FILAMER CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

College of Teacher Education

Accredited Level IV- ACSCU-ACI
Roxas City

Name: Vanessa Ericka A. Lara Year/Section: BSED-3A Schedule: 1-2:00 (MWF)

SS17
TEACHING ARALING PANLIPUNAN

Constructivist Teaching: Collaborative, Integrative, and Inquiry-Based

"Knowledge is constructed, not transferred."
-Peter Senge
Many have referred to
the modern world economy we
have today as a “knowledge
economy,” in which the
possession of knowledge is far
less important than the creative
uses of knowledge. In this
knowledge economy, the
development of new knowledge
is the greatest driver of innovation. It is overrated. In fact, most living-wage jobs today demand
content-area expertise, but also the ability to apply knowledge to new situations and new
problems. Understandably, it is indisputable that virtually any fact, figure, procedure, or resource
can be located almost instantly by just about anyone. But the thing is, moment we rely much on
the efficiency of technology, we tend forgetting the capability of human brain to produce
knowledge, from its very own. It is to say, that in an ever-challenging world, the idea of learning
that stands on our very own ranges of capabilities, is best acknowledged through Constructivist
teaching. Because, when students are continuously reflect on their experiences, students find
their ideas gaining in complexity and power, and they develop increasingly strong abilities to
integrate new information.
One thing before digging deeper, let us clear what the concept of constructivism really is.
Constructivism is also often misconstrued as a learning theory that compels students to "reinvent
the wheel." In fact, constructivism taps into and triggers the student's innate curiosity about the
world and how things work. Students do not reinvent the wheel but, rather, attempt to understand
how it turns, how it functions. They become engaged by applying their existing knowledge and
real-world experience, learning to hypothesize, testing their theories, and ultimately drawing
conclusions from their findings.
Features of Constructivist Teaching
Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs when learners
are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to
passively receiving information. Learners are the makers of meaning and knowledge. The
following are the characteristics of constructivist teaching culled from related conceptual
literature:
1. Authentic activities and real-world environments
 Learning situations, environments, skills, content and tasks are
relevant, realistic, authentic, and represent the natural
complexities of the 'real world'
 Primary sources of data are used in order to ensure authenticity
and real-world complexity.
 Assessment is authentic and interwoven with teaching.
 Learners are provided with the opportunity for apprenticeship
learning in which there is increasing complexity of tasks, skills
and knowledge acquisition.
Authentic learning
requires a paradigm shift in
the true purpose and
execution of learning; from
disconnected ideas and
activities to real-world
relevance. As a matter of fact,
psychologists have described
the immense difference
between taking the time to learn about science and actually learning to be a
scientist. That is one considerable example. The meaning and relevance of
isolated facts is minimal until a student can identify what those tools can do for
them. This means, as the students attempt to solve the problem, they come to
know the meaning of the language and symbols used in specific professions.
Finding a solution to the problem must be seen as important by the
learners for whom the learning environment is designed. Educators must take
great care when selecting and/or designing problems and should consult with
experts in the field to ensure the problem is realistic and at an appropriate level
for the specific learners. A well designed, authentic learning environment
provides a relevance and career preparedness not overly present in more
traditional, didactic forms of education most importantly because they employ
industry standards and professional expectations in much of what they do.
 2. Multiple Perspectives
-Learning environment "should support multiple perspectives or
interpretations of reality, knowledge construction, and context-
rich, experience-based activities" (Jonassen, 1995).
-Activities, opportunities, tools and environments are provided to
encourage metacognition, self-analysis, regulation, reflection and
awareness.
Learning in the constructivist
classroom is perceived as an ongoing
process whereby a learner builds and
rebuilds knowledge as he/she confronts
new information and experience (Marlowe
and Page, 1998). In the constructivist
worldview, an objective reality does not
exist, only ones’ subjective interpretation of it.  The will to learn, therefore, arises
from an ongoing need to build and re-build knowledge to “fit” the needs of an
individual or a particular context (Jaworski, 1993).  In this way, as students learn,
each individual’s situated interpretation of reality comes to have meaning.  This
has significant implications in the content that student’s access to support their
learning, as well as the ways in which they can demonstrate their
understandings.  According to Gardner (1999), effective teaching necessarily
entails the provision of diverse representations of content, and a variety of
opportunities in which learners can demonstrate understanding.

