Chapter 2: Constructing Knowledge and Discovering Meaning

Let's talk about theories, and how children are going to learn in our classrooms.

1. Behavioral Theory
2. Cognitive Theory
3. Piaget's Theories
4. Bruner's Theories
5. Constructivism
6. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences
7. Alternative Learning Styles

Do you wonder which one is my favorite? Well, I'll tell you. I like the idea of constructivist teaching because it's all about building new meanings and constructing new concepts based on what you already know. Children are going to have background knowledge about the science concepts we are teaching. They are going to assimilate new experience with experiences they already have, and they are also going to have to accommodate those new experiences to make sense of what they are learning.

Let's build a foundation for our students so that they will have the solid knowledge to grow later in science and in school.

Teachers should remember:

• "Naive conceptions. A person never really knows the world as it is. Each person constructs beliefs about what is real," (p. 31).
• "Assimilation. Students try to reconcile new experiences and data with their present understanding so that the new data support and deepen, but do not change their fundamental mental model," (p. 33).
• "Accommodation. Students cannot reconcile new experiences and data with their present understanding, and they have to change their mental model to logically explain the experience," (p. 33).