Von Glasersfeld believes that all people construct the knowledge that they have. They do not gain or acquire knowledge, but construct and build their knowledge through a filter in their minds, shaped by the experiences that they have had in their lives. Therefore, knowledge is a theory because it is always changing because people's experiences are always happening that change and tweak the knowledge that they have previously constructed.
If I believed in constructivism, as a math teacher, I would emphasize the importance of understanding - or of seeing how it is that my students are filtering the knowledge that I am trying to teach. I would do this by having a few minutes at the end of each class period where they turn to their neighbor and each teach each other what they have learned that day. I would walk around and try to catch as many people as possible during their teaching descriptions. This would help the students, in a non-threatening way, share the knowledge they have constructed and give me a chance to catch any mistakes they have taken place in their understanding.
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The first paragraph was a little rough, it didn't flow very well for me and there was a little typo when you said that 'knowledge is a theory'. Though how knowledge is constructed was well explained so thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the second paragraph I thought your idea for applying this in a classroom was great! It's like a little review for groups of students where everybody can get on the same page at the end of class if they weren't already and understand the things that have been taught. Thanks for the idea!
I'm rather impressed with your idea. It seems like a pretty solid way to find out the understanding your students are constructing. I don't have any criticism of your second paragraph except that it is smart.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your idea of taking the time to have your students teach each other. It really is a great way to assess second-hand whether they've understood what you've been teaching. I do feel that, according to my understanding of constructivism, it would be very difficult to truly assess what the students understand because I don't know their background. Although I do agree with the method you would use, I'm not sure it quite fits under the heading of constructivism.
ReplyDeleteA person's individual knowledge is a theory based on his/her past experience. This individual knowledge is always under construction.
ReplyDeleteHowever, true knowledge is out there. We just can't know if our knowledge is true knowledge.