‘Constructivist Approach’ - A boon or a doom!

Dr. Sandip Ratna, Asst. Prof.

M.Sc(Maths), M.Ed., NET, DIT
sandipncte@yahoo.in
+919856950447
The major classification of the Teaching-Learning Materials (TLMs) at our disposal is
based on the characteristics of the material that has been used for it: viz. audio, visual and
audiovisual or projective and non-projective. We as teachers pick any of the TLM or certain
technique of teaching according to convenience based on the availability of the resources in
the school or of our longing. We assert Constructivist Approach (5E Model) in a 21st
century class room, resembling it to student centric, address students’ need and
accommodate every child in the classroom and we ignore the students’ preferred learning
styles to relate it with different techniques that comes under them. That leads to giving tags to
the different classes ranging from effective class to ineffective class. We mostly:

• impose own preferred teaching strategy overlooking the preferred learning strategy of the
students in the classroom.

• group students in the classroom, viz. bright, average & below average; smart, average &
poor; above average, average or below average, etc.

As professionals, we all agree that neither of the above practice is healthy. Moreover,
we also agree every child in a classroom is special and is capable of doing his/her assigned
tasks with or without guidance.

We as teachers need to understand the variety of students’ preferred learning

strategies that may range from listening to music while studying to confining oneself in a pin-
drop silent corner of a room for study; good at expression through creative writing to good at
art/crafts; good at cognitive aspects to good at psychomotor activities.

Hence, the TLMs, activities or experiences that a teacher prefers/likes to

accommodate inside the classroom should not be according to teacher’s convenience or
proclivity but it should be as per the students’ desires and needs. One particular teacher’s
teaching strategy may be apt to a group of students and to another group of students, it may
be otherwise.

Being professionals we have to introspect into our imposing teaching strategy against
students’ learning strategy under constructivist approach. Else, a behaviorist teacher in
Constructivist class sniff with behavioral conditioning and potentiality of Constructivist
approach will always remain uncertain in factual.

Please provide your valuable suggestion and feedback in the respect at

sandipncte@yahoo.in

Thank you.