Constructivism MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Constructivism - Download Free PDF

The socio-constructivist perspective of learning, influenced by theorists like Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget, views learning as an active process shaped by social interaction and cultural context.

Key Points

•  Learning, from a socio-constructivist view, occurs best when learners are actively involved in the process.
• They engage in exploration, questioning, and dialogue with others to co-construct knowledge. Classroom interactions, collaborative tasks, and real-life experiences provide contexts that make learning meaningful. Instead of being told what to think, learners are encouraged to think critically and solve problems.
• This process of interaction allows them to make sense of concepts based on their own cognitive and social experiences. It also helps in developing higher-order thinking skills and a deeper understanding of subject matter.

Hint

•  The idea that learning is most effective through lectures and direct explanation aligns more with a teacher-centered, traditional approach rather than with socio-constructivism, which values learner participation and exploration.
• Focusing primarily on memorization and repetition emphasizes rote learning, which does not encourage understanding or application, key aspects of socio-constructivist learning.
• Treating learners as passive absorbers of knowledge assumes they merely receive facts from teachers or textbooks, ignoring the active role learners play in making sense of information through discussion, practice, and reflection.

Hence, the correct answer is learners build knowledge actively through interaction and experience.

Different teaching strategies are informed by various learning theories, which influence how students approach problem-solving and critical thinking. 

Key Points

• The teaching strategy described encourages students to think of different ways to solve a problem and explore multiple solutions, most closely aligns with constructivism.
• In this approach, students actively construct their understanding and knowledge by engaging in problem-solving activities, exploring various solutions, and making sense of their experiences.
• Constructivist teachers believe that students learn best when they are encouraged to explore, ask questions, and develop their own solutions rather than just being told the correct answer.

Hint

• Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors and reinforcement, which is more about shaping specific responses rather than encouraging independent thinking.
• Inquiry-Based Learning involves asking questions and seeking answers through investigation, which also encourages exploration, but constructivism specifically emphasizes the student's active role in constructing knowledge.
• Direct Instruction is teacher-centered, where the teacher provides explicit guidance and instruction, which contrasts with the open-ended, exploratory nature of this strategy.

Hence, the teaching strategy is most aligned with constructivism.

Constructivism is a learning theory that emphasizes the idea that learners actively construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiences and reflection.

Key Points 

Features of Constructivism Approach:

• Constructivism emphasizes that learners actively acquire knowledge through their own efforts, enabling self-creation of knowledge.
• It indeed focuses on discovery learning, inquiry method, and social inquiry, all of which encourage students to engage actively with the material and the world around them.
• Constructivism is child-centered, focusing on the individual learner's needs, interests, and experiences in the learning process.

Hint

• Constructivism does not advocate for simply filling the mind of the student with predetermined results or facts.
• Instead, it emphasizes active learning, where students construct knowledge for themselves through discovery and inquiry.

Hence, the correct answer is 'Instead of the process of acquiring knowledge in constructivism, an attempt is made to fill the results obtained from it directly in the mind of the student'.

In a constructivist classroom, learning is viewed as an active and student-centered process. The goal is not just to deliver information but to empower students to take charge of their own learning journey.

Key Points

• Encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning and develop self-regulation skills is essential in fostering self-directed learning. This approach helps students plan their work, stay motivated, and reflect on their understanding and progress.
• In a constructivist setting, the teacher acts as a facilitator who supports learners in developing autonomy, decision-making skills, and a sense of ownership over their learning.
• These skills not only enhance academic performance but also prepare students for lifelong learning beyond the classroom.

Hint

•  Providing detailed and prescriptive instructions limits student autonomy and discourages exploration or independent thinking.
• Frequent feedback is valuable, but using it primarily to motivate competition undermines collaboration and personal growth.
• Setting explicit goals may help with structure, but when imposed without student involvement, it can reduce ownership and engagement.

Hence, the correct answer is by encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning and develop self-regulation skills.

