Constructivist Strategy Questioned. Problem-based, Experiential and Inquiry-based teaching

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Pedagogy - The Teacher, Educational Leadership, grade: B, The University of Liverpool, course: EdD Education, language: English, abstract: The constructivist learning theory based on the psychological theory of the active construction of knowledge by the learner has been bandied by educators and researchers for several decades for use in the classroom as more successful than the traditional transmission model of teaching in virtually every discipline. Often the discourse of the usefulness of the constructivist approach in pedagogy has been pedalled to both the practicing and neophytes¿ teachers and lecturers as undisputed and capable of astounding results. Teachers and lecturers, in response, often have simply incorporated some group work and project work in their courses and rationalised that this may be sufficient inclusion of a student centred approach without any greater understanding of what a constructivist approach to teaching or lecturing comprises. Granted that the majority of teachers are given inadequate training for the use of constructivist approaches, they have merely paid lip service to its use and have not in the majority of cases demonstrated the art of engaging with the constructivist approach to the maximum potential. A major problem with the implementation of constructivist approaches is the inadequate training and comprehension of constructivist strategies to be employed in subject-specific domains. This paper offers an examination of the literature from the perspective of the problem of unsatisfactory implementation of constructivist strategies in the classroom.