Chapter 3: Developing a Philosophy for Inquiry

Neapolitan philospher, Giambatisata Vico, believed that we know something only when we can explain it. (p.32)

According to Douglas Llewellyn, inquiry-based teachers "embrace a philosophical mind-set founded on the ideals and principles of constructivism." Llewellyn also acknowledges that there are many interpretations of constructivism. (p.27)

My question is this:

Reflecting on your teaching practice, how would you define / explain constructivism?

My response to Christine's question is that constructivism is the linking of information to previous information or experiences.  In the science classroom I try to facilitate this by discussing previous common experiences the students may have had, providing the students with new experiences through demonstrations or labs, or by using analogies...In all ways, attmepting to help them connect with new information.

On a side note I went to a session at the NSTA conference on using the 5E philosophy to teach chemistry and it has now been expanded to 7E [ http://www.its-about-time.com/htmls/ap/eisenkrafttst.pdf ].  I really think that this philosophy 'makes sense' and I am currently attempting to try it in my chemistry class...

To me, teaching using constructivism means allowing students the opportunity to build their own meaning of a new concept before just outright telling them the information.  Students will create deeper meaning of a new concept if the teacher builds upon their previous knowledge and understanding of related concepts. 

I once read a book that described an activity that was intended to allow students to construct their own idea of the periodic table.  In this activity, students were given a list of books and 'bookshelf'.  Their task was to organize the books on the shelf in two ways:  increasing size from left to right on each shelf; and related subject matter/topic vertically.  I have always wanted to try this, but the work required to set it up has always seemed a bit intimidating.