At its heart, constructivist learning theory complements the practices of relaxed homeschooling and unschooling by helping parents understand the relationship between a child's internal motivation, social interaction, and experiences.
As Kereen Tatham-Maye says in her article on constructivist-inspired teaching methods: "Constructivism maintains that students should be actively engaged in the learning process rather than being mere recipients of information from their teacher."
Constructivist learning theory is not a pedagogy unto itself and shouldn't be confused with constructionism, a Jean Piaget constructivist-inspired educational theory developed by MIT educator Seymour Papert. In general, constructivist theory describes how learning happens.
Internal Motivation and Social Interaction
According to constructivist theory, learners construct knowledge out of their experiences. Knowledge develops through the interaction of ideas and experiences, and as developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed, by way of intrinsic motivation influenced by extrinsic social interaction.
Tatham-Maye proposes that the role of teacher is to facilitate the child's learning process through practices such as modeling and coaching. Likewise in unschooling philosophy, the role of parent is to facilitate the child's learning objectives, easing the path by participating, guiding, or otherwise helping the child achieve personal goals.
In her article, Tatham-Maye outlined constructivist theory and teaching methods and provided a guide for creating constructivist lesson plans, building upon the child's prior knowledge to guide each lesson. Her guide applies to the school classroom setting.
Constructivist Learning and Hands-On Active Homeschooling
Constructivist practices typically involve experiential 'learning by doing," active learning, and hands-on activities in which children actively engage with subject matter to build knowledge and skills and develop confidence. Parents facilitate, but the essential responsibility for learning resides with the learner.
Using constructivist teaching methods, homeschooling parents can facilitate their children's learning by
- building upon each child's prior knowledge,
- encouraging each child to explore and develop personal conceptions and explanations,
- participating with and engaging children in discussion, and
- providing ways to use new knowledge and skills to build confidence for future endeavors.
As in unschooling philosophy, constructivist theory views each child as a complex individual with unique background and needs. Both approaches promote learning through social interaction between the child, the larger community, and the physical world.
Online Constructivist Learning Tools and Resources
The Techno Constructivist Digital Backpack, assembled by educator and technology specialist Carl Anderson, is a collection of free kid-safe online tools, Web apps and Web 2.0 services, children can use, individually and collaboratively, for a wide variety of purposes. The tools have no age restriction, do not require children to create accounts, and may be used by anyone without violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Wikispaces for Teachers allow students and teachers to collaborate on projects, share information and resources, participate in discussions, and create web pages.
Constructivist theory proposes that children build knowledge through active experiences. Their motivation for learning comes from within as well as through social interaction and the relationship between the learner, the community, and the physical world. Homeschool parents who know how learning happens can better facilitate their children's learning.
Sara McGrath - Sara is a veteran homeschool mom of three, Usborne consultant, and the author of Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning.
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