Constructivism and Content Area Literacy in My FCS Classroom

In today’s pop culture, there is a nationally trending hashtag that concerns me: #adulting. This term is used when someone is said to behave in an adult manner or engage in activities associated with adulthood. The rise in the use of this word is occurring because of the “delayed development” of millennials (Steinmetz, 2016). There is an influx of young people embarking upon the “real world,” whether it be starting college or joining the ranks of the gainfully employed, with few “real life” skills that are key components of the FCS program.

I want to become a Family and Consumer Science educator so that I can help students learn the skills necessary to function in the “real world.” Young people today are minimally experienced in many areas such as financial literacy and consumerism, food and nutrition, sewing and textiles, parenting via child development courses, etc. As a result, most feel unprepared and/or overwhelmed when met with the challenges of activities of daily living. I would hope that my contribution as an FCS teacher would assist in obliterating the use of “#adulting.” Rather, my hope is that upon graduation, high school students embarking upon the “real world” will feel prepared and even confident that they will be independent, functioning members of society.

The FCS curriculum lends itself well to fostering character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge, and occupational preparation. I want to assist students in preparing to succeed in life and build a better future for themselves and their families. Through the classes that I will be teaching, I will be able to help students gain important life skills that will contribute significantly to developing these all-important human characteristics. My desire is to help students recognize the significance of these attributes and life skills necessary for leading successful and independent lives. I want my students to become contributing members of society and not be afraid to start “adulting.”

Theorists Who Support Constructivism

In order to understand why using constructivism in my FCS classroom would be beneficial, the theory itself must be understood. Constructivism is a learning theory that basically states that people learn and create understanding through experiencing things and then reflecting on those experiences (Evangelisto, 2002).

Jean Piaget contributed to this theory with his research in the area of child development. He discovered that children progressively build their knowledge. Each type of knowledge is stored in what is called schemas. A schema is similar to an index card or file folder to store information in the brain. Knowledge is grouped into schemas so that when a person needs to refer back to their previous knowledge and experiences, they can just pull the file out and then use that stored information to expand their knowledge and learning (McLeod, 2015).

Another contributing supporter of constructivism is Lev Vygotsky. He developed the theory of Zone of Proximal Development. This theory consists of three concentric circles. The center circle represents the comfort zone of the learner with the skills and knowledge that they already possess. Just outside of that circle is the zone of potential development, where the learner has the ability to understand new information using the skills and knowledge in their inner circle. Finally, the outer circle represents the zone where the learner can’t learn or create understanding because they don’t have the skills or knowledge necessary (McLeod, 2012).

Stemming from Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development is Jerome Bruner and his idea of scaffolding. Scaffolding “involves helpful, structured interaction between an adult and a child with the aim of helping the child achieve a specific goal” (McLeod, 2008). He also developed the idea that children are active participants in learning.

Influence of Constructivism on 20th Century Literacy Specialists

Major themes and characteristics of constructivism can be found among reading and literacy theories as well. The idea that a student must use their existing knowledge to build their learning and understanding during and after a learning experience is clearly evident within reading and literacy theories. Literacy specialists utilize reading and writing to further student understanding and prepare them to delve deeper into disciplinary concepts.

Louise Rosenblatt, a well-known literacy specialist, emphasizes the use of literature in the classroom, as a necessary contribution to the process of growth. She states, “each reader needs works that his own past experiences and present preoccupations enable him to evoke personal meaningfulness” (Rosenblatt, 2005, p. 67). Teachers must choose reading assignments and writing prompts that are significant and applicable to the concept being taught.

A considerable amount of research has been conducted to determine efficient instructional methods to build students’ reading comprehension and writing skills. "In recent years, we have learned that students develop comprehension skills and strategies most successfully through a process approach that emphasizes the underlying cognitive and linguistic skills that are prerequisites for understanding and appreciating texts. As a result, contemporary comprehension instruction should be based on constructivist principles that acknowledge the student’s role as the meaning-maker in the reading act" (Flood, 1991, p.736). A constructivist approach to instruction directly supports the idea of assisting students in applying meaning to the content they are learning. For example, students reflect on their personal experiences at the beginning of a lesson, then further address this reflection during the instruction in combination with discussion of the content. Finally, students reflect on what they have learned and experienced, thereby expanding their knowledge/understanding of new content.

Steven E. Tozer, a professor at the University of Illinois, discusses teaching methods to help students apply the concepts they learn in school to the world around them. “The kids can reason already; they do it all the time outside the school, on issues they care about. But they need to be able to appropriate the tools of each subject if they are going to succeed academically in school and in life after high school” (Tozer, 2008, p. 266). He further states that a large portion of a student’s ability to use the “tools of each subject” stems from the amount of reflection time they give to the experiences.