3. Holistic, Integrative.
 Knowledge complexity is reflected in an emphasis on
conceptual interrelatedness and interdisciplinary learning.
It is where the learner brings
together prior knowledge and
experiences to support new knowledge
and experiences. By doing
this, learners draw on their skills and
apply them to new experiences at a
more complex level. Whereas the latter
is concerned with the development of
every person's intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative and
spiritual potentials. It seeks to engage students in the teaching/learning process
and encourages personal and collective responsibility.
I basically understood this feature, like drawing something from every subject and
making relate to a larger concept. This means being a well-rounded individual and
applying these connections to everything you do.
This is important because it means that you’ll be advanced in many areas.
Having an integrated education will enable students to make connections and
better understand what it means to have a balanced education. Having a balanced
education will open more possibilities in every form. The concept of integrative
and holistic feature in constructivist teaching could be drawn to the kind of
learning for students that will surely focus on a wider, more flexible learning
experience. Thus helping to shape students into individual with creative resources.
Additionally, it basically help in promoting the importance of diversity and
maintaining focus on many things, but keeping your interests.
4. Self-directed learners
 The student plays a central in mediating and controlling
learning.
 Goals and objectives are derived by the student or in
negotiation with the teacher or system.
 Exploration is favoured approach in order to encourage
students to seek knowledge independently and to manage the
pursuit of their goals.
 Scaffolding is facilitated to help students perform just beyond
the limits of their ability.
It basically highlights the fact, where
the students, with guidance from the teacher,
decide what and how they will learn. That is in
a constructivist classroom; students are self-
directed. It can be done individually or with
group learning, but the overall concept is that
students take ownership of their learning. For
example, a teacher may give a general learning
goal, such as to learn about a geographical
area. Students would then work with the teacher to decide the scope of the project,
length of time, and the end result that would demonstrate their learning.
One example taken from the web: one student may decide to learn all of
South America and create an educational website. Another student may choose to
research the deforestation effects of Borneo and write a report for the government.
Another student may choose a specific city and focus on the historical
 significance, creating a video vignette from personal interviews. By allowing
students to choose different learning objectives and outcomes, it allows students
to choose based on their personal interests and strengths. In this, it helps us
optimize our educational experience, allowing us to focus effort on useful
information that we don't already possess and exposing us to information that we
don't have access to through passive observation. The active nature of self-
directed learning also helps us in encoding information and retaining it over time.
5. Meaningful Learning
 Knowledge construction and not reproduction is emphasized.
 The learner's previous knowledge constructions, beliefs and
attitudes are considered in the knowledge construction process.
 Errors provide the opportunity for insight into students'
previous knowledge constructions.
As per the thing we are truly aware,
human learning is a complex and dynamic
process. Such thing that there is no one
definitive definition of learning; yet, there is a
shared definitional assumption that learning is
“a long-term change in mental representations
or associations as a result of experience”. With
such epistemological belief in mind, my
philosophy of learning is based primarily on the
tenets of sociocultural learning theories—which
view learning as a social process, rather which takes place only within the
individual. Hence, I firmly believe meaningful learning occurs when individuals
are engaged in social activities.

Interactive Teaching
The word interactive reminds us of people with whom the learner interacts in
order to learn. It is the practice of involving learners in the educational process by
encouraging them to bring their own experience and knowledge into the process, while
also contributing to defining or organizing their learning. In the classroom, first, we have
the teachers; second, are the other learners in class. Beyond the classroom are the school
head and the non-teaching staff. The interaction can be collaborative and so we have
collaborative teaching and learning. This interaction can also be between learner and
learning material like a module, a film, a video clip, a poem, a map, a model of the
digestive system. These learning materials are products of experts. Interacting with
instructional materials is also interacting with people. Today we speak of interactive
viewing.
Why do we promote interactive teaching?
  Learning is an active process. Only the can do the learning for himself.
The more intense the involvement, the better learning.
 Learning is also a social process. Vygotsky’s (1998) social learning theory
states that we learn from others. No one has the monopoly of the truth.
Then it must be good to listen to other perspectives in our search for
answers and for truth. If there are fifty students in class, that which being
studied is seen from fifty (50) perspectives.
 Another reason why we encourage interactive teaching is related to the
second. Every student can serve as a resource person. Every students so
much to share. Just ask the right questions. Many times, students have the
appropriate answers but it seems some teachers don’t ask the questions or
if they do, they ask the wrong questions.

