Constructivist teaching a new approach in the modern education

 you considered all cases?
Checking students’ work
Can you generalize the content? Helping students understand 
all main ideas
Is there another way to solve the 
problem?
Motivating further 
understanding about the topic
Can you explain your answer to the 
class?
Encouraging students’ 
presentation skill
4.2. Giving examples
To some extent, this is the most crucial role 
of the teacher in a constructivist classroom. 
Specifically, it is related to the way that the teacher 
links knowledge in textbooks and examples in 
the current situation, and by implementing this 
method, the content of lesson will undoubtedly 
go into learners’ perception both naturally and 
directly (Ernest, 1995). Without giving examples 
in the real world, theories and ideas become so 
confusing that students may not absorb all things. 
In this scenario, constructivist teaching can be 
similar to traditional method unless teacher applies 
real examples.
When teaching the theme about power rivalry 
and national interests contradiction, for example, 
the instructor can give students the real antagonism 
between China and the US; accordingly, they will 
draw core ideas more easily instead of wasting 
time reading lengthy materials or listening to the 
teacher’s speech in continuous hours.
Instead of wasting lots of time making a lengthy 
speech, the teacher can give the constructivist class 
a striking example and analyze it so as to save his or 
her energy as well as help students see the problem 
more easily. In other words, giving examples 
brings benefits for both the teacher and students.
4.3. Providing scaffolds
Scaffolding is regarded as the first stage of applying 
theories into the reality after students realize the 
correct answer. The term scaffolding was first used 
by Wood, Bruner and Ross in their examination of 
parent-child talk in the early years. It concentrates 
on the development of cognitive and social skills. 
Instructional scaffolding is presented through 
modeling, giving advice, and/or coaching. This 
support can become faded when students reach 
closely to the autonomous learning strategies. 
There are some scaffolding activities that the 
teacher should take into consideration and apply 
in the classroom: 
• Recruitment: This method is related to kicking 
off the lesson, presenting the topic, and indicating 
its importance and feasibility (Fosnot, 1996). 
In this stage, recruitment helps to raise learners’ 
interest and motivation as much as possible. In 
reality, this simulation is totally essential at the 
beginning of the lesson and during the time when 
a new theme is developed. 
• Reduction in degrees of freedom: There is 
no doubt that in a constructivist class, learners are 
encouraged to be autonomous and responsible for 
their study based on their own level and abilities. 
However, when necessary, the teacher should 
provide additional suggestions and explanations to 
help them understand clearly about the topic and 
have further appropriate research (Fosnot, 1996). 
In this case, it is also vital for the teacher to avoid 
showing disappointment, anxiety, or doubt about 
students’ ability. Motivation and suggestion at the 
right time will certainly work. 
• Marking critical features: Bruner (1996) 
claimed that constructivist teaching concentrates 
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on core ideas rather than details; therefore, 
teacher’s assistance will help students avoid 
deflecting. It is also essential for the teacher to 
limit the scope of reading materials prior to the 
lesson to make sure that student will not be stuck 
among too much information. 
• Frustration control: It cannot be denied 
that in the classroom, students may feel tired or 
discouraged because of disappointment from 
result, lack of research, tough themes, limited 
time, and peer pressure; accordingly, the teacher 
is responsible for encouraging as well as helping 
them target at more positive signs (Durmus, 
2016). It will be better if sometimes the instructor 
becomes a “friend” or “partner” of students during 
the learning process.
5. ROLE OF STUDENTS IN A 
CONSTRUCTIVIST CLASS
As a driver in the process of learning in the 
constructivist classroom, students have to work 
hard with a view to accumulating knowledge by 
their own abilities. Thanks to adopting a new 
perspective, students can start to break down 
their own barriers and move to a new level of 
understanding. It is necessary for students to enter 
this type of classroom with an open mind and a 
goal of moving beyond their current level of 
understanding (Durmus, 2016).
