The students in the constructivist group seemed more confident of their learning and he gave them more material for independent learning. The investigator found that this was necessary since constructive teaching methods are more time-consuming. This was done only with secondary topics. The students in the constructivist class seemed to like class better, had more energy and took more responsibility for their learning. Despite instruction in the scientific method in the traditional mode, many students do not understand the nature or purpose of scientific inquiry.
Science is seen as a random activity that has little meaning in real life.
Grade 7 students were rated by interviews on a scale of 1 to 3 about their conception of how science is investigated before and after a constructivist style learning unit on the topic. Prior to the unit, most students fell in the Level 1 category. Level 1 students view science as a way of understanding facts about the world. The also understood the difference between an idea and an experiment. Level 3 understanding was achieved only by a few students.