According to the constructivist approach, instructors have to adapt to the role of facilitators and not teachers. Whereas a teacher gives a didactic lecture that covers the subject matter, a facilitator helps the learner to get to his or her own understanding of the content. In the former scenario the learner plays a passive role and in the latter scenario the learner plays an active role in the learning process. The emphasis thus turns away from the instructor and the content, and towards the learner (Gamoran, Secada, & Marrett, 1998). This dramatic change of role implies that a facilitator needs to display a totally different set of skills than a teacher (Brownstein 2001). A teacher tells, a facilitator asks; a teacher lectures from the front, a facilitator supports from the back; a teacher gives answers according to a set curriculum, a facilitator provides guidelines and creates the environment for the learner to arrive at his or her own conclusions; a teacher mostly gives a monologue, a facilitator is in continuous dialogue with the learners (Rhodes and Bellamy, 1999). A facilitator should also be able to adapt the learning experience ‘in mid-air’ by taking the initiative to steer the learning experience to where the learners want to create value.
3 comments:
Well this is the time that we must change from behaviourestic approach to constructivist approach in teaching learning process, but there r so many factors that we ought to consider during this shift such as the learning environment , infrastructure socio-economic conditions of the learner & ofcourse the support from society as well as co-workers. But the time has really come to tigger the revolution and I find ICT as ONE of the greatest tool for us.
Dear Mr. Sampson,
It is great to visit your blog and also read the post on Constructivist approach. You have also uploaded a video in the post. Congratulations.
thanks to Vasudha Kamat and ICT_training_AN for for their comments
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