5.1. Combining new information with the 
current knowledge
It is regarded as a norm that when encountering 
new concepts, learners try to explain them by 
prior understanding and knowledge; nonetheless, 
they seem to prove ineffective to explain new 
experiences. These ideas are temporary steps in 
the integration of knowledge. For instance, a child 
may believe that all trees lose their leaves in the fall 
until he visits an evergreen forest. Constructivist 
teaching considers students’ current conceptions 
and builds from there (Ernest, 1995). 
Thus, students need to balance and combine 
both previous experiences and current knowledge 
to have a better foundation. Students are not 
blank slates upon which knowledge is etched. 
They come to learning situations with already 
formulated knowledge, ideas, and understanding. 
This previous knowledge is the raw material for 
the new knowledge they will create. To make 
the process of learning smoother, learners should 
open their mind to receive new information and 
discard all barriers related to obtuse thoughts 
(Ernest, 1995). In this situation, knowledge does 
not come from teacher’s brain but from students’ 
researching. Hence, they will feel satisfied and find 
what they obtain by themselves more meaningful 
and realistic.
5.2. Evaluating concepts through real world 
activities
Bruner (1996) believed that in the constructivist 
teaching, students’ knowledge is based on what 
they explore and discuss together. Inevitably, when 
approaching a specific issue differently, students 
will have distinct views; therefore, by expressing 
ideas in the constructivist class, learners can 
find the viable solution to a problem, reach the 
consensus and draw the complete conclusion.
Nevertheless, this is first stage in the 
constructivist teaching. If students only stop at 
the conclusion without clarifying it in the reality, 
knowledge may become concrete theories in 
textbooks. They, hence, need to apply their 
understanding into the real world. When studying 
about liberalism in International Relations 
theories, for instance, students should point out 
the globalization trend and the establishment of 
international and non-governmental organizations 
in the world.
5.3. Controlling of what and how to learn
Education works best when it concentrates on 
thinking and understanding, rather than on rote 
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 DISCUSSION v
memorization (Bruner, 1996). Constructivism 
concentrates on learning how to think and 
understand. In the constructivist class, students’ 
attitude is appreciated first. It means that students 
should partake in the lesson and group discussion 
actively; otherwise, they will be left behind. 
Furthermore, there is no doubt that the teacher is 
responsible for orienting and assisting learners to 
go into the right direction. However, they cannot 
depend on the instructor too much as he or she is 
just an observer in a constructivist class. Students 
should be drivers for their own process of learning, 
which means they need to know what and how 
to study effectively under teacher’s guidance. To 
make their preparation better, it is essential for 
students to read relevant materials for the lesson 
to avoid being lost in a wide range of information 
and take notes where necessary. 
The constructivist classroom relies mainly 
on collaboration among students. There are 
many reasons why collaboration contributes to 
learning. The main reason it is used so much in 
constructivism is that students enrich knowledge 
not only from themselves, but also from their 
peers (Fosnot, 1996). When students review and 
reflect on their learning processes together, they 
can pick up strategies and methods from one 
another. Constructivism promotes social and 
communication skills by creating a classroom 
environment that emphasizes collaboration and 
exchange of ideas. Learners should learn how to 
articulate their ideas clearly as well as to collaborate 
on tasks effectively by sharing in group projects. 
Students need, therefore, to exchange ideas and 
learn to “negotiate” with others and evaluate their 
contributions in a socially acceptable manner. This 
is essential to succeed in the real world since they 
will always be exposed to a variety of experiences 
in which they will have to cooperate and navigate 
among other ideas.
In a constructivist classroom, learners should 
bear in mind that group discussion is a practical 
method for sharing ideas and reaching the 
consensus; nevertheless, if they only listen to 
other participants without talking or expressing 
their opinions, teamwork will certainly produce 
less fruitful results and become more tedious 
(Fosnot, 1996). When actively engaging into 
group discussion, students will gain more 
information that they cannot get during their own 
researching time. In other words, by both listening 
and speaking, students will be active actors in the 
constructivist teaching method.
