The Courage To Be Constructivist
Publication Type:
Web ArticleYear of Publication:
1999URL:
http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.459dee00...Abstract:
The teaser for this article reads: "In the race to prepare for high-stakes state assessments, students are losing out on instructional practices that foster meaningful learning." Constructivism, as most subscribers will know, is a theory of learning "that describes the central role that learners' ever-transforming mental schemes play in their cognitive growth." As the authors note, however, education "has deep roots in other theories of learning. This history constrains our capacity to embrace the central role of the learner in his or her own education. We must rethink the very foundations of schooling if we are to base our practice on our understandings of learners' needs." The authors offer their ideas about ways to bring constructivism into the mainstream of teacher practice. This often-cited essay appeared in the November 1999 issue of "Educational Leadership."
Brooks, M. & Brooks, J.G. (1999). The courage to be constructivist. Educational leadership (Vol 57 No. 3, Nov. 1999). Retrieved from ASCD 16 Apr 2008. Link: http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.459dee00...

