It is interesting to read this article about the constructivism approach to education, particularly online distance education.
We have done discussion with colleague in class in groups of 4, where we discussed what we agree on from the text, what we argue with and what we can make use of.
What we all agreed on with the text was:
- Students becoming life-long learners responsible to construct their own knowledge: In light of this constant and rapid flux of information and knowledge, students became life-long learners compelled to use metacognitive skills to constantly evaluate and assimilate new material into their respective disciplines. As this implies, knowledge was no longer viewed as a fixed object; rather, learners constructed it as they experienced and co-created an understanding of various phenomena by collaborating and working with peers and professors as well as with the information.
- Role of students: The student’s role has changed from being a passive receiver of information to an active participant in the knowledge-making process
- Role of community: The constructivist approach recognizes that students do not learn strictly within the limited confines of a local educational institution, but rather within the broader international and global context of their personal lives extended through social media and multiple technologies. Consequently, the boundaries between the educational institution and the larger community become blurred creating its own unique set of opportunities and challenges- brining the university into a self-contained village.
- Pedagogy must drive technology not the other way around. Good pedagogy is the driver of learning, not new technologies.
Things we can make use of:
- Teachers should explore using adaptive learning approaches which will help them overcome the barriers to online learning, taking into consideration and understanding the issues involved in aligning the teaching and learning environment with student needs, like students’ characteristics, instructor traits, the desired level of accessibility and flexibility related the delivery capacity of learning platforms.
- In teaching, we can make use of several points that will enrich education such as building networks and communities that cross time and geographic boundaries, ensuring access to technology and building technological capacity to manage vast amounts of information, bringing to virtual class some collaborative opportunities for shared knowledge and awareness to complexities of a global society
- Teachers should be aware of their role in virtual learning which is essential to prevent online instructors and students from feeling overwhelmed by the 24-7, ubiquitous opportunity for interaction.
What we argued with the text is the role of teachers which was much diminished, where we emphasised the role of teachers to motivate, and engage students in learning, along with teacher’s important role of regular feedback to students, and important of having teacher-student relationship.
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