Teacher's task in Interactive Learning

Considering the role of the teacher and their relation to pupils during the
instructional process as well as the organisation of activities by the teacher, the teacher is
the basic instigator of interaction with his/her pupils and he/ she can be such an instigator
only with well organised teaching. Interactive teaching, a promising approach, represents
a challenge not only for the teachers but for the professional service as well. As we all
know that the traditional teaching, dominated by a verbal approach and memorising of
the teaching material, is entirely replaced with other activities, both in the process of
following the teaching and in the process of learning the material.
Teacher must:
1. Ask specific, non-intimidating feedback questions and HOTS questions. “Do you
have any questions?” is quite general. Find out if they understood the lesson by
asking them questions like “Why did Edgar Dale describe direct experiences at
the bottom of his cone purposeful? Will it make any difference in the cone if the
word purposeful is deleted? “Who did not understand?’ is specific but
intimidating for those who would not want to be singled out for his/her ignorance.
2. Make the focus of interaction clear. Of course, the learning outcomes are the
bases of interaction. The questions that guide the interaction are based on your
intended learning targets or outcomes. Whether the interaction is meant to be
between teacher and students or between student/s and student/s or between a
student and a learning material or among student, teacher and learning material,
the beginning of interaction is a well-formulated question or questions.
3. Must create the climate favourable for genuine interaction. No sarcastic remarks.
Take time to genuinely listen to student’s responses. You ask for their responses
so listen to them.
 4. Must do less talk so students talk more. Learn to “decrease” so students
“increase.” The more “dumb” the teacher, the better for the student. Avoid being a
non-stop talker. What is worst is posing questions and answering them
yourselves.
Having been able to
realize that application of
interactive teaching within a
class is not an easy step, it
dictates a change of the
teacher’s role. And such a
change requires the teacher
to possess knowledge, to be
an educator, advisor, friend,
organiser, coordinator,
associate, assessor, in a
word, to be a versatile person. More specifically, the teacher has a wider and more
versatile role in interactive teaching. He/ she should be active in school, outside school,
during the after school activities and in the implementation of cultural activities in school.
For me, a good teacher does not impose his/her attitudes, however, his/her role
also imposes on him/her to cooperate with students. Cooperating with students does not
imply that the teacher should only listen to their proposals. Good and democratic work in
a class implies that the teacher accepts the influence by the students. In that case, with
interactive teaching, the student is positioned in the role of a subject and equal partner of
the teacher. Teachers who respect their students and the students’ opinion organize the
teaching process in a way in which the students acquire knowledge more easily and at the
same time, they instigate pleasure and curiosity in them during the implementation of the
programme contents.
An effective class interaction paves the way of collaboration. Interaction is the
beginning of collaboration. “Coming together is the beginning; keeping together is
progress”; working together is success,” says American pioneer of the Assembly line
production method, Henry Ford. In collaborative learning each one is his “brother/s
sister’s keeper”. It takes on many forms: 1) twinning or partnering or forming dyad
(collaboration of two); 2) triad; 3) tetrad (the musical quartet) and 4) small group (beyond
four but less than ten). A perfect example is cooperative learning which you learned in
Principle of teaching 1.
Teacher's Task in Collaborative Learning
Effective communication and collaboration are essential to becoming a successful
learner. It is primarily through dialogue and examining different perspectives that
students become knowledgeable, strategic, self-determined, and empathetic. Moreover,
involving students in real-world tasks and linking new information to prior knowledge
requires effective communication and collaboration among teachers, students, and others.
Indeed, it is through dialogue and interaction that curriculum objectives come alive.
Collaborative learning affords students enormous advantages not available from more
traditional instruction because a group--whether it be the whole class or a learning group
within the class--can accomplish meaningful learning and solve problems better than any
individual can alone.
For Collaborative learning to work, what must teachers do? So below are the tasks
for teachers in putting collaborative learning into reality.
Teacher must:
1. Begin with the conviction that every student can share something in the attainment of
goal. Collaborative learning operates on respect and trust. Respect is basic for any
relationship to prosper. It is being convicted of the basic goodness of every person in
the group. There can be no mutual trust if there is no respect. Trust is being convinced
that every member of the group will help in the realization of the common goal. Karl
Marx’s slogan “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” if
applied in collaborative learning ensures attainment of group goal.

2. Structure tasks in such a way that that the group goal cannot be realized without the
members collaborating. For instance, when group discussion takes place insist that
everyone is in the discussion circle and that they see each other face to face (In some
group discussions, some groups sit outside the circle. Their position tells they are
there to just get by, not really interested to be a part). Or a required paper may not be
completed without each one coming together as a group for finalization and for
affixing their signature. Remind the group that what is important is that everyone
works with all others in the group for the attainment of the goal, or else it is not
collaborative learning at all. It is a matter of “sink-or-swim” together.

3. Make the goal clear to all. What is the dyad, tryad, tetrad or small group supposed to
deliver at the end of the collaborative process? This must be understood by the group.
4. Ensure that guidelines on procedures are clear especially on how their performance is
assessed. For instance, learning is a collaborative process but each student is
accountable for his/her learning. This means that the group will do everything it can
to help every group member learn but the individual student is ultimately responsible
and accountable for his/her learning. Therefore, summative assessment of learning
will be individual. There is no such thing as cooperative test or assessment. The group
is successful if and only if members of the group attain intended outcome.

