Von Glasersfeld believes that all of our knowledge is constructed. Knowledge isn't just something that is given to us, but we must process information through our own filter system. We are constructing knowledge everyday in everything we do. Past experiences cause us to view new experiences differently than others who have similar experiences. Knowledge is more of a theory because we never know if what we know is reality. Our reality becomes what we construct through our experiences. Knowledge is viable because it seems to work until we hit a wall and then we must reconstruct it. Therefore, we can never really know if our knowledge is truly correct.
Math teachers need to keep this theory in mind when teaching. When giving examples, they need to be of the variety so that if students have constructed their knowledge wrong they can hit walls and reconstruct it. When teachers use examples that are always the same but different numbers or similar, it makes it more difficult to know if students are making up their own rules that are sure to fail them later on.
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Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that teachers need to give a variety of examples when they are teaching. I am curious, however, as to a more detailed definition of what a variety of examples consists of? I know you said that using different numbers is good, but is there more to it than that?
I would like to point out that your post was very well-written with great topic sentences and a nice flow of logic. Thanks for your post!
I had a hard time pinpointing your implication for your math classes/teaching. Maybe next time try making a stronger topic sentence that basically says straight forward what the entire paragraph is about.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise you had some strong points on why examples help deal with problems from constructivism. You nailed the point that if you give a wide variety of examples, you can see where certain students fail. Well done.
Haley Bly
I think I understand what you were getting at with what you think teachers should do. To an extent. It is a good idea as a teacher to make sure students are aware, but what exactly do you mean by different examples?
ReplyDeleteI think you do a good job at connecting it to constructivism, however if I was just reading your second paragraph alone, I may have been a little confused.
Overall, I think you did a good job. I probably would have just added a little more detail to clarify, but your ideas are great.
You did a very nice job describing what von Glasersfeld meant by "constructing knowledge". I feel that you have a good understanding of constructivism.
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