Albert Cahalan wrote: > >From what I can tell, constructionism (c13m) is a buzzword that > vaguely refers to an age-old teaching practice: learning by doing. > The idea appears to be extremely old, though not the norm. Ditching > the buzzword would be appreciated; it only serves to obfuscate. > > >From what I can tell, c13m is an awful lot like unschooling. > Perhaps you can explain the difference. > > FYI, what happens _without the teacher around_ is probably not > what the adults would like. Kids play games, fight, view porn, > vandalize things... > > It's been 28 years since the Mindstorms book. If the idea still > hasn't caught on, there must be a reason. The teachers have decided. > Normal teachers will thwart any effort to change teaching. > Tying the success of a laptop program to massive changes in > teacher behavior is not right. > > Just to tell you (I did it before... I think so...)... I have talk with 2 teachers here in Peru (one my sister in law and other one a friend). Both inform me that almost all peruvian teachers (from the coast area) know about construccionism and use it in everyday classromm and lessons. That is because around year 2000 there was an order that need to follow IF they want to keep in the public system: they need to assist to a set of training days to learn about the new method that the Minister of Education will applies to the whole peruvian education: construccionism. So... if someone needs to do a statistical serious study about what has happen after this experience then there are hundreds of peruvian teachers and schools that have develop some kind of actual experience (firts hand experience) in construccionism applied to kids.
My sister in law teachs in one of the most exclusive and expensive schools (for kids that belongs to the upper top class and sons/daughters of diplomatics, politics, etc.) and the other teacher that I have speak teach in a public school. And they have told me at the same time that they use construccionism in every day but in a mix (with instruccionism) and adapting it to their own daily needs (very peruvian way to do it, we are survivors all the way). So the impression that I got from the meeting with this teachers is that they use it at the same time than other methods according to the circumstances and according to the kid or the school enviroment. But... they are just 2 teachers and it was a ver long and relaxed conversation, not a statistical study. By the way, according to what I have been told... they went to get the training in construccionism because a written notice were given to them: do it or you will be out of the educational system. A very prussian/instruccionist way to teach construccionism! :-[ But that is normal... no big deal... just a funny situation... sometimes you need to lead, sometimes you need to participate, and sometimes you need to obey. That is life from the very born of the human race. Javier Rodriguez Lima, Peru _______________________________________________ Devel mailing list Devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel