Technology can work wonders! With the integration of the video conferencing API in the Learning Management System and classroom apps, conducting live classes for the students has been made possible. In an environment of online learning, it is essential that the students feel connected and also to their mentors to ensure the teaching and learning process go on unhindered. Imbibing the constructivism theory in the age of e-learning becomes an obligatory step for the teaching professionals to ensure that things don’t become one-sided with only the educators doing all the talking without the students participating in the class.
The basic principle of constructivism theory is that the students are vital and active participants in their journey of receiving education. As a result, the aim of constructivism is the application of learning strategies by teachers so that these activities in the class demand the active participation of the students, thus ensuring their enhanced role-playing in the online class.
This blog article will look at the basic idea of constructivism theory in detail and explore the various ways to implement the theory in online classes to ensure active participation of the students. Meanwhile, to learn more about how you can help promote youth welfare, ask for assistance from Andre Chapman.
Definition Of Constructivism Theory
Developed by the eminent theorists Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, and John Dewey, constructivism theory is focused on maintaining a student-centric approach in online classes to ensure the pupils stay at the centre of the learning process. The core idea is to let the pupils ‘construct’ knowledge by themselves. It is all about enabling the students to add new learning experiences to their already acquired base of understanding.
Constructivism theory is used by the teachers in online education to inspire the students in stimulating their brain and developing their analytical and logical skills. Making use of story-telling techniques and offering practical or real-time perspectives that hold true to the students is crucial to ensure they don’t become passive listeners but become active learners. The approach is to make the students relate the concepts that they are learning in the online class to the real environment.
Aspects Of Constructivism Theory
- In this theory, it is essential that the students already have some kind of prior knowledge and then attends the class. The extra knowledge and information have to be added later while attending the class.
- Constructivism emphasises on the need of greater social interaction with their peers and intensive communication with their teachers likewise. This is an essential step to ensure that the knowledge is “constructed” in the best way possible.
- Often, real-life instances are taken into context to help the students in connecting the information that they gained lately with the facts about which they had prior knowledge. To make the grip over information by the students an easy factor, teachers are advised to encourage the students in relating the concepts and facts with their lives. It is all about making the learning process a contextual one so that the students don’t just simply sit through the entire class quietly but express their opinions and form their knowledge base.
Ways To Implement Constructivism In Online Classes
If you are a teacher, look at the following points to know how you can execute constructivism theory in online classes.
- Introduce active student-centric activities in the class such as initiating an open-ended question, demonstrating experiments, presenting puzzles, or sparking lively discussions to ensure the learners come up with their plans and strategies and be active in the class.
- Encourage collaborative behaviour among the students by initiating group discussions, debates, group projects, and so on. Acquiring several perspectives of knowledge and learning is essential and therefore fostering a good relationship with the community has emerged as a crucial factor to construct knowledge.
- The teacher has to act as a guiding force and make way for the students’ discussion in the virtual classroom to ensure constructivism is exercised in the journey of e-learning.
Final Words
Implementing the theory of constructivism theory in online classes is vital to ensure the students’ equal active participation as that of the teachers. The idea is to give the learning community greater space and attention to let them come up with their ideas and perspectives to add to their knowledge. The performance of the students academically will also get enhanced by wielding this strategy in online classes.