Traditional Versus Constructivist Teaching Methods

The following presents the topic of traditional and constructivist teaching methods in the classroom. These methods are compared and contrasted. This is followed by a summary and conclusions.

Traditional Versus Constructivist Methods

Today's diverse student population has resulted in teachers seeking changes in traditional methods of instructing students (Kumar 247). Teachers seek ways to improve student motivation and engagement in the learning process (Vosniadou 47). Methods of teaching include the traditional or teacher-centered methods and the constructivist or student-centered methods (Travis and Lord 12). Traditional methods have been used for many years but teachers are seeking student-centered approaches to help motivate students to learn and increase their excitement and interest in learning (Kumar 247).

Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages for the teacher and the student. The teacher-centered approach assumes that all students have similar levels of knowledge in the subject being taught and they absorb new material in a similar pace. The student-centered learning approach allows students to work together in small groups and answer a posed question. These students can be at different levels of knowledge and abilities to learn since students assist each other in the process. With the teacher-centered or traditional approach, the teacher guides the student and offers him or her new information with little interaction be

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person. Thus, each event or observation can have many different meanings and each person constructs their own knowledge. This means there is not a stable body of knowledge that can be passed efficiently from one person to another. The constructivist method is characterized by student active participation in the class as he or she constructs his or her own knowledge. Thus, the student constructs knowledge without the teacher transferring the knowledge (Yuen and Hau 280). Yuen and Hau stated further that constructivist teaching is guided by the following principles: problems are posed to students that have emerging relevance; concepts are structured from whole to part; student vides are valued and addressed; and student learning is assessed in context. Thus, this method presents students with problems that are authentic and relevant to them and allows them to find their own solutions as they build knowledge. Colbum (2007) reported that constructivism differs from traditional methods of teaching in that learning is an active process for the constructivist approach. Learning does not happen in a passive manner such as in the traditional approach. The constructivist approach includes an understanding of the ways that stud

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