life-long learner who attends workshops and reads educational material to improve
my craft. Administrators and teachers have always complimented me on my classroom management, and
parents would request me for their children because of my structured environment in the classroom. My
test scores on the state test were always impressive because I taught what needed to be taught in order for
students to be successful on the exam. Now, I realize there are holes in my teaching, gaps between what my
students need to learn at the moment and what they need to learn to become life-long learners. I don’t want
my students to learn something that will benefit them for the moment; I want them to acquire knowledge
which they can utilize the rest of their lives.
As instructional issues are discussed and debated in schools today, big differences exist between
constructivism, a theory about knowledge and learning in the information age, and traditional
practices of teaching and learning. The traditional learning model views the teacher as the source
of knowledge and the students as the receptacles of knowledge. While the students listen, the
teacher is center stage, following the didactic model of teaching in which content information
is provided by the teacher. Students are required to listen and “learn” (memorize) the content.
In traditional teaching the previous background and experiences of students are not taken into
account. Students sit still and absorb the information presented by the teacher, and students
usually work alone. If they do work with others, groups are usually formed placing students of
similar abilities together.
This notion of teaching and learning contrasts with the constructivist/engaged learning model
(Figure 39.1) that emphasizes the creation of active learning environments promoting learnercentered
critical thinking, collaboration, and discovery. The constructivist model of teaching
and learning focuses on the student. The teacher designs student-centered lessons and facilitates
student learning during the lesson. Students are provided with opportunities to think, problemsolve,
investigate, and explore; and they are allowed to individually and collaboratively construct
their own understanding of the content. As students collaborate, discuss, and share their prior
knowledge and experiences with each other, they learn the content of the lesson.
Journal entry: After the presentation of the history of constructivism, I realized the theory is not new. It
has been around for hundreds of years. It’s interesting that it’s been hundreds of years since constructivist
learning was first introduced, and we are still working on ways to implement these strategies. I feel there are
several reasons for this. It is very difficult for teachers to let students be responsible for their own learning.
It is easier for students to depend on their teachers to “spoon-feed” the information.
In order to provide children with the skills they need to function in today’s society, educators
are examining different teaching and learning models that differ from traditional approaches
used in the past. Constructivist education empowers student learning through the construction
of meaning in a learner-centered inquiry environment. Learning in constructivist terms is both
the process and the result of questioning, interpreting, and analyzing information; using this
information and thinking process to develop, build, and alter our meaning and understanding
of concepts and ideas; and integrating current experiences with our past experiences and what
we already know about a given subject. Engaged learning and the constructivist learning model