Response to Krajcik's Social Constructivist Model of Teaching

I am not so sure whether it is that I have been constantly taught the social constructivist model of teaching or if it is because I truthfully agree, that this theory sounds pretty darn good. All of the main components; active engagment, use and application of knowledge, multiple representations, use of learning communities and authentic tasks, work right up my alley of an ideal effective classroom.


After working in various settings with children whether it being in an after-school reading program or a fun summer camp, I have found that students learn the best when their exploration is self-motivated. In agreement to the social constructivist theory, students need to get hands on in a variety of creative ways while communicating about the content with others. As for the teacher, it is their responsibility to probe the children with questions that do not force feed information but allow students to arrive at an understanding on their own. I am curious, is scaffolding just a fancy word for the expected form of teaching? I mean, what is teaching without scaffolding? Nowadays, it is forbidden for teachers to spit out answers and merely have students recite the responses. Must I explore the world of scaffolding more than what is given to me in this social constructivist theory or will I have it good and down once I have memorized and acted out the given strategies? I guess we shall see.


The diagram posted in the reading on page 57 that shows the level of involvement with concrete materials and the percentage of retention really set in for me when I directly applied it to myself. I went through each "material" and thought back to previous times and found that the things I remember the most began with field trips then deomonstrations and it was the most prevalent with experiences I conceived myself. An example is when I was at YCamp as a camper and got myself into Stingy Nettles. Let me tell you, they were VERY uncomfortable! Luckily, my leaders were knowledgable to tell me about Jule Weed's magical juice and sent me on a hunt for it. From that moment on, I told every camper of mine as well as other leaders of the world's joy and never had to experience that discomfort again. I remember every detail about that experience to a tee because I created it first-hand and continued with it from there on out. Students of all ages and levels can gain similar understandings just as I did and will benefit at most with self-exploration.


If the social constructivist model of teaching has been coined as the official name for this theory, then I will continue on using that name, but if that is just the flossy title used to sound official, then I will continue on teaching students to be interested in their own self-fulfilling education.