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Social Studies Assignment

The document discusses the basic tenets of constructivism as an educational philosophy and its implications for social studies class. It explains that constructivism holds that learners actively construct their own knowledge and meaning from experiences. The four key tenets are: knowledge results from active cognition, cognition adapts to the environment, cognition organizes experience rather than representing reality accurately, and knowing has biological and social influences. In social studies class, a constructivist approach implies using multiple perspectives from primary sources so students can see different views and construct a greater understanding. It also means considering students' prior knowledge, which is fundamental to acquiring new content and skills.

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Jessa Mae Galanida
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3K views

Social Studies Assignment

The document discusses the basic tenets of constructivism as an educational philosophy and its implications for social studies class. It explains that constructivism holds that learners actively construct their own knowledge and meaning from experiences. The four key tenets are: knowledge results from active cognition, cognition adapts to the environment, cognition organizes experience rather than representing reality accurately, and knowing has biological and social influences. In social studies class, a constructivist approach implies using multiple perspectives from primary sources so students can see different views and construct a greater understanding. It also means considering students' prior knowledge, which is fundamental to acquiring new content and skills.

Uploaded by

Jessa Mae Galanida
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JESSA MAE B.

GALANIDA
BEED-2B

EXPLAIN: Answer the following questions. Substantiate your point by providing relevant facts/data.

1. Enumerate and explain the basic tenets of constructivism as an educational philosophy.

Answer: Constructivism is a theory of learning that has roots in both philosophy and psychology. The essential
core of constructivism is that learners actively construct their own knowledge and meaning from their
experiences. This core has roots that extend back through many years and many philosophers, including
Dewey (1938) , Hegel (1807/1949) , Kant (1781/1946) , and Vico (1725/1968) . Philosophically, this essence
relies on an epistemology that stresses subjectivism and relativism, the concept that while reality may exist
separate from experience, it can only be known through experience, resulting in a personally unique reality.
Von Glasersfeld (1984, 1998) proposed three essential epistemological tenets of constructivism, to which a
fourth has been added in light of recent writings. Knowledge is not passively accumulated, but rather, is the
result of active cognizing by the individual; Cognition is an adaptive process that functions to make an
individual's behavior more viable given a particular environment; Cognition organizes and makes sense of
one's experience, and is not a process to render an accurate representation of reality; and Knowing has roots
both in biological/neurological construction, and in social, cultural, and language-based interactions. Thus,
constructivism acknowledges the learner's active role in the personal creation of knowledge, the importance of
experience (both individual and social) in this knowledge creation process, and the realization that the
knowledge created will vary in its degree of validity as an accurate representation of reality. These four
fundamental tenets provide the foundation for basic principles of the teaching, learning, and knowing process
as described by constructivism. As will be seen, however, these tenets may be emphasized differently,
resulting in various "degrees" or "types" of constructivism.

2.What are the implications of constructivism to social studies class?

Answer: By sharing their ideas, students will be able to see a variety of perspectives and construct a greater
knowledge of the issues that they are studying. Another important aspect to the constructivist approach to
social studies is the idea of using primary sources. Teachers must employ multiple perspective and
representations of content. If learners are provided multiple perspectives or lenses in examining a particular
phenomenon or event, he/she can have the raw materials necessary to create and develop varied
representations. This, in turn, allows him/her various routes from which to retrieve knowledge which in the long
run develops his/her capacity to use more complex schemas relevant to the experience. These perspectives
provide the student with a greater opportunity to develop a more viable model of their experiences and social
interactions, thus making their existence more meaningful. Learner’s prior knowledge is fundamental in the
acquisition of content and skills. All learning begins within an individual’s schema or prior knowledge. This
simple yet profound statement can unravel earning possibilities for it allows us to examine the personal history
(i.e., experiences, trauma, interests, contexts) of each learner. Only by attempting to understand a student’s
prior knowledge will the teacher be able to create effective experiences, resulting in optimum learning.

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