In this article we shall look at the four main stages of the constructivist Learning used in science education, which are complementary, and which have been adopted by the constructivism theory. The aim of using these stages is to ease learner’s construction of scientific concepts through mental processes. Moreover, each stage is closely linked to the next stage to assure the smooth progress by learners in the understanding the taught content.
Table of Contents
Engagement or Invitation Stage
At the beginning of the educational situation, the teacher engages the learners in the new subject asks them questions in order to invite them to learn, think, motivate them, and create a knowledge-based environment to learn the subject, and figures out their ideas and knowledge necessary to learn a new subject.
Exploration Stage
This stage is the most important in the classroom, where the teacher divides the learners into heterogeneous groups; and each group carries out various activities such as collecting data and information, classifying them, develop hypotheses, ask questions, search for answers and explanations, access to solutions, criticize them, issue judgment; in preparation for social dialogue to reach solutions to the question raised at the beginning of the class. The teacher here is a facilitator hears and raises additional questions.
Explanation Stage
At this stage, learners provide explanations, suggestions, propose solutions, and test the validity of these solutions based on their new experiences, as they build the new knowledge and link it to the previous one, or modify the previous knowledge and perceptions, and the teacher has to encourage learners to formulate their findings, give them enough time to put forward suggestions and interpretations, help learners, and facilitate the learning process.
Decision Making Stage (Problem Solving):
This step involves access to the appropriate solution to the problem and implementation of such solution. Hence the cognitive integration process occurs between the new and previous concepts, which lead to cognitive integration of the concepts and the emergence of more extensive and deeper concepts. Consequently, this resulted in new construction of knowledge at the part of the learners, and application of what they have learned in new situations.
The Constructivist Learning Model has several features including the following:
- Locate the learner at the centre of the educational process, he is active, looks, discovers and implements activities, and has the opportunity to exercise the fundamental and integrated science processes, think scientifically in the largest possible number of solutions to one problem, and he plays the role of scholar.
- The development of positive trend at the learner towards learning and its processes.
- Gives the learner the opportunity to debate and negotiate and cooperate, and develop a sound language for dialogue.
- The Constructivist Learning Model links between science and technology, and the role of science in solving the problems of society.
Many studies have indicated that the use of effective teaching methods provide an effective environment to do the role of the learner and responds to his needs and interests, and motivate the scientific thinking which is seen as the most important educational targets educational process development, and the target of teaching science. The scientific thinking is considered a complex mental process through which the learner can do meaningful thing based on the situations he passes through, Jarwan (2005) refers to it as a mode of thinking that supports the scientific method. However, Zaitoon (2014) refers to it as that mental activity used by the individual to address the problems they faces in their life, and to search, explore problems and find solutions.
The Scientific thinking has many features:
- It is an organised process passes through specific steps beginning with the purposeful note of the phenomenon, and ending with an explanation in the form of hypotheses validated by experiment.
- A purposeful process with a specific and clear goal.
- Does not occur in isolation from human, rather, it is a product of mental activity.
Dewey identified the elements of scientific thinking as follows:
- identify the problem,
- collect data,
- develop hypotheses and test their validity,
- choose the most suitable ones and solve them.
Thus scientific thinking is a mental activity essential in regulating the individual ideas and solve problems facing him in an objective manner, and helps individuals take the decisions that have become one of the main goals of scientific education at the present time.