Constructivist+view

From a Constructivist point of view, a student must build her own understanding of a concept through interacting with her environment of which her school and teacher are a part. While this seems, at first, like a minor distinction, the implications of Constructivism are profound. In Constructivist theory, the student is placed squarely at the center of the learning process. Virtually all learning becomes highly dependent on the student's motivation to learn and her perception of the relevance of the material she is learning. The role of the teacher and instructional designer is to create an environment where the student receives motivation and access to the resources to make learning possible.

This is not to say that students simply "teach themselves." Nor does it suggest that the teacher plays no role. In fact the teacher plays a critical and challenging role as both a resource of information and as a designer of an environment that ignites curiosity for a particular topic. As a theory that explains learning, Constructivism isn't something teachers choose to employ or not. Constructivists believe that all knowledge is constructed by the learner regardless of whether that happens during a lecture or in a problem based learning activity. Certain classroom activities are more sensitive to the concepts of constructivist learning than others, however, and therefore make learning more effective for a wider range of students. Methodologies that are active, student centric, and focus on creating relevance and interest for the material among students demonstrate understanding of the importance of the student's role in any learning activity. Many people believe that instructional technology such as computers create such student-centric learning opportunities.

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