Ways To Learn Through Inquiry Jo Fahey

According to Ertmer and Newby (2013), learner and environmental factors are critical to the constructivist as “it is the specific interaction between those two variables that creates knowledge” (p. 55). In other words, learning must develop within settings that simulate real-life, and learning tasks must resemble what the students currently or will experience in the targeted resulting field or job (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Thus, the course is set up into weekly modules where each week follows a narrative that closely mimics daily interactions students may experience.

Constructivism is the learning theory that focuses on observation by acquiring data and thereafter reexamining, altering, and updating information to be useful in the present time. Humans process experiences, knowledge, and conception of life based on their impressions of their past. As individuals experience an unfamiliar event, they will attempt to integrate it with their knowledge and past, therefore replacing old outdated or incorrect data with new more pertinent information (Kerka, 1997). This learning theory states that learning is an ongoing process and not about merely comprehending available data without questioning, processing, and updating previously learned information (Allen, 2005).

Constructivist Learning Theory exists under the focus of cognitive learning and has substructures of the concepts of self- efficacy, self- regulation, and metacognition as it defines how adults learn (Billings & Halstead, 2012, p. 211). Billings & Halstead (2012) explains that learning is considered a transformation in a person from personal experience. It is a continued process that encompasses understanding, clarifying, and applying meanings of knowledge that is developed. The learning theory, constructivism embraces that learning is a development. A learner constructs new knowledge by building on existing information through a process

Constructivist theory- this theory considers how children learn from experience in life, it believes that children will ‘construct’ their ideas about the world by what they experience in life. I have seen this put into practice by going on two trips, one with year twos to the remembrance memorials to see for themselves how people remember and appreciate the people who fought in the war and secondly one with year 1’s to a museum to look at toys children used to have in the Victorian days. This is an example of constructivist theory because the children are learning by experiencing it themselves by going on the trip.

Constructivist teaching. Muijs and Reynolds (2005) interpreted that the principles of constructivist teaching consider all learners construct knowledge for themselves, rather than absorbing knowledge directly from the teacher. This means that every pupil will learn something slightly differently from a particular lesson given. The assumption that pupils are active knowledge constructers has several consequences. For examples, the learners need to be active in order to construct knowledge or to learn effectively, teaching is about helping children construct their own meaning rather than training them to get the right answer without the actual understanding of the concept, and pupils learn best when new lessons are clearly related to what they already know,

Early education into inquiry based learning approach encourages children to be inquisitive, and helps children make sense of their world through the humanities and social sciences. Notably, inquiry constitutes to effective lifelong learning which Murdoch (1998) explained that inquiry pedagogy for developing comprehension about the world remains as effective tool and continues to modern classroom settings. The inquiry method indicates a notion that active participation on behalf of students builds on their knowledge and is vital to a positive and effective learning environment. As an illustration, the Early Years Learning Framework (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the Council of Australian Governments [DEEWR], 2009, p.33) identifies inquiry as an active involvement and an essential element in learning to build children’s perceptions and knowledge. Another key point in this pedagogical approach specifies in the Learning Outcome Four (DEEWR, 2009, p. 35) that children are confident and involved learners where they acquire the ability and technique to solve problems,

Constructivism is the theory that sindividuals construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through undergoing things and reflecting on those involvements and understanding. When pupils encounter something fresh, they bring it together with previous knowledge, experience and familiarity. They may modify what they believe, or they may get rid of the new information as irrelevant or unrelated. To be vigorous creators of their knowledge nevertheless, they must be able to ask questions, discover and assess what they know. In the classroom or any other situation they are in, the constructivist interpretation of learning means inspiring and reassuring pupils to use dynamic methods such as experiments, trials

Constructivism is learning through experiences in our environment. Using this method we are essentially teaching ourselves through occurrences in our environment. This method of learning is demonstrated In a early childhood classroom by teachers providing guided opportunities that allow for children to explore their environment in various ways. At the end of these activities the teacher typically initiates a class discussion on the information learning through an activity. An example of an activity you may see in a classroom could be a scavenger hunt where the students find an object to match every color; this could take place inside or

Constructivism is a coherent theory of learning that emerged as a prevailing paradigm in the last part of the twentieth century. Constructivism is a theory which brings cogitation to pedagogy (Bruner, 1966). Constructivism capitalizes on the ways in which human beings create their own personal construct of reality by understanding and experiencing the world. The main underlying assumption of constructivism is that individuals are actively involved right from the birth in constructing personal meaning.

Cognitive constructivist theories state that learning is a process that occurs when a learner adds new knowledge to his/her preexisting knowledge. It acknowledges that students have a pre-existing knowledge base. Through the process of learning, students are applying their individual values, identities, self-concept, and knowledge into learning new information. Therefore, effective learning can take place when educators focus on helping learners relate new knowledge to their preexisting knowledge (Woolfolk, 2015). Cognitive constructivists believe that learning occurs when educators allow learners to experience new things and let them reflect on those experiences so that they can relate them to their preexisting knowledge or skills. In essence, students construct knowledge when derive meaning from new experiences by relating them to their previous experiences (Wijayanti, 2013). Constructivism acknowledges that

Constructivist Learning theory is a theory that depends on perception and in a logical study about how individuals learn. This learning theory is a theory that upgrades the student’s sensible and reasonable development. The basic idea inside the constructivist learning theory is the part which encounters or associations with the abutting environment that plays in the student’s training. In this way, the constructivist learning theory says that individuals build their own comprehension and information of the world through encountering things on those encounters.

The purpose of a constructivist education, therefore, is to facilitate the process for learners in constructing their understanding. Constructivist learning “fosters critical thinking and creates active and motivated learners,” according to McClurg (2009). The educational emphasis is not on delivering knowledge nor organizing that knowledge in a prescriptive system, but rather on teaching students how to build their own understanding within meaningful contexts for lasting effect (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2012).

There are five identified central tenets of constructivism as a teaching philosophy: Constructivist teachers seek and value students’ points of view. This concept is similar to the reflective action process we call withitness, in which teachers attempt to perceive students’ needs and respond to them appropriately; Constructivist teachers challenge students to see different points of view and thereby construct new knowledge. Learning occurs when teachers ask students what they think they know about a subject and why they think they know it; Constructivist teachers recognize that curricula must have meaning for students. When students see the relevance of curricula, their interest in learning grows; Constructivist teachers create lessons that tackle big ideas, not small bits of information. By seeing the whole first, students are able to determine how the parts fit together; Constructivist teachers assess student learning in daily classroom activities, not through the use of separate testing or evaluation events. Students

Constructivism is the theory that humans construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences. This idea that people learn from experience and not just from hearing lectures was revolutionary and gave birth to the experimental learning approach that is more powerful than lectures and worksheets. By directing their own learning processes, students understand concepts better. In essence constructivism is the theory of how we learn.

Using the teaching as inquiry model, form the New Zealand curriculum (2007) as a guide the effectiveness of my plan and my teaching can be gauged. The inquiry model is defined as a critical element of the 2007 curriculum. As Erb (2011) states: It confirms that different teaching strategies work differently for different students, it involves teachers looking at what is most important based on past teaching experiences in terms of what and how to teach. The inquiry process involves teachers critically reflecting their practice through a focusing inquiry, teaching inquiry and learning inquiry (Ministry of Education 2008).