Instructional technology as a tool in creating constructivist Classrooms

By

Erwina Tri Astuti

1507042028

Constructivist instructors’ is main concern on providing the learners with  learning environments in which they can engage in meaningful interactions. So, classrooms should be designed in such a way that the learners interpret and construct meaning based on their own experiences. Creation of rich learning environments anvailable technologies supporting constructivist learning platforms can be achieved through employing instructional strategies apt to the contextual variables. Teachers’ new role is integrating technology into the curriculum so that learners build on their own experiences,  construct their own meanings, create products, and solve problems successfully.

For the constructivists, the learner is an active participant  of the transferred knowledge for the learning process. Constructivism "is the philosophy, or belief, that learners create their own knowledge based on interactions with their environment including their interactions with other people" (Draper, 2002, p.522). Constructivists understand learning as an interpretive, recursive, building process where active learners interrelate with the physical and social world (Fosnot, 1996). Constructivist classroom environment, therefore, is not a place to transfer the information, but a place where students’ active participation is ensured, inquiry and research are conducted, and problems are solved. Sfard (1998) argues students learn through interaction with material and people and participation in classroom activities facilitates student learning. For example, in the constructivist classroom, teachers would pose realistically complex and personally meaningful problems for students to solve. Students would then work in cooperative groups to eexplore possible answers, develop a product, and present findings to a selected audience (Carbonell, 2004).

There is no doubt that in order to ensure that effective teaching and learning activities are taking place in classrooms, educators need a constructivist approach applied via instructional technology. The core question that should be investigated is “How can we integrate technology to enhance teaching and learning for understanding?” When adopting an innovation in the institution, teacher readiness is one of the basic determinants of success.

Though there are many factors to be considered in designing curricula and employing instructional strategies apt to the contextual variables shaping the learning environments, for the last few decades constructivism has been one of the major factors shaping not only curriculum development but also instructional design. Constructivist educators are supposed to provide learners with suitable instructional technology to make them think, reflect and develop ideas, and then to test their ideas in a practical meaningful context. In their attempts to create fruitful learning environments, those educators discovered technology as a valuable tool to employ in their designs. In this respect, technology penetrating all layers of modern life not only transformed the way we communicate, socialize, and conduct business, but also contributed a lot to the way students learn and the way teachers teach. Technology offers instructors tools to personalize learning experiences through innovative learning environments including simulations, animations, scaffolded and guided practice sets, and OpenCourseWare. With the emergence of the constructivist approach, focus shifted from the design of software packages which act solely as storehouses of information to an interactive problem-based environment in which the student is empowered to take charge of his or her own learning.

Since behaviorism and constructivism both continue to be seen relevant in today’s world of online education, in order to avoid digital traditional practices in classrooms, it is essential to clarify the criteria for constructivist online learning so that successful practical applications of constructivism can be identified and implemented to positively affect learning. With the substantial increase in the number of available technologies, educators should pay special attention to differentiate between the technologies supporting constructivist learning platforms and behaviorist learning practices.

References

Mustafa Er and Neslihan Fatma Er.(2013). “Instructional technology as a tool in creating  constructivist Classrooms”.Department of Foreign Languages Education,Turkish Air Force Academy, İstanbul, 34149, Turkey.

Mustafa Er and Neslihan Fatma Er.(2013). “Instructional technology as a tool in creating  constructivist Classrooms”. b Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, İstanbul Kültür University,İstanbul 34156, Turkey. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 9 1441 – 1445       

 Jonathan Turner. (2014). “Implementing ePortfolios in a Multi-Disciplinary Tertiary Context in the UAE”. UAE Journalof edacutional technology and learning

National Educational Technology Plan.(2010) .Educational Technology 50.6 : 18- National Educational Technology Plan: foundations for transformation.