Session 1: Learning Points from article – ‘New learning environment & constructivism’

3 main learning points from this article:

1) When creating a learning environment, one should bear in mind the concept of ‘constructivism’ – a term to refer to how pupils construct knowledge during the learning process. Some authors tried to define the key components of constructivist learning environments and developed questionnaires to evaluate their presence in daily educational practice. (Gijbels, Watering, Dochy & Bossche, 2006: 214) Take into consideration the seven factors – eg: sharing ideas with others, meeting student needs and making meaning, real-life examples (as listed on page 225) when constructing a learning environment.

2) Designers of the learning environment (referring to teachers/ educators), must be mindful of the fact that their own perceptions of the learning environment might not be shared by the learners themselves. This is shown by survey results (obtained using the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey), that comparisons between the designer’s perceptions and the students’ perceptions indicated that the seven factors are not very strongly present in the learning environment from the perceptions of the students, despite the belief of the designers that they had created the learning environments in such a way. (Gijbels, Watering, Dochy & Bossche, 2006: 215)

3) It is certainly important to investigate students’ perceptions (their own views) of the learning environment as they influence how students cope and serve as a reflective tool for educators to fine-tune certain strategies. But, the article also takes into consideration that students’ perceptions of constructivist principles in the learning environment are triggered by a greater variety in learning environments (Gijbels, Watering, Dochy & Bossche, 2006: 224) and I feel that these factors are beyond the control of the teacher. For instance, the character/ personality of the students themselves do affect their perception of the learning environment, something that the teacher does not have control over.