CONSTRUCTIVIST BLOG: EXPLORING EFFECTIVE CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING STRATEGIES

  THE CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHER By Oliver Picado and Daniela Picado Let's take an oath together... Every day, more and more educators decide to take this oath with us to become constructivist teachers . And let us tell you, not a single one of them has regretted their decision.  As constructivist teachers we emphasize active, student-driven learning, and we shy away from relying on more traditional teacher-oriented/directed instruction. T he constructivist teacher serves as a guide, mediator, and facilitator, fostering a dynamic interaction between students and the learning material. Some c haracteristics of a constructivist teacher include: → commitment to fostering a positive learning community →   openness to diverse perspectives →   dedication to nurturing each student's autonomy and individual learning journey.  Moreover, this teacher embraces a reflective and adaptive approach to their practice, constantly assessing and adjusting based on student needs and t...

COOPERATIVE WORK By Oliver Picado and Daniela Picado All on board!!! A common problem that arises when cooperative work takes place in the classroom is that some students view this as an opportunity to lay lo w and not bring much to the table. This might be the result of  unfair workload distribution or a lack of effort from some team members; ultimately, this results in lack of motivation and burnout from other members whom might have more to do, diminished team productivity and quality of final product, and in some cases even missed deadlines. So, it is only natural for teachers and instructors to ask themselves how can I keep ALL my students engaged as they share  equal  responsibility while working towards a common goal?  Let's take a deeper look into   Cooperative Learning Roles , and this might just be what you are looking for to put an end to this problem: Have you heard about the eight different principles of Cooperative Learning (CL)? Well, CL has propo...

SCAFFOLDING STRATEGIES  By Oliver Picado and Daniela Picado Teaching is the art of constructing the path for students to achieve learning outcomes. However, getting a student to his or her learning outcome is a challenge for educators since they have to come up with strategies and activities that can help the student get there.  Scaffolding strategies come to be those steps that can guide students to independently achieve a goal.  Students come to class with different learning backgrounds; that is why, educators play an important role in building those steps for students. Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976, as cited in Yildiz & Bulyamin, 2020) believed that scaffolding refers to "instructional techniques used to extend understanding of learners and promote their independence in their learning process" (p. 148). Therefore, promoting that independence is what educators need to ensure in their learning classes.  Another important aspect to highlight is that scaffolding is...