5. Must make clear that at the end of the activity, they have to reflect together. Another
thing to emphasize in cooperative learning is the fact that the task does not end with
assessment. It culminates in a group processing where they reflect and analyse what
made or not made them realize their group goal, make decisions on what need to be
sustained or improved in future collaborative process.
Moreover, the role the teacher plays in establishing cooperative learning in the
classroom is critically important for its success. This involves being aware of how to
structure cooperative learning in groups, including their size and composition the type
of task set; expectations for student behaviour; individual and group responsibilities;
and the teacher’s role in monitoring both the process and the outcomes of the group
experience. This focus on the collective knowledge and thinking of the group changes
the roles of students and teachers and the way they interact in the classroom.
Significantly, a groundswell of interest exists among practitioners to involve students
in collaboration in classrooms at all grade levels.

Integrative Teaching and Learning

Interdisciplinary Teaching. The term “integrate” comes from the Latin word
“integer” which means to make whole. Integrative teaching and learning means putting
together separate disciplines to make whole. This affirms the “boundlessness” of
disciplines. There are no demarcation lines among disciplines taught. When you teach
geography in science you are at the same time teaching anyo ng lupa (land forms) and
anyo ng tubig (water forms) in Araling Panlipunan.
This could be put into the reality of classroom through, for example: Creating
your lesson plans with the integrative details in mind. While taking note the grade-level
standards and get creative. Not all subjects are easy to combine, but it can be done. So, it
is vital to plan your core material first and then expand upon the activities that you have
students do. A lot of the integration comes after the main content has been delivered. For
example, if you are teaching about Native Americans in social studies class, deliver you
content on the subject and then create an activity that integrates another subject. Ideas for
this would be to have students use math to calculate the average size of tribes, or the
amount of land that a tribe uses for farming, or using art to create a map of a Native
American village.
 Using the integrative approach to teaching combines many subjects into single
lessons. The idea behind the theory is that students receive maximum learning by
acquiring knowledge and skills in more than one area in the same time-frame. Integrating
lessons can be done with any subjects, such as mixing language arts with art by
researching famous artists and then writing a report or math and physical education
where students play basketball while assigning different shots to equal point values. The
possibilities for integrated lessons are endless.
.

Transdisciplinary Teaching. Integrative teaching is also interdisciplinary. This

means connecting lifeless subject matter to life itself. When the subject matter gets
connected to real life, it becomes alive and interesting. Remember “there are no dull
textbooks, no dull subject matter, and only dull teachers.” So, how can teachers connect
subject matter to life?
1. Depart from teaching content for test purposes only. Learning is robbed of its
joy and excitement when the only reason why students have to master
something is it will be covered in the test.
2. Reach the application phase of lesson development. If you apply the 4As
(Activity, Analysis, Abstraction, Application) in the development of your
lesson, your application comes after your students have undergone an activity,
analysed the activity, and have come up with abstraction and generalization
based on their analysis. This is an inductive teaching method.
If you develop your lesson deductively, your application may come
after your lesson presentation and deepening. A sign that your lesson reaches
the application phase is when you pose the question to yourself and your
students: “so what if we now know what the ozone layer or what lifestyle
diseases are (knowledge), or “so what if we can now send email or conduct
action research (skills)?” Another question that you may ask is “What have
these (content, skill) to do with us? What have they to do with our life?”
Lastly, it is being met through the exploration of a relevant concept, issue or
problem that integrates the perspectives of multiple disciplines in order to connect new
knowledge and deeper understanding to real life experiences. Transdisciplinary learning
requires that all teachers are involved and collaborate. They must shift away from the
comfort zone of working individually by sharing ideas with others for the purpose of
integrating learning experiences. This results in building meaningful and enduring
understandings for students.
 Three-Level teaching. Integrative teaching is also done when you integrate
knowledge, skills, and values in a lesson. Corpuz and Salandanan described a three-level
approach in the book, Principles of Teaching 1, 3rd edition 2013.

In the there-level
teaching approach, you teach as
planned, either deductively or
inductively, but cap your
teaching with value level
teaching. Connect your
cognitive or skill lesson with
value teaching. In fact, it is only
when you give your lesson an
affective or value dimension
that your lesson becomes more
meaningful because that is
when we connect cold subject matter with warm-blooded people. Lifeless subject matter
becomes alive. Here is an example.
After learning about photosynthesis, a teacher presents a sticker with this
question: “Have you thanked a green plant toady?” and explains that “the joint behind the
question is that green plant give service to the whole of life. Their photosynthetic process
forms the basis of all forms of life on earth. Simply because, without them, the energy
from the sun will never be transformed into the chemical energy in the food we eat.”
Then he/she poses a value question, “If the green plant serves the whole of life by its
photosynthetic process, what form of service can you also give to mankind?” Students
reflect on the question then share their thoughts (Corpuz, B., 1979).

