From the Mind of an Early Childhood Educator: Let's talk about Social Constructivism in Middle Childhood...

Often, when we think of middle childhood and school, people tend to think of this:

Image from http://sevencounties.org/poc/center_index.php?cn=1272

Or this:

Image from http://kidsnewwest.ca/middle-years/

Or even this...a traditional classroom setting where students sit in neat rows, the teacher spits out information, and her class is expected to memorize it all:

Image from http://www.notredamecollege.edu/academics/academic-divisions/education/licensure-areas/middle-childhood-generalist

But in reality, many educators and parents today are facing these types of faces in the classroom:

http://braintourage.com/frustrated-parents/ and http://school.familyeducation.com/educational-testing/teaching-methods/37499.html?page=2&detoured=1

Now, why are we seeing such sadness and frustration in the classroom? Isn't childhood supposed to be the most free and happiest times of one's life?

Before getting into answering that question though, let's first investigate:

What exactly is Middle Childhood?

Middle Childhood refers to the period of development where children are beginning to develop an increasing sense of independence, self-awareness, identity and empathy for others. Typically, middle childhood refers to children between the ages of 6 and 12 years old. What children experience and learn during these years highly influence the types of adolescents and adults they will become.

Image from http://nomadicconcepts.blogspot.ca/2011/02/cover-art-for-class-book-at-local.html

So what is Social Constructivism?

From http://jb00e.wordpress.com

Social Constructivism is a theory that basically means that we learn through a combination of interactions with others, our own personal experiences, internal reflections and building new theories upon what we already know and have experienced.

I have found two other bloggers who I feel explain social constructivism beautifully:

Teaching with Technology - by Amy Grace of Australia

Teaching with Technology

Learning Theories in the Early Childhood Classroom - by Nick Petten (I think this blog is even better than the first, as you can really feel the author's passion throughout!)

Social Constructivist Theory

In middle childhood under the social constructivist theory, children should be ACTIVE learners!

From http://www.vteducation.org/en/laboratories/active-learning-universal-design-learning-udl-collaboration-technology

As Vygotsky stated in his theories, children adapt their existing understanding of concepts by taking in new information (through conversations with others, external experiences, internal experiences) and comparing it to what they already know. From here, children will form new schemas! Their knowledge is constantly shifting and expanding as they go through their day-to-day lives!

From http://educ1049blog.blogspot.ca/

The Social Constructivist Classroom

These are some of the main things one would see in a social constructivist classroom:

From http://www.thenassauguardian.com/attachments/article/25191/Dillet%20and%20LCS.JPG

Focus is on the students and their interests
Students are actively involved in their learning process and draw their own conclusions to concepts and problems
Knowledge is constantly changing - it is dynamic, not static
Each student in the classroom's learning and understanding will be individual and will have meaning to them
Construction of understanding is continuous and ongoing
Emphasis of learning is made on what the children gain from social interactions
Cultural background is also extremely valuable and contributes to the children's learning (both of themselves and about others)
Learning is collaborative and is a process of peer interaction that is facilitated and guided by the teacher
The curriculum is flexible and is guided by the students' interests
Students are constantly reflecting on their learning and readjusting pre-existing schemas
Teamwork and collaborative discussions are very apparent

From http://www.sfusd.edu/

The educational model would also follow that of the Reggio Emilia approach which is based on the following principles:

The children must have some control over the direction of their learning
Children must be able to learn through sensory experiences. They must be able to freely explore materials
Children are allowed to foster relationships with their peers
Children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves

From http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reggio-approach-2-community-learning-adam-provost

The environment would act as the children's third teacher (after first, their parents, and secondly the educator). The classroom would be aesthetically pleasing, nature-based, home to open-ended materials and would support social interactions and complex thinking.

From http://www.reggioalliance.org/reggio_emilia_italy/infant-toddler_centers_and_preschools.php

So what's the big idea?

The big idea is that social constructivism empowers children. When children are empowered and feel a sense of control in their learning processes, they are happier and are much better able to retain information and develop a personal understanding of the world they live in!

On top of this, children who work in a social constructivist classroom develop more skills than those who do not! Social constructivism allows children to develop:

teamwork skills
communication skills
problem-solving skills
responsibility
self-regulation
a clear picture of their own identity
empathy
listening skills
real world experience
...and so much more!

At school, children should be engaged in explorations like this:

From www.thecausecard.org

From http://www.pitchengine.com

From http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/graphics/2013/10/31/1031wv-frost.jpg

From http://www.prweb.com/

The common trend in all of these images is the fact that children have the chance to interact with their peers in order to supplement their learning. These students are free to explore, and therefore come up with their own conclusions and theories.

Teachers would be available to supply the materials and scaffold the children's learning, but not in the traditional sense like this...