6. STEPS IN CONSTRUCTIVIST 
TEACHING
To conduct a successful constructivist class, it 
is very necessary for the teacher to implement 
the 5-E steps: Engaging, Exploring, Explaining, 
Elaborating, and Evaluating.
6.1. Engaging
This is the first stage in constructivist teaching. 
Some teachers may overlook its importance; 
however, if the teacher cannot draw students’ 
attention or make them focus on the topic at the 
beginning, sooner or later they will be on a wild 
goose chase. Thus, finding a good way to engage 
students from the orientation period is such an 
important task that the teacher should not forget or 
skip in a constructivist classroom.
To fulfill the above requirement, the teacher 
can make use of various ways. Making relevant 
questions about the lesson to raise students’ 
curiosity may be a helpful way. Another way is 
showing the issue to students and encourage them 
to find the solution or the answer (Bruner, 1996). 
After that, the teacher needs to make some hints 
for students to go into the appropriate direction. 
Giving students a special gift if they can answer the 
question correctly also is a good way in this scenario.
6.2. Exploring
After the first successful stage of engagement, the 
teacher has to make students explore new things 
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or concepts which they do not know before, which 
paves the ways for the thinking process (Ernest, 
1995). In this case, the instructor should appreciate 
the way that students research and define all new 
ideas at home. In fact, this step is the gist of the 
approach where a student opens up divergent 
thinking process towards the various dimensions of 
the concept. This step is the key towards invoking 
creativity among students.
Still, the period of exploring does not mean that 
the teacher does not need to involve in students’ 
learning process. It is better for the teacher to tell 
students where they should focus and explore instead 
of spending time on researching irrelevant themes. 
6.3. Explaining
After exploration, the constructive approach leads 
to explanation where the sky is the limit and 
students partake in giving creative explanations to 
their creative thoughts and their relevance. Here 
the teacher is also involved in the process and he 
guides students on a fixed line (Ernest, 1995).
In this stage, students not only present and 
explain their opinions to the class but also in 
a group discussion. This means they have to 
clarify their ideas through previous and current 
experiences and persuade others (Fosnot, 1996). 
Undoubtedly, in the group discussion, learners will 
face arguments from other participants. However, 
this will be certainly necessary as it makes 
students ensure and confirm their answers. If 
students’ explanation is not persuasive enough, the 
teacher and others can provide more information 
and evidence. Obviously, this makes the learning 
process more effective.
6.4. Elaborating
This stage is mainly related to the teacher’s 
responsibility. After listening to students’ 
presentation and explanation and observe group 
discussion, the instructor needs to clarify main 
ideas of the lesson. He can provide more statements 
and details where necessary to make students 
understand the problem clearly. This helps students 
have more general views on the issue and realize 
what they need to add in their ideas; therefore, the 
content of the lesson will go into learners’ mind 
actively and naturally.
6.5. Evaluating
At the end of the constructivist teaching process, 
the teacher has to give comments on what and how 
students do in the class. It is crucial to evaluate 
both individuals and groups to have the objective 
assessment (Fosnot, 1996). The final mark is 
partly based on the way that students self-research, 
present, discuss, and explain their ideas. 
Additionally, the teacher should also point 
out strengths and weaknesses of both individuals 
and groups to help them have better soft skills. 
However, he or she needs to bear in mind that 
the constructivist teaching appreciates motivation 
rather than criticism; hence, to some extent, the 
teacher should encourage learners through their 
effort. This aims at improving students’ studying 
spirit and helps them have more impetus to do 
better in next lessons.
7. CONCLUSION
By and large, the constructivist teaching has 
been seen as one of effective methods in the past 
few years. It encourages the way that students 
gain knowledge through self-research, group 
discussion, and presentation. Instead of absorbing 
information passively as in a conventional teaching 
style, students in a constructivist classroom 
are active learners. In other words, the focus 
changes from the teacher to students. As a result, 
learners’ curiosity and initiatives are appreciated 
to help them construct knowledge based on their 
understanding. In this model, the teacher plays 
the role as a hard-working observer who needs to 
raise intriguing questions to draw pupils’ attention,