The Theory of Constructionism

Constructionism is an education theory by Seymour Papert about the use of experiences and making tangible objects to help kids further their knowledge and learn more effectively. From the list of education theories we could choose from as a topic for this blog, constructionism stuck out to me. Creating experiences and building on previous knowledge to make connections in the real world is a powerful and effective way to learn, as I’ve personally experienced throughout my school life and personal life.

The video I linked below is a Ted Talk by Gary Stager talking about Seymour Papert and his theory of constructionism in various examples of how the school board has rejected that way of learning through the use of technology. He also explains the theory as a whole, that the idea of constructivism is that they are constructing the idea in their head as well as outside as some sort of object. For instance, paper mache volcanoes, poems, and even theories. He discusses the use of a ‘Mathland’ and relates the idea of how it is much easier to learn french if you experience it first hand, as in, it is easier to learn french if you’re in France rather than sitting in a classroom. Papert created this computer program that allowed kids to experience math in a different way, programming the computer to make shapes and equations that further their knowledge and have them make use of the math they already know.

Stager talks of how when children play video games, it will create this enthusiasm or this want to create their own games. This allows for more sophisticated learning, such as creating curiosity in mathematics, art, and engineering to make a game for themselves. Creating these experiences is something that I can genuinely relate to because that is exactly why I wanted to get into creating video games. I played video games and watched other people online play video games. I saw the happiness and experiences they created, and I wanted to make something like that. I got into programming, computers, art, and music because of that passion. An example of this would be in my computer science class where my teacher allowed us to create our own games using all of the functions and equations we had learned throughout the semester. Even now, I remember what I had learned last year because I had created something surrounding that knowledge. That is the pure essence of the theory of constructionism.

As for how this relates to my class, we don’t do a lot of projects within the achievement centre. I feel like the only reason we don’t necessarily do projects like that is because of the time frame we have to work with and the students we have. We have a limited time to get through a whole course and each student has their struggles. We simply don’t have time to have them create a program or a big project. However, even just creating a slideshow of what they’ve learned is something that we could implement.

To an extent, our school does make use of constructionism. Most of my classes, aside from math, use the idea of projects of creating experiences for students. I feel that it would be even more effective if we really did add in some projects for math. We could connect it to real life examples like a field trip to an engineering building at a university. Even creating that experience, allowing us to use what we learn in math in the real world will give students more motivation and understanding of why we’re learning the lessons and subjects we do in class.

This was a really interesting blog post to write! I liked listening to the Ted Talk and learning about the learning theory of constructionism. Down below are my sources as well as the meme and quote of the week.

Constructionism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Constructionism.

Constructionism (learning theory). (2019, July 11). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructionism_(learning_theory).

Seymour Papert: Inventor of Everything. Stager, G. (2014, March). Ted Talk. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-dFTmdX1kU&feature=youtu.be