Effect of Constructivist - Teaching Strategies on Academic Performance of Students in Science at the Secondary School Level

Abstract

Constructivism is a theory of how the learner constructs knowledge from experience, which is unique to each individual. Constructivism according to Piaget (1971) is a system of explanations of how learners as individuals adapt and refine knowledge. Constructivism is relatively a new paradigm which is based on the assumption that knowledge is subjective, contextual and inherently partial. It loudly denied the traditional objectivist view of knowledge. The traditional teaching-learning practices which are based on Objectivism, represent knowledge as authoritarian and certain, whereas constructivism focuses on the resilience of learner beliefs and social construction of reality. Constructivism represents a paradigm shift from behaviorism to cognitive theory. Behaviorist’s epistemology focuses on intelligence, domains of objectives, levels of knowledge, and reinforcement. While the Constructivist epistemology assumes that learners construct their own knowledge on the basis of interaction with their environment. Four epistemological assumptions are at the heart of what we refer to as "constructivist learning.