Classroom Practices That Derive from Constructivism

To establish a constructivist approach in my classroom, I must develop a teaching philosophy, classroom structure, and routine conducive to my students’ learning. I plan to accomplish this through three main practices: accountability, collaboration, and role-playing.

Students will be required to take ownership of their learning. Many of the classes that I will be teaching are based on life skills and application of those skills. Students will need to recognize the importance of their understanding of class concepts. I plan on creating assignments and projects that will enable my students to begin to recognize how the content of the course connects to the real world. For example, my food and nutrition students will plan a bake sale in tandem with the business students to raise money for a local charity or someone in the community that may need financial help. The outcomes of learning experiences similar to the one described above will assist students in recognizing the value of possessing these life skills. In addition, students will be provided with opportunities to experience “real-life” application of class content.

Students will construct and expand understanding of key concepts through collaboration in my classroom. They will be given the opportunity to work on group projects as well as do peer reviews of each other’s work. Also, I will have a set time before and after school for students to come into my classroom to get collaborative feedback from me. Students are able to more deeply understand concepts when they are given the opportunity to discuss and explain them to another person.

Finally, students will participate in roleplaying activities as a means of applying new concepts and skills that they learn in class. Roleplay allows students a significant opportunity to see concrete examples of newly learned concepts or skills and their application to everyday life experiences. Furthermore, roleplaying allows the student increased understanding of how to actually use and apply the skill or concept they have learned.

Literacy Strategies That Support Constructivism in the FCS Classroom

Several literacy practices are presented in our class textbook, Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning by Doug Buehl (2014). I plan to implement these strategies in the classroom to help my students develop content area literacy, utilizing a constructivist approach. For the purposes of this paper, I will highlight my top three choices.

The first literacy strategy that I will be applying in my classrooms is the K-W-L Plus chart (Buehl, 2014, p. 135). This chart consists of a three-column table that students fill in. Students fill in the first two columns before the unit begins. The first column, “K” stands for “know,” and provides an efficient means of formative assessment (determining students’ prior knowledge of the subject), before starting a unit. The next column, “W” stands for “want to know.” Students write down what they want to know or learn about the subject. At this point, the class comes together and discusses what they have written in each of the two columns. Students can continue to fill in their two columns with ideas from peers. Following the unit, students return to their chart and fill in the last column, “L” for “learned.” When they have completed this column, students create a concept map that categorizes their gained knowledge.

Mind Mapping is another literacy strategy that I plan to use in my classes (Buehl, 2014, p. 148). This is an effective strategy to help students understand the relationships of vocabulary words within a given content area. Mind mapping allows students to create a visual representation of new information. Also, this strategy provides a natural opportunity to frontload a lesson so that my students know what is important for them to focus on. At the conclusion of a lesson or unit, students can create their own mind maps that represent their understanding of the relationships in the unit.

Finally, I plan to incorporate the quick write strategy into my classroom instruction (Buehl, 2014, p. 168). In this strategy, students are given a specific amount of time to quickly gather their thoughts about a concept within the lesson. It is an informal response to an open-ended question or prompt. This strategy gives students an opportunity to reflect on the lesson and attempt to put their thoughts into an organized format.

Conclusion

Students want to feel prepared and successful in life. To accomplish both of these goals, they must be provided with the knowledge and skills necessary for success. I believe students will be highly prepared to face daily life challenges through the instruction they receive in my classes. My role is to facilitate opportunities to construct their knowledge through learning experiences and reflection on those experiences, as well as how they apply to previous personal experiences. Students will be provided with the opportunity to learn, experience, and develop character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge, and occupational preparation.

References

Buehl, D. (2014). Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (4th ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Evangelisto, T. (2002). Constructivist Approaches to Teaching and Learning. Ewing, NJ: College of New Jersey.

Flood, J. (1991). "Reading Comprehension Instruction." Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts. New York: Macmillan

McLeod, S. (2008). Bruner. http://www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html

McLeod, S. (2009). Jean Piaget. http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html#schema

McLeod, S. (2010). Zone of Proximal Development. http://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html

Rosenblatt, L. (2005). Making meaning with texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Steinmetz, K. (2016, June 8). This Is What ‘Adulting’ Means. Retrieved from: http://time.com/4361866/adulting-definition-meaning/

Tozer, S. (2008, July 28). School and Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.