Constructivist learning theory emphasizes that learners actively construct new knowledge by building upon their existing understanding and experiences. This approach sees learning as a process of meaning-making, where prior knowledge serves as the foundation upon which new concepts are formed. 

Key Points

• Prior knowledge is important for building connections and facilitating new learning because it acts as a mental framework that helps students make sense of new information.
• When learners can relate new content to what they already know, they understand concepts more deeply and retain them better.
• This bridging process supports meaningful learning, fosters curiosity, and allows students to apply knowledge in varied contexts.
• It also helps teachers design instruction that connects with students’ backgrounds and experiences, making learning more relevant and engaging.

Hint

• Saying that prior knowledge is only important for advanced learners limits its relevance and overlooks its value for all students, regardless of ability.
• Linking prior knowledge solely to intrinsic motivation ignores the broader cognitive processes involved in learning for all students.
• While misconceptions can arise from prior knowledge, it does not mean prior knowledge hinders learning rather, it gives teachers a starting point for addressing misunderstandings and guiding conceptual change.

Hence, the correct answer is prior knowledge is important for building connections and facilitating new learning.

The constructivist frame/perspective is based on the idea that meaningful learning takes place when learners actively construct their own knowledge.

Key Points

The central idea of the constructivist frame is that learners learn through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.

In the constructivist frame, the child is viewed as:

• imaginative on the basis of sources.
• little scientists and markers of meaning.
• problem solver and a scientific investigator.
• creator of knowledge through social interaction.
• builder of new knowledge by activating the previous one.

Important Points

• As a problem solver, the child learns by exploring, investigating, experimenting, and inquiring about the facts and information provided.
• As a scientific investigator, the child actively takes part in the learning activity and tends to be – reflective, analytical, creative, etc.

Hence, it could be concluded that in the constructivist frame, the child is viewed as a problem solver and a scientific investigator.

Social constructivist approach is an approach of learning which gives primacy to collaborative learning by involving learners in discussion and projects related to real-life situations.

Key Points

Characteristics of Social constructivist approach:

• It emphasizes on collaboration with others for learning.

• It ensures active involvement of learners and promotes peer tutoring.

• It allows learners to foster their own strategy of learning to perform an activity.

• It views learners as makers of meaning and creators of knowledge through social interaction.

Social-constructivist classroom gives primacy to:

• peer tutoring.
• group activity.
• dignified discussion.
• cooperative learning.
• face to face interaction.

Hence it could be concluded that emphasizing upon collaboration with others for learning is a characteristic of social constructivist approach.

In the constructive classroom, students work primarily in groups where learning and knowledge are interactive and dynamic. One cannot find it in a traditional classroom in which students work alone. In that situation, learning takes place through repeated practice and the students mostly depend on the textbook. But in constructivist classroom students conduct experiments and do some projects work. They start the work individually but come together in a group to discuss the results. They also go outside the classroom to observe something in the school garden or in a museum. After recording observation they come with their individual observations which they discuss in the group. Group discussions play a very important role. The activities are based on debate, intellectual participation and drawing conclusion.

• If one observes a constructivist classroom she/he shall see the following things.
• The students are actively involved in learning.
• The environment is democratic.
• The activities are interactive and student-centred.
• The teacher facilitates a process of learning in which the students are encouraged to do the task actively as responsible members.
• Opinion, ideas given by the students are accepted and honoured.
• Students make meaning from their own experience.
• Process is as important as product
• Focus is on learning, not teaching.

Hence, all statements regarding constructivist approach for teaching-learning process are correct.

​Constructivism emphasizes the idealogy that people actively construct their own knowledge on the basis of their experiences. 

Key Points 

• The basic principle of constructivism is that the student’s previous knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and insights are all important foundations for their continued learning.
  • Example: Mohan provides students with containers of different capacities to help them learn the concept of volume.
• In constructivism, learning exists in the mind. Hands-on experiences and physical actions are necessary for learning, but mental abilities are also important for constructing knowledge.
• The teacher should use different tasks like debate, brainstorming, etc. to develop students' mental abilities. 
  • Example: Farah asks students to brainstorm on possibilities of making waste disposal a mechanical task so that many creative minds work together and apply their diverse thinking patterns to generate ideas.
• Both the teachers are employing constructivism in their classrooms as they are ensuring the active involvement of learners and viewing learners as makers of meaning and creators of knowledge.

