social constructivism

Question 1

What is social constructivism?

Answer 1

Social constructivism is based on the idea that children and young people learn through talking and doing things with adults or older children.

Question 2

What are the key features of social constructivism?

Answer 2

1. Active - Children and young people’s learning is a social process between teachers and peers
2. Interactions - students’ understanding and knowledge of the world is based on the quality of interactions with others
3. Environment - the learning environment, home environment, culture and society can influence the quality of interactions.

Question 3

What are the pedagogical approaches of social constructivism and how are they applied?

Answer 3

1. Enquiry based learning - The teacher plans activities to provoke curiosity and interaction between peers.
2. Modelling - The teacher models how to complete a task and the student observes before practicing the task for themselves
3. Flipped Learning - The teacher provides material that students can access independently (for example through a virtual learning environment)
   - The teacher observes and scaffolds activities during the group learning
   - The teacher differentiates content to make it accessible for all
   - Formative assessments inform future teaching and learning
4. Commentary - To develop students vocabulary, the teacher talks through what they are doing
   - The teacher demonstrates thinking skills such as problem solving
5. Sustained shared thinking - The teacher and student share a genuine interest in an activity, conversation or discovery
   - This can occur between individuals or in a group setting
6. Reflection - The teacher talks about what went well and encourages the student to develop their own thinking

Question 4

What theories support social constructivism?

Answer 4

1. Bergmann and Sams’ (flip your classroom) - Bergmann and Sams explain how young people can look at videos or online lectures independently so that more time in the classroom is spent on discussion, group projects or getting support from teachers.
2. Bruner’s discovery learning - As part of his work on cognitive development, Jerome Bruner also focused on the importance of a problem solving approach to learning in which adults support children’s growing understanding.
3. Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development - Lev Vygotsky was a pioneer of social constructivism. He suggested that children and young people could only go so far alone in their thinking and that learning should be a social process. He used the term “Zone Of Proximal Development” to describe the gap between what a child could achieve alone and what they could achieve with the support of adults and their peers