At AAG, we believe in a constructivist (learner centered) approach in teaching and learning.

Constructivist theory suggests that as students learn, they do not simply memorize or take on others' conceptions of reality; instead, they create their own meaning and understanding.

Studies of how children learn to speak languages in discrete cultures around the world have all shown similar results: Children don't mimic adult forms. They try to figure out rules and regularities and then construct their own interpretations of what to say. As they get more feedback and have more experiences trying to communicate, they eventually come to accepted constructions and expressions.

In the classroom, learners use similar ways to construct their own meanings from stimuli and input available to them. From all the input and past experiences, students are continually constructing a view of what is real. Each student does this in a unique way.

Students need regular opportunities to do more than memorize what teachers and books tell them. For deep learning to occur, students need to deal with information and experience and put it together to make meaningful sense.

AAG teachers will help students acquire deep learning by:

• Listening to students' ideas and encouraging their questions.
• Encouraging students to actively participate in doing, discussing, and creating.
• Providing more than one source of information so students can see different perspectives and have many inputs.
• Encouraging students to compare and contrast ideas.
• Including writing so students can think through their ideas

What are the benefits of constructivism?

1. Benefit
Children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners.

2. Benefit
Education works best when it concentrates on thinking and understanding, rather than on rote memorization. Constructivism concentrates on learning how to think and understand.

3. Benefit
Constructivist learning is transferable. In constructivist classrooms, students create organizing principles that they can take with them to other learning settings.

4. Benefit
Constructivism gives students ownership of what they learn, since learning is based on students' questions and explorations, and often the students have a hand in designing the assessments as well. Constructivist assessment engages the students' initiatives and personal investments in their journals, research reports, physical models, and artistic representations. Engaging the creative instincts develops students' abilities to express knowledge through a variety of ways. The students are also more likely to retain and transfer the new knowledge to real life.

5. Benefit
By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-world context, constructivism stimulates and engages students. Students in constructivist classrooms learn to question things and to apply their natural curiosity to the world.

6. Benefit
Constructivism promotes social and communication skills by creating a classroom environment that emphasizes collaboration and exchange of ideas. Students must learn how to articulate their ideas clearly as well as to collaborate on tasks effectively by sharing in group projects. Students must therefore exchange ideas and so must learn to "negotiate" with others and to evaluate their contributions in a socially acceptable manner. This is essential to success in the real world, since they will always be exposed to a variety of experiences in which they will have to cooperate and navigate among the ideas of others.

Concept to Classroom; Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning

Constructivism: From Philosophy to Practice