Understanding teacher responses to constructivist learning environments: Challenges and resolutions

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The research literature is just beginning to uncover factors involved in sustaining constructivist learning environments, such as Project-Based Learning (PBL). Our case study investigates teacher responses to the challenges of constructivist environments, since teachers can play strong roles in supporting or undermining even the best constructivist environments or materials. We were invited to work as mediators with a middle-school science staff that was experiencing conflicts regarding two learning environments, PBL (which was the school's "politically correct" learning environment) and traditional. With mediated group workshops, teachers were sensitized to their own and colleagues' individual learning differences (ILDs), as measured by two styles inventories (the LSI-Kolb, 1976; and the LCI-Johnston & Dainton, 1997). Using these inventories, a learning-environment questionnaire, field notes, and delayed interviews a year later, we found that there was a relationship between teachers' preferred styles, epistemological beliefs, and their preferred teaching environment. Moreover, when the participating teachers, including early-adopters and nonvolunteers to PBL, became more sensitive to their colleagues' preferences, many staff conflicts were resolved and some mismatched teachers expressed more openness to PBL. We argue that having teachers understand their own ILDs and related responses to constructivist learning environments can contribute to resolving staff conflicts and sustaining such environments. We present a cognitive model and a strategy which illustrate this argument.C

First Year Implementation of a Project-Based Learning Approach: The Need for Addressing Teachers’ Orientations in the Era of Reform

“…Many studies have focused on examining the effects of a PBL approach on student learning (see Geier, Blumenfeld, Marx, Krajcik, Fishman, Soloway & Clay-Chambers, 2008;Klymchuk, Zverkova, Gruenwald, & Soloway, 2008;Rivet & Krajcik, 2004Whilhelm, Sherrod & Walters, 2008) or having teachers learn how to teach via PBL within the context of professional development (PD) settings (see Krajcik et al, 1994or Rosenfeld & Rosenfeld, 2006. However, research that illustrates teachers' initial experience with implementing PBL and their thoughts on how this approach aligns with their existing orientation toward teaching their discipline is scant.…”

Learning Styles, Academic Achievement, and Gender in a Medical School Setting

“…Other predictors of success in medical schools such as ethnicity, gender, personal statements, and references might also be indicative [6,7]. Therefore, studies on different populations especially in non-Western communities are needed.…”

Understanding teachers with extreme individual learning differences: developing more effective teachers

“…Thus, teachers with extreme ILDs preferences are those whose scores on multiple ILDs tools are skewed strongly in one direction and who acknowledge their very strong preferences for a particular learning context (see Table 4). Anne was extremely mismatched to traditional learning and acknowledged being matched to non-traditional contexts such as discovery learning, project-based learning, constructivist learning (Rosenfeld & Rosenfeld, 2006). Noa was extremely matched to traditional learning.…”

“…The mediator encouraged those teachers who reported having an extremely strong preference or avoidance for a construct, to share how they learned and taught, so that others would be exposed to a deeper understanding of the learning diversity of their colleagues. Teachers discussed their own experiences when teaching in matched or mismatched learning contexts (e.g., traditional vs. constructivist: see Rosenfeld & Rosenfeld, 2006). After teachers experienced each inventory, they applied materials according to each model, worked with learners with diverse styles, and recommended ways for learners to match and "stretch" (develop non-preferred styles).…”