Constructivist Teaching and Learning in a Web-Based Environment

Author(s):  
Valerie N. Morphew

Web-based teaching and learning is on the rise in education and industry, challenging teachers and trainers to deliver instruction in new ways with the same or better results. To maximize the potential of Web-based delivery, instructors can avail themselves of the rich body of research that supports constructivist teaching and learning in the traditional setting. Applying the constructivist approach to Web-based teaching and learning can help instructors establish learning environments and practices that encourage growth and development in their students.

Author(s):  
Valerie N. Morphew

Web-based teaching and learning is on the rise in education and industry, challenging teachers and trainers to deliver instruction in new ways with the same or better results. To maximize the potential of Web-based delivery, instructors can avail themselves of the rich body of research that supports constructivist teaching and learning in the traditional setting. Applying the constructivist approach to Web-based teaching and learning can help instructors establish learning environments and practices that encourage growth and development in their students. Constructivist teaching and learning recognizes both teacher and student as important and contributing members in a teaching-learning relationship. Other students in the learning environment also hold such qualities. The constructivist approach acknowledges that teacher and student, alike, bring prior knowledge and experiences with them into the learning environment. By capitalizing on familiar concepts and experiences, the student is able to connect new knowledge with prior and construct new meaning. This approach to teaching and learning differs markedly from the long-held notion that students are empty vessels (tabula rasa) waiting to be filled by a knowledgeable teacher. Although constructivism is widely accepted in theory, the teaching practices of many instructors do not support this approach.


IFLA Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 034003522110182
Author(s):  
Evans F Wema

This article reviews literature on the use of virtual learning environments by highlighting their potential and the challenges of introducing the same in Tanzania. It introduces the concept of virtual learning environments by demonstrating their applications to support teaching and learning. The article discusses the use of virtual learning environments in teaching information literacy courses by highlighting the success of using such tools in facilitating the teaching of information literacy courses to library users. In this review, special emphasis is placed on attempts by Tanzanian institutions of higher learning to introduce web-based teaching of information literacy and the challenges faced. The review reveals the need for Tanzanian institutions of higher learning to develop virtual learning environments to facilitate the teaching of information literacy courses to students and faculty so as to reach many of those who may not manage to attend the face-to-face information literacy sessions that are offered by librarians on a regular basis.


Author(s):  
Joseph George M. Lutta

For more than 40 years, cognitive psychological perspectives have dominated pedagogical frameworks and models for designing technology-mediated teaching and learning environments. Social learning perspectives are increasingly becoming viable or even desirable frames for research and practice as pertains to teaching and learning, particularly in web-based learning environments (WBLEs). The author considers these social learning perspectives and how they relate to the design and implementation of curricula that are delivered in web-based learning environments in higher education. The author further reviews the foundational theories of adult learning that enhance adult learners' experiences in cross-cultural web-based learning environments. This review and analysis of the research related to social learning perspectives on WBLEs have three implications for future research and practice: (1) examining learners' individual characteristics in WBLEs, (2) identifying strategies for promoting social interaction in WBLEs, and (3) developing effective design principles for WBLEs. The author presents recommendations for future research.


Author(s):  
Brian Corbitt ◽  
Dale M Holt ◽  
Stephen Segrave

Deakin University has established and integrated a major, corporate technology infrastructure to unify and enhance its on campus and distance education. This environment is called Deakin Online. Efforts to realise its potential for creating enduring teaching and learning benefits are understood in the context of the University’s commitment to ’relevance, responsiveness and innovation’. How are these values and benefits realised in an evolving, educational enterprise using the new digital, corporate technologies and new concepts of organisational structure and function? We argue for the transforming influence of a new academic teacher role, new forms of academic development and open collegiality. Moreover, changes in role and process need to be grounded in systemic, organisation wide and program wide approaches to designing and working within comprehensively conceived, contemporary learning environments. We argue for system wide education design, situating e learning within broader curricular and pedagogical concerns to create enduring benefits in the learning environments of higher education.


Author(s):  
J. Micael Spector

There are now many educational research and technology projects reporting a variety of outcomes and lessons learned with regard to how to effectively integrate technology into learning and instruction. What can we learn from these projects and experiences? Is there a clear and coherent instructional design framework for technology-enhanced learning environments? What are the most promising approaches to instructional design? Are there particular tools that can assist? What kinds of evaluations will insure that the process of designing such environments will become progressively more effective? These are the questions explored in this chapter. The discussion includes a short review of the possibilities afforded by new technologies, with special emphasis on collaborative tele-learning and Web-based simulations. After illustrating the rich and diverse kinds of interactions now possible in Web-based settings, we shall argue that instructional design is more critical than ever before. It is not the case that technology has simplified instructional planning. Quite the contrary; new technologies have made the design of effective learning environments even more challenging than before. While our concept of learning remains relatively intact, the settings in which instruction can and does occur and the kinds of resources which can be brought to support learning in those various settings has changed dramatically. As a consequence, the subject of this chapter is relatively unexplored territory, and the findings and conclusions suggested herein should be regarded as tentative and preliminary.


Author(s):  
Sevinç Gülseçen

With promises of rich information resources readily available, successful use of the World Wide Web (WWW) within an instructional setting is tied directly to a pedagogical approach that promotes Student-Centered Learning (SCL). SCL is based on constructivist approaches and has become an important theme in the educational theory and practice. Although SCL is not a new idea, new technologies developed for the Web and other Digital Learning Environments (DLEs) allow new forms of educational support to be facilitated, enabling new pedagogical concepts and enhancing learning. This chapter reports on an effort of empowering learners in the design of web-based teaching and learning in undergraduate programs in a Turkish university context.


Author(s):  
Richmond Kwame Gyan ◽  
Frank Ayiku ◽  
Evans Atteh ◽  
Alfred Kofi Adams

This paper is an action research which involves a sample of thirty five (35) second year students of Akontombra Senior High School comprising 24 males and 11 females. The study was aimed at using the constructivist approach to enhance students’ competence in solving word problems under trigonometry. Prior to the study, it was observed that the students were not able to understand and solve word problems under trigonometry. The constructivist approach of teaching and learning was employed as the intervention strategy and series of activities was carried out. The pre – test and post – test scores obtained by the students were analyzed quantitatively based on the research questions of the study. Comparatively, the results obtained from the pre – test and post – test showed a significant improvement on the students’ ability to solve word problems under trigonometry. It was then inferred from the results that the constructivist teaching and learning methodology employed during the intervention phases enhanced the academic achievements of the students. The constructivist approach to teaching encouraged students to participate in the process and environment of teaching and learning and to promote mathematics as a creative and meaningful activity that involves interpretation, effort and exploration.


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