Social constructivism asserts that students construct meaning primarily through their interactions with others and their environments. Coupled with social constructivism is cooperative learning which provides experiences for students in which they are working together in ways that will enhance and strengthen their learning. Cooperative learning and social constructivism work hand in hand when allowing group collaboration, communication, and problem solving.
One of the many ways that social constructivism can be utilized in the classroom is by using multimedia and web resources. By nature social constructivism requires students to work together to create and construct meaning with material being discussed. When students are able to work collaboratively to create multimedia presentations, like mp3 files and movies, it requires student planning, problem-solving and creativity. These are all skills which require a deeper understanding of content and provide social interactions for students.
Web resources also promote social constructivism. Today, students can log onto the Internet and instantly be connected with students all over the world. This type of interaction allows for students to problem-solve and discuss topics with students hundreds of miles away. The Internet also provides students with a wealth of knowledgeable experts to pull information from. While studying the International Space Station students can email questions directly to experts to receive information via email about questions that the class or students may have.
Social constructivism does not have to be solely used in conjunction with educational technology, however. There are many approaches that can be taken to utilize cooperative learning within the classroom that does not require a computer. Students can be placed into groups to discuss and react to a book that is being read in class or cooperative groups can work together to solve a community problem such as pollution in a local pond. Cooperative grouping gets its strength in the knowledge that is discovered and constructed by the students working together.
When students have the opportunity of working together it allows for each student to share his or her unique talents with the rest of the class. Cooperative learning groups provide a safe and non-threatening way for students to communicate while applying knowledge to create or solve a problem. Social constructivism is one of many learning theories that should be utilized within the classroom.
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I like what you had to say about constructivism not having to use technology all of the time. Students do need to know how to socialize with eachother. Working in a group using text and discussion are also very real world situations. I often wonder what the social skills of todays texters will be like. I have seen teenagers sitting in the same room texting one another.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is a great way for students to collaborate on a given topic. But I agree with you about it doesn't always have to be done using technology. For those students that do not have the technology available to them working in a group and discussing ideas using books, magazines and videos helps these students stay involved in the group project.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about students being able to connect with other students around the world. This would make a good project idea using social constructionism. If you could connect with a teacher at another school and set up a collaborative project where students partner up with a student from another school and complete a projecr via blogs, e-mail, IM...etc. This would be a fun and cooperative learning experince that also teaches positive electronic communication.
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