Tell me, and I will forget.
Show me, and I may remember.
Involve me, and I will understand.
——– Confucius, 450BC
The idea of constructionism may be similar to Chinese educator Confucius’ famous saying mentioned above even though constructionism in educational setting is a recent phenomenon. Constructionism is a learning theory which can be summarised as learning by doing, making, inventing and creating. In constructionism students are not passive knowledge receivers anymore, they actively construct their own learning by making personally meaningful products (Martinez & Stager, 2014).
There are five core points to constructionism.
- People learn best when learning is important to them, when they want to learn.
- Children make sense of their world actively by doing, experimenting and making.
- Students build on what they already know.
- Learning is social, collaborative.
- Learning is unique to the learner.
Constructionism has a wide and profound influence on modern classroom. Sometimes you even did not realise that you are applying constructionism in your practice, as Donaldson (2014) mentioned in his article The Maker Movement and the Rebirth of Constructionism. Through exploration of applications provided in tutorial, such as Little Bits, Makey Makey and Squishy Circuits, I got impression it seems that these constructionism tools are mostly suitable for STEM subjects which is consistent with Martinez and Stager’ opinion (Martinez & Stager, 2014). For example, Squishy Circuits, really amazing tools to make abstract concept so vivid.
However, how can constructionism be implemented in the language classroom? It remains a question for me until I read Donaldson, Martinez and Stager’s articles. They all suggest that writing for a real audience is also a form of making. That was a really exciting moment for me as I am now teaching Chinese heritage learners. I have been struggling to motivate them to learn Chinese online via Zoom in this challenging time because of globe pandemic of Covid-19. For Chinese beginners it is not hard for teachers to find some apps we have explored in this unit to learn Chinese, for instance, Book Creator, Beebots. But for heritage learners who have learnt Chinese for seven or eight years at Saturday community language school it is not easy to have hands-on activity. I have created a google site to showcase their outstanding homework, but that can only work for advanced learners. Most students in my class are forced by their parents to learn Chinese. What can drive them to learn Chinese has been something I am always thinking of. Yes, now I got the answer – published digital portfolios for real audiences. After one term of working they can send their individual website link to their family members, friends, or even future employers if they continue to work on it. I can not wait to try it out this Saturday.
References
Donaldson, J. (2014). The Maker Movement and the rebirth of Constructionism. Hybrid Pedagogy. Available at: https://hybridpedagogy.org/constructionism-reborn/
Martinez, S., & Stager, G. (2014). The maker movement: A learning revolution. Learning & Leading with Technology. Available at: https://multisearch.mq.edu.au/permalink/f/1lmkbbh/TN_gale_ofg367544205
EDUC3620 Digital Creativity and Learning 
That is a great idea for a constructionist approach to teaching Chinese. The students will be motivated because they produce something and will have something that they can then build on in the future. it will also be a great tool for them to keep assessing their progress.
Isn’t language also a form of constructionism? i wonder if it would be possible to use language as a form of puzzle for students to work out,
Good work
Adam
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Hi, Adam
Totally agree with you that language is also a form of constructionism! My mentor did that at their school’s Languages Open Day when I had my practicum there. Kids really liked that, even teaching staffs were motivated to work the puzzle out.
Change
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Hi Change,
Wow. Your reference to Confucius pins constructionism exactly! How fascinating that we feel we are being so modern when we come up with philosophies like constructionism and yet the general concept has existed for thousands of years!
I also noted your point about using Maker Spaces beyond the STEM setting. Whilst I agree that STEM subject are the most obvious use for Maker Spaces, I definitely think there are opportunities for integration with other Key Learning Areas. I’ve listed an example on my page that uses Maker Spaces to finish a science unit on natural disasters, but if this were to be integrated with (for example) a time in history where a flood caused destruction, this could be an appropriate way to help them visualise what they were learning about. As you said, involving them to help them understand.
In the language classroom Maker Spaces may be trickier, I agree. One idea: perhaps students could use 3D printers and pens to create artefacts that could then be used as vocabulary exercises, writing stimuli, and so forth. What do you think? Could you see this working in your classroom?
Kind regards,
Miss Wilkes.
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Yes, 3D printing is a good way to practice speaking and writing by designing and printing out a character of stop-motion narrative.
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