Questions:
1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above.
- both cases have students learning about measurements
- each had hands on (children measuring length of the whale and measuring a boat)
2. What are two benefits and two drawbacks of the constructivist approach as described above? Why? In your opinion, are the benefits worth the costs? Explain your response.
- the benefits of the constructivist approach:
- Students see outcome of measuring, can actually see what they are measuring.
- Students thought about and questioned ideas about what measurements to use, and how to use them
- The drawbacks of constructivist approach:
- Time consuming (took several days of little improvement each day until the lightbulb went off)
- Misconceptions the students will make while critical thinking.
3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking? Give specific examples of critical thinking from the case study to support your response.
- The teacher let the students come up with how to measure. A lot of methods the students came up with were based on prior knowledge.
- For example: When Mark wanted to measure the boat with his hands, he was thinking about why it didn't measure up each time. So he had to realize that his hands had to be the same length away each time. Then the students realized that each persons hands where not the same, some where bigger and some where smaller.
4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?
- Yes because authentic by definition is some accepted beliefs that has been agreed upon with known facts or experience.
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