Hint

• Behaviorism: Behaviorism, is a theory of learning that states all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment through a process called conditioning. Thus, behavior is simply a response to environmental stimuli.
• Direct instruction: Direct instruction is a teacher-directed teaching method. This means that the teacher stands in front of a classroom, and presents the information such as in a lecture or demonstration.
• Operant conditioning: Operant conditioning (also called instrumental conditioning) is a type of associative learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. In operant conditioning, behavior is controlled by external stimuli.

​Hence we can conclude that both the teachers are employing constructivism in their classrooms.

Constructivism is centered on the idea that human knowledge and learning is actively constructed by the learner, not passively received from the environment.

Key Points

• Social constructivism is founded on the thesis that social processes are central to learning and cognitive development. It regards knowledge as a social construct and prioritizes the social aspects of learning and cognitive development.
• Some of these social aspects are language, culture, everyday practices, material objects, interpersonal interaction, peer interaction, tools, and symbols.
• The word collaborate means to come together to form a group dedicated to complete a specific task. Every individual in the group has a designated task to perform and with the joint effort, the objective is achieved.
• Collaborative learning provides a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn together. It is a method of teaching and learning in which students and teachers team together to explore a significant question or create a meaningful project
• In a social constructivism classroom, collaborative projects can be an effective assessment tool to evaluate the learning of the students. Projects like conducting a survey in society about their views on water wastage and how they can work to conserve water can be given to the students.
• In such projects, the students can first conduct a survey, prepare a report on water wastage sources, find a solution to conserve the water, and finally conclude the project by spreading awareness in the society about the ways in which the water can be conserved.

Hence, it is concluded that In a socio-constructivist classroom collaborative projects method of assessment would be preferred.

Hint

• Objective questions having one-word answers are very easy tests that can be assessed easily in any classroom.
• Standardized tests are constructed by test construction specialists, usually with the assistance of curriculum experts, teachers, and school administrators for the purpose of determining a student's level of performance relative to the performance of other students of similar age and grade.
• Tests based on mere recall do not facilitate meaningful learning. It is a test of memorization power.

Constructivism is a theory that regards learning as an active process in which learners construct and internalize new concepts, ideas, and knowledge based on past knowledge and experiences.

Key Points

• Social Constructivism (SC): SC emphasizes the role of culture and context in developing personal and shared interpretations of reality. It emerged largely from the work of Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, and Bandura.
• Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, laid the foundation of social constructivism by adopting a socio-cultural approach to cognitive development based on the assumption that action is mediated and cannot be separated from the social milieu in which it occurs.
• The social constructivist model proposed by him emphasizes culture as the prime determinant of individual development. Learners are believed to be encultured into their learning community and learning is considered to be largely situation or context-specific activity.
• Language plays an important role in Vygotskian constructivism. Language is initially used as a means of communication between adults and children. Gradually it is internalized into a means of the child’s own thinking and control of his/her own activity.

Important Points

• ​Pramati has her students choose from a variety of books to read. Those students who read a particular book are made to discuss the book on a regular basis: 
  • Here, the teacher focuses on reading and discussing the book so it increases their vocabulary and constructs their knowledge. It facilitates their reading and understanding of the text.
• Arundhati emphasizes the importance of using contextual material to help determine the meaning of new words:
  • Here, the teacher emphasizes the use of contextual materials so the students could relate words in the context. Using such materials develop contextual understanding in depth. 

Thus, it is concluded that (ii), (iii) set exemplify a social constructivist approach to facilitate reading among students. 

Hint

• Salma uses flashcards to help students learn new words and rewards them with candy for correct responses: It is a behavioristic view of learning as a reward strengthens the Stimulus-Response bond. It is both verbal such as praising, or awarding; and non-verbal such as nodding the head in appreciation, smiling, etc.
• Rekha has her students write each word they miss on a spelling test five times to help them remember the word: Here, the teacher is focusing on rote memorization.

