PLE #6: Constructivism

In class, our group planned a second grade lesson using weather vocabulary words and a constructivist approach to teaching and learning.

The Tennessee state standards for our lesson are as follows:

Grade 2: Standard 8 - The Atmosphere
Conceptual Strand 8
The earth is surrounded by an active atmosphere and an energy system that controls the distribution life, local weather, climate, and global temperature.
Guiding Question 8
How do the physical characteristics and the chemical makeup of the atmosphere influence surface processes and life on Earth?
GLE 0207.8.1 Associate temperature patterns with seasonal changes.

The sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of our lesson through a constructivist approach are listed below.

-Teacher creates a KWL chart to determine students' prior knowledge about the weather.
-Teacher provides vocabulary list without definitions.
-Students brainstorm what they think vocabulary words might mean.
-Students are divided into small groups.
-Students research and define each vocab word in groups.
-Students will watch several weather reports as a class.
-Each student will be assigned a role (writer, news anchor, etc.)
-Students will work together to present a weather report to the class using their vocab words.

The majority of the skills in this activity lend themselves to group construction. The students are working together in groups to create a weather report. This type of activity allows students to collaborate with one another and construct knowledge as a group. The majority of the research for the report will be done as a group; however, the research portion could lend itself to individual construction. The research portion of the activity could be more individual or group-oriented depending on classroom dynamics. It is important to note that the process is more important than the product in this situation.

In order to lead students to discover these principles, I would provide explicit instructions for the project in the form of a rubric and monitor the groups as necessary. I would allow the students to discover the principles on their own through group construction as long as they were staying focused on the task at hands. I would encourage them to stay focused by letting them know that I would be monitoring their progress and asking each group questions to determine how things were going.

Click here to read an article on constructivism from the Exploratorium website.