Using Constructivist Teaching Strategies to Enhance Academic Outcomes of Students with Special Needs

Abstract

Over the past decades many teaching strategies have been proposed by various educators to improve education of all students including students with special needs. No single one of these proposed teaching strategies meets the needs of all students. The new Every Student Succeeds Act, successor to No Child Left behind Law, which transfers oversight from federal level back to states, could be a benefactor for constructivism and special education. Educators are also optimistic that the new Every Student Succeeds Act will be better for vulnerable students in special education because it will introduce more flexibility in how individual states carry out evaluation of students and teachers. In addition, it will provide more flexibility on testing and adapt the curriculum to student's needs. It would further reduce time and energy for students preparing for standardized tests or statewide exams. It will also end "Adequate Yearly Progress"-a measure that required schools to show test score gains. Constructivist teaching philosophy is all about accepting student autonomy where student thinking drives the lessons, where dialogue, inquiry, and puzzlement are valued and assessing student learning is in the context of teaching. It helps teachers to draw on new ideas as they make decisions about which teaching techniques are most appropriate for all students to learn. Now is the time to revisit the great debate of constructivism versus teacher-centered instruction and special education. Time has come to effectively explore our educational system and examine the core unit of the whole enterprise, the textbook, the classroom, a setting that is often dominated by teacher talk and students listen.

The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Beliefs About Teaching and Learning, and Subsequent Automatic Evaluations Amongst Student Teachers

“…From a theoretical perspective, possessing beliefs about constructivist as well as transmissive teaching could be more appropriate in inclusive settings. Constructivist and studentcentered approaches are more focused on addressing students' individual profiles and might therefore enable teachers to more effectively address heterogeneous classrooms (Akpan and Beard, 2016). In addition, constructivist teaching aims to relate more strongly to real-life problems and therefore to be more accessible for students with learning disabilities, "because of their difficulty in generalizing from the classroom to other settings" (Steele, 2005, p. 2).…”

The Study of Relationship between Kolb’s Learning Styles, Gender and Learning American Slang‎ by Iranian EFL Students

“…(2017).). Kolb (1984) provides "a comprehensive theory which offers the foundation for an style to education and learning as a lifelong process and which is soundly based in intellectual traditions of philosophy and cognitive and social psychology" (Akpan & Beard, 2016;Zuber-Skerritt 1992a, 98;Yousafzai, Baseer, Fatima, , Ali, & Shah,. (2018).…”

Kepemimpinan Kepala Sekolah dalam Pengelolaan Ekstrakurikuler

“…Hal ini sesuai dengan manfaat kegiatan ekstrakurikuler yang diungkapkan oleh Mette (Mette et al, 2015) bahwa: a) meningkatkan kemampuan siswa dalam menjalin hubungan yang saling timbal balik terhadap lingkungan sosial, budaya, dan alam semesta sebagai bagian dari anggota masyarakat secara umum; b) menyalurkan dan mengembangkan potensi dan bakal siswa agar menjadi masusia yang memiliki kreativitas tinggi dan penuh karya; c) melatih sikap disiplin waktu, tanggung jawab, sikap jujur, dan kepercayaan dalam menjalankan tugas; d) mengembangkan siswa yang beretika dan berakhlak dengan meningkatkan hubungannya dengan Tuhan, Rasul, manusia, diri sendiri bahkan alam semesta; e) mengembangkan sensitivitas sosial keagamaan siswa dalam kehidupan sehari-hari sehingga menjadi manusia yang produktif terhadap masalah sosial keagamaan; f) memberikan bimbingan, pelatihan dan arahan kepada siswa agar memiliki fisik yang sehat, bugar, cekatan, kuat, dan trampil; g) memberikan kesempatan kepada siswa agar mampu berkomunikasi dengan baik secara verbal atau nonverbal terhadap teman sendiri ataupun masyarakat setempat. Hal ini sejalan dengan pendapat Pulungan (Akpan & Beard, 2016), bahwa ektrakurikuler bertujuan untuk menyediakan lingkungan yang memungkinkan siswa untuk mengembangkan potensi, bakat, dan kemampuanya secara optimal, sehingga mereka mampu mewujudkan dirinya dan berfungsi sepenuhnya sesuai dengan kebutuhan pribadinya maupun masyarakat.…”