Constructivism and Constructionism

For this week we were assigned readings on instructional strategies that support constructivist strategies, a theory of knowledge where the student makes their own meaning, and constructionist strategies which is a theory of learning where students learn best by creating something that they can share with the world (Laureate, 2010).

To me, constructionism is the more powerful of the two, since students must work to create something which is shared with the world and is supported, most effectively through project-based learning and learning by design ( Han & Bhattacharya, 2001), and of these learning strategies, learning by design is the more powerful to me due to the fact that LBD (learning by design) values both the students' result or artifact and the process of how they created that artifact.

LBD is a strategy that, to me, holds a lot of value in the teaching of U.S. History.  Often the course is taught with just "book and worksheet" which to any teen is the most boring way to learn about "a bunch of dead white guys".  If I can use LBD then I think that my course will come alive for them.  Having them research why the Americans won the Revolution and present their findings for the class is much more engaging than answering the questions at the end of the chapter and turning them in.  If I let them present their findings in a way that they chose, now the students can play into their technological strengths and be more engaged in their learning, which in the long run will only benefit them in exploring their world and making meaning of it.