Constructivism as a theory is based on the idea that meaningful learning takes place when learners actively construct their own knowledge.

Key PointsConstructivism as a theory emphasizes the role of the learner in constructing his own view of the word as in the constructivist frame, the learner is viewed as:

• imaginative on the basis of sources.
• little scientists and markers of meaning.
• problem solver and a scientific investigator.
• creator of knowledge through social interaction.
• builder of new knowledge by activating the previous one.

According to the Constructivist Theory:

• As a problem solver, the child learns by exploring, investigating, experimenting, and inquiring about the facts and information provided.
• As a scientific investigator, the child actively takes part in the learning activity and tends to be – reflective, analytical, creative, etc.

Hence, it could be concluded that Constructivism as a theory emphasizes the role of the learner in constructing his own view of the word.

The constructivist classroom is related to the constructivist approach of education which gives primacy to collaborative learning by involving learners in discussions and projects. A constructivist classroom foresees the student's active involvement in their own assessment plan with the teacher.

Key Points

• In a constructivist classroom, learners interact in groups and make their learning better
• emphasizes collaboration with others for learning.
• ensures the active involvement of learners and promotes peer tutoring.
• allows learners to foster their own strategy of learning to perform a task.
• Learners try to explore more and more. They try to experiment in the environment.
• The teacher always encourages students to share their perspectives in the classroom.
• provides ample opportunities to learners to make them work at their own pace.
• views learners as makers of meaning and creators of knowledge through social interaction.
• prepares students to design experiments, draw conclusions, and compare their findings

Hence, it could be concluded that in a constructivist classroom, Drill and recall won't be the appropriate strategy for learning.

Important Points A constructivist classroom gives primacy to:

• peer tutoring.
• group activity.
• Self-assessment.
• dignified discussion.
• cooperative learning.
• face-to-face interaction.

Constructivism is a theory based on observation and scientific study about how people learn. It says that people construct their understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.

Views of Constructivist: The constructivist approach to learning suggests that people actively construct or make their own knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner.

• Constructivists such as Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky view learning as a continuous process of meaning-making by active engagement.
• Constructivists believe that a learner's ability to learn relies to a large extent on what he already knows and understands, and the acquisition of knowledge should be an individually tailored process of construction.
• Constructivism was based on cognitive development through mental construction where the learner constructs his/her own knowledge through meaning-making of concepts and experience.

Principles of Constructivism:

• Knowledge is constructed by the learner. The learner accommodates new information through the assimilation of previous information.
• Learning happens through meaning-making.
• Learning is an active process involving the learner’s active engagement in the process as well as with the world

Piaget’s constructivism theory was based on cognitive development and Vygotsky was based on social development.

NOTE:

Hence, it becomes clear that constructivists such as Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky view learning as the process of meaning-making by active engagement.

The constructivist approach is based on the idea that meaningful learning takes place when learners actively construct their knowledge.

• The central idea of the constructivist frame is that learners learn through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.

Key Points Central ideas of the constructivist frame:

• Children are active explorers or problem solvers of the environment. 
• Children are little scientists and markers of meaning.
• Children learn through debate and discussion on contemporary issues in the classroom or in their daily lives.
• Children are builders and creators of new knowledge.
• Children are born to be like 'scientific investigators' and 'problem solvers.
• Children are born to construct the meaning of their environment through social interaction.
• Children’s thinking is qualitatively different from that of adults not quantitatively.
• Children learn through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.

Thus by all these references, we can say that A teacher presenting his students with a contemporary issue, on which they discuss and debate exemplifies constructivist pedagogy.

Hint

• Learning through textbooks is not a constructivist pedagogy.
• Constructivist pedagogy never promotes rote learning.
• Listening to the teacher while teaching the concepts is a way where the learner can learn the concept of the related topic, but this method of teaching can not follows the constructivist pedagogy.