What Is Constructivist about Constructivist Education?

My work over the past 30 years has been to take what seemed to me the best theory of human mental development –Piaget’s—and try to draw its educational implications. Those implications have grown into a general educational paradigm that I have called constructivist education. Taking Piaget’s epistemological and psychological theory as an example of theory inspiring educators, we can point to many curricula and programs that purport to be based on it. Most of these can be characterized by what I call “the wave of the hand ” usage of the theory—that is, a general citation without addressing just how the theory connects with recommended practices. I have also referred to this as a global translation of theory into practice in which the theory is simplified into vague generalities that are only loosely connected to certain educational goals or practices (DeVries, 1987/1990). In my own work, I have been motivated to try to develop a constructivist educational paradigm having coherence in theory and practice. This is necessary because scientific research on comparative effectiveness of educational programs depends on studies of different educational paradigms. Kuhn’s (1970) conception of scientifi

Moral Classrooms, Moral Children: Creating a Constructivist Atmosphere in Early Education

This classic bestseller, now updated for today\u27s diverse teaching force and student populations, explores the benefits of sociomoral practices in the classroom. The authors draw on recent research to show how these approaches work with children ages 2-8. They focus on how to establish and maintain a classroom environment that fosters children\u27s intellectual, social, moral, emotional, and personality development. Extending the work of Jean Piaget, the authors advocate for a cooperative approach that contrasts with the coercion and unnecessary control that can be seen in many classrooms serving young children. Practical chapters demonstrate how the constructivist approach can be embedded in a school program by focusing on specific classroom situations and activities, such as resolving conflict, group time, rule making, decision making and voting, social and moral discussions, cooperative alternatives to discipline, and activity time. -- Provided by publisherhttps://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/1447/thumbnail.jp

L'éducation constructiviste à l'école maternelle et élémentaire : l'atmosphère socio-morale, premier objectif éducatif

This paper presents the principles and the characteristics of a type of pedagogy generated by piagetian constructivism. Experiments conducted in nursery classes of the United States back up these principles. The article focuses on the creation of a social and moral context allowing the optimum child development in each field, taking in account the nature of adults/children and children interrelationships. Piagetian concepts of autonomy and heteronomy are reminded ; then, constructivist practices focusing on the implementation of such concepts are presented and embodied. Elements of evaluation of these practices are given in the last part of this article through the results of a comparative study of three preschool programmes.Dans cet article sont présentés les principes et les caractéristiques d'une pédagogie issue du constructivisme piagétien. Ils sont étayés par des expérimentations menées, aux Etats-Unis, dans des classes de maternelle. L'accent est ici plus particulièrement mis sur la création d'un contexte socio-moral favorable au développement optimal des enfants dans tous les domaines, et dépendant de la nature des relations interpersonnelles adulte/enfants et entre enfants. Après un rappel des concepts piagétiens d'autonomie et d'hétéronomie, sont exposées et largement illustrées les pratiques constructivistes visant l'actualisation d'un tel objectif. Des éléments d'évaluation de ces pratiques sont apportés, au terme de cet article, avec les résultats d'une étude comparative de trois programmes préscolaires.Devries Rheta, Ledoux Anne. L'éducation constructiviste à l'école maternelle et élémentaire : l'atmosphère socio-morale, premier objectif éducatif. In: Revue française de pédagogie, volume 119, 1997. L'éducation préscolaire. pp. 57-72

Ramps & Pathways: A Constructivist Approach to Physics with Young Children

If you think the words young children and physics don\u27t belong together, think again. Based on the theories of Piaget and the work of DeVries and Sales, this book successfully makes the case for building a constructivist approach to physical science learning in the early childhood classroom. Reviews how children construct content knowledge and the mental ability to organize knowledge (intelligence). Explains why ramps activities engage children deeply in reasoning about physical objects and phenomena such as force and motion, across a range of ages and developmental levels, even over several years Provides a rationale you can use to explain and defend the educational value of children\u27s play and exploration Shows you how to apply the 10 principles of constructivist teaching in your classroom Includes dozens of full-color photographs of children\u27s amazing structures. -- Provided by publisherhttps://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/1263/thumbnail.jp

Developing Constructivist Early Childhood (Early Childhood Education, 81)

Discusses how children can benefit from certain kinds of play during early childhood education, allowing them to explore their surroundings while still being conventially educated in the classroom. -- Provided by publisherhttps://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/1449/thumbnail.jp