Teaching the Primary Curriculum

Topic: EducationCollege
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Last updated: August 29, 2020

As the quote tells us, how we change children’s minds from the limited knowledge they have already gained from previous experience, or misconceptions they may have constructed during these experiences is a “critical issue. ” Therefore, how we do this must be classed as highly important. If we as teachers are going to teach in a constructivist manner, we must be careful as to the guidance we give them. We are there merely, as Ollerenshaw and Ritchie (1998) state, “the enabler, the catalyst, the mirror, the challenger.” It is our responsibility to bring the child and experience together, in a supportive, stimulating environment, and then with the aid of our professional expertise, ensure there is interaction between them.

We must only intervene, with help not answers. We are there as guiders rather than instructors. “Constructivist learning is in the learner, the teacher acting as a facilitator of learning, providing experience which challenge and extend understanding rather than an instructor. ” (Littledyke ; Huxford, 1998, p14)Therefore the children must be independently and actively involved in developing and using effective ways of investigating and critical thinking. As believed by De Boo (2000) and Johnston (1996) children learn best through first hand experiences. Having ‘hand’s on’ experiences is therefore crucial as it allows the child to test their thoughts and actually see them in action. This, in turn, gives children clarity to their ideas and develops pre-existing concepts into being modified or replaced.

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This ‘doing’ would also make it more likely that the children retain the information that they have discovered for themselves.Kelly (1955) talks about “everyman being his own scientist” and that pupils learn best when they are actively constructing their own learning. Constructivism can often be referred to as a ‘progressive’ method of teaching (Piaget 1926). Children must construct their own understanding by building on previous knowledge. This new concept, in this case ‘materials and their uses’, is best taught through a progression of lessons. Their experiences in the first lesson can build on knowledge they may already have. Then the learning, that takes place in the second lesson, can build on what they learnt in the first lesson and so on.This progression allows the child to develop a much deeper and firmer understand of the concept.

Piaget (1926) was a man who heavily believed in this theory. He believed that when children were faced with a new challenge, they adapted their previous knowledge to the new concept. In doing so the child moves from one state of understanding to a higher state of understanding. This ensures that they come to construct more detailed, informed, confident and accurate notions. “When children encounter a new experience they both ‘accommodate’ their existing thinking to it and assimilate aspects of the experience.

In so doing they move beyond one state of mental ‘equilibration’ and reconstruct their thoughts to create another. ” (Pollard, 1999, p121) Science is all about developing meaningful concepts that enables understanding of the world around us. “Phenomena generate interest and intellectual stimulus which wills children to discover. ” (Farrow, 1997, p3) Farrow’s notion is correct, but in order for children to gain this understanding, for themselves, they must first acquire mandatory scientific skills, which support the development of scientific concepts.

The essential skills of investigation are depicted in the National Curriculum 2000 under science, Keystage 2, sc1 scientific enquiry. As the National Curriculum states it is imperative that children know how to “test ideas”, “ask questions”, “think about what might happen” and analyse data. In the National Curriculum it states that children must learn: life processes and living things, materials and their properties and physical processes via these skills. As teachers we must provide many opportunities for children to explore E. g. ‘materials and their uses’ and use these skills.

If these opportunities do not exist then accepting a concept would be very difficult for the child. By using the skills of thinking, hypothesising, predicting using prior knowledge then exploring and observing, the children obtain precious knowledge as to the true meanings of the given words. If the teacher is merely dictating facts, they are no more than words. “.

.. the recognition of the role of the learners in actively constructing ideas or concepts rather than absorbing them passively from teachers or other sources. ” (Harlen, 2001, p6)

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