Teaching Constructivism

How would I teach constructivism to my fellow instructos? Obviously, I would not be lecturing using the traditional didactic format on the topic, so I need to find other ways to help my audience to appreciate the concept practically. Here are some questions I came up with for the audience to discuss:

• Under what situations do students learn best, and why.


• What are the main problems with traditional didactic learning methods?


• What are some activities you have used in the classroom to engage students in the learning process?

The participants can then draw a one page poster, or use big post-it notes, or use a game to let other groups know about their discussion results. The MET program at UBC provides a solid foundation on the theoretical models for teaching, and tools like games and simulations from Nasaga and Thiagi can complement this program well in preparing teachers in the classroom.