58-62 Teachers who are natural constructivists share a fundamental belief in the potential of a child's mind, in the need to challenge and refine students' thinking, and in their ability to make curriculum come alive. The overarching goals of constructivism are helping students become autonomous learners and thinkers, explore important questions, and build and integrate deeper understandings of knowledge. Underlying the theory and goals is a recognition of the value of the student as thinker. Members of ASCD's CompassQuest Consortium use these methods in their schools. A classroom in Wellington, New Zealand, is home to an innovative program that teaches students to connect the world of education to the world of business.
Students participate in work projects with business and arts organizations in Wellington.
To fulfill their project and learning objectives, students are given the freedom to take advantage of the vast resources that are available only in a large city. Teachers and administrators also share with students their achievement objectives and allow students to question them. Constructing Knowledge, Reconstructing Schooling John Abbott and Terence Ryan Nov. 1999, Vol. 66-69 Abbott and Ryan describe the constructivist model of learning as an active process in which an individual assimilates new facts and experiences into a preexisting web of knowledge and understanding. This model coincides with researchers' growing understanding of the brain's natural learning processes, the authors assert, and requires that the community outside the school play a greater role in student learning.