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Have you in your own education, your children’s education, or in a school you’ve taught at experienced a constructivist approach to education? If so, describe some of the impact (positive or negative) you experienced/witnessed.
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I have at times experienced constructivism where the parent thought it was the teacher’s fault that there child did not learn a particular lesson. They would send a long email critiquing everything in their mind that the teacher did wrong and how things had to be adjusted to fit their child’s needs. Also at times, even the students felt like they could debate whether or not any work was done in the classroom.
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In my son’s 9th grade course presentation on Shakespeare, each student was allowed how they presented their research. My son made a map of different locations from Shakespeare’s works, some made food, one girl sewed a dress of the time period. It was wonderful to see how proud they were of their work and how much time they put into their projects.
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I haven’t really been in a classroom where the students chose what they wanted to study for the day. However, at times, I do give my students days where they have options of assignments to work on, and they are able to choose what they want to focus on for the day. It allows them some freedom, and it seems to be a nice break for them from the normal classroom schedule I adhere to.
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I have actually not encountered this approach through experience. I do know people who prefer this approach. I just do not know how well this prepares people for working within the framework of society.
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I have taught at a Montessori school and I liked that the students could work at their own pace. They had “jobs” to do that would relate to the subjects we were learning at the time. The hard part was the students would always to their favorite thing first and then either not do the other stuff or only do it half way. Those are the students that are off task when the teacher isn’t looking and when you talk to them about it, they say they don’t feel like it.