The three-level teaching is teaching information for formation and transformation.

Whatever information a student learns, must somehow form and transform his/her way of
thinking, acting and living. It is making teaching whole by integrating the cognitive,
psychomotor and affective dimensions of teaching and learning.

Formation
Information Transformation
Multiple Intelligences-based and Learning Styles-Based Teaching
I have learned to understand
that ach student comes to a
classroom as an individual who has
developed a different type of
intelligence. This means that each
student has their own intelligence
superiorities and weaknesses. Called
a learning style, these intelligence
domains determine how easily or
difficultly a student can
learn through a specific teaching
method. There can be more than one
learning style present in a classroom.
To balance learning styles and
subject matter, a teacher should
show students how to understand a
subject which addresses one of their weak intelligence domains by applying their most
developed intelligence domain. For instance, a student who has highly-developed musical
intelligence can be asked to learn about a war and what happened during that war by
making up a song about it.
Taken from the book: “If integrative teaching is making things whole, it is also
means putting together the multiple intelligences (MI) of the learner as identified by
Howard Gardner. It is also considering varied learning styles (LS). This does not mean,
however, that you will be overwhelmed with 9 different ways of teaching content at one
time in making use of a variety of teaching activities to cater to these MIs and LSs.”
Moreover, students who apply their strong fields of intelligences in learning
activities can realize to like a subject that they used to hate with joy and without pressure.
As another example, mathematics is considered to be a tough subject for many students
due to the abstract concepts they have to learn. We almost relate to it. However, when
such concepts are explained through a learning activity that implements students’
intelligences, students will find it more interesting and more fun because it is given as
something they love to do. Students can learn mathematics by drawing, dancing,
blogging, and much more. A whole curriculum can be created with activities based on
multiple intelligences in a way that develops different fields of intelligences for each
student; such curriculum will be more student-centred. Students will then discover the
best ways by which they’re able to receive information.
Inquiry-Based Teaching
Constructivist teaching is also inquiry-based. As
the name implies, this is teaching that is focused
on inquiry or question. But effective inquiry is
more than simply answering questions or getting
the right answer. It espouses investigation,
exploration, search, quest, research, pursuit and
study. It is enhanced by involvement with a
community of learners, each learning from the
other in social interaction (Kuklthau, Maniotes
& Caspari, 2007).
Why do we encourage inquiry-based teaching and learning?
In a knowledge economy, knowing has shifted from being able to
remember and repeat information to being able to find and use it. The
capital is intellectual knowledge. Therefore, students must be taught to
nurture inquiry attitudes necessary to continue the generation and
examination of knowledge throughout their lives. The skills and the ability
to continue learning should be the most important outcomes of teaching
and learning. Besides, with knowledge explosion, it is impossible to teach
all the information we want to teach students. Teach them instead how to look for and evaluate
information. Unfortunately, more often than not, schools overload students with isolate bits of
information, information which may be true today but outdated tomorrow. The knowledge base
for disciplines is constantly expanding and changing. Somebody said, “If we are only teaching
what we know, our children can only do as bad as we are doing, and this is the challenge we are
facing we have to go beyond it” (Pauli, 2009, TEDx). This totally means, that inquiry-based
instruction is a student-centred approach where the instructor guides the students through
questions posed, methods designed, and data interpreted by the students. Through inquiry,
students actively discover information to support their investigations.
Moreover, it is designed to teach students a love of learning. When students are able to
engage with the material in their own way, not only are they able to gain a deeper understanding
—they are able to develop a passion for exploration and learning. As a form of active learning,
this approach encourages students to fully engage in the learning process. By allowing students
to explore topics, make their own connections, and ask questions, they are able to learn more
effectively. Students have the opportunity to explore a topic, giving them more of a sense of
ownership over their learning. Instead of the teacher telling them what they should know,
students are able to learn in a way that works for them.
References:
https://www.scribd.com/document/237124991/Constructive-Approach-in-Teaching
Date retrieved: 10|22|20
https://www.scribd.com/document/308076422/Constructivist-Teacher
Corpuz, B.B. &Salandanan, G.G. Principles of Teaching 2. Lorimar Publishing, Inc, Metro
Manila, Philippines, 2015.