Chapter 7

After learning more about constructivism this week, I believe it is something I would definitely like to incorporate throughout my teaching. I find this theory effective because it is based on the understanding of a student’s own knowledge and experiences, and connecting it to the material in the classroom. I believe this theory of learning would be very applicable to me because I am interested in teaching in urban schools. It is very hard for underprivileged students to find use in schooling when they don’t find it applicable to their own lives. By using a constructivist method, I would be able to use their experiences and worldview to create lessons more relatable and understandable. After looking at ways that constructivist methods can be used in the classroom, I am very interested in service learning. I think service learning is appealing because it hits on one of the main reasons I would like to be a teacher. One of the main reasons I chose teaching was because I wanted to help students and possibly help make a difference in their lives, and in ways other than curriculum learning. Service learning would give me the opportunity to provide effective examples of ways to help the community or perhaps better a student’s own life, while still accomplishing the task of covering required curriculum material. Getting students out of the classroom and into the real world with real-life tasks would help with identifying misconceptions and perhaps changing the view on them, while giving students new experiences to compare new knowledge with. For my own subject area, a service project could involve going into the community and identifying changes students would like to see made. Then students could write their own personal letters or essays to council men or local government asking for these changes and providing evidence on the good to come of it, and the benefits expected. Exposing students to the potential of the community around them provides them with a more optimistic view of their own world, and perhaps gives hope to their own personal academic goals.