Pencils Out...Scantrons Ready...Get Set...TEST!

I think the best possible approach to learning that the American public education system could implement would be the use of the constructivist approach as the standard method of instruction, with the direct instruction approach serving as a possible supplemental method to aid students who have a learning disability or who could benefit from the additional structure that teacher centered direction provides.  The direct instruction approach was the method used throughout my high school years, which I found to be unproductive and tedious. Sitting still all day and listening to a teacher recite facts left me bored and unmotivated to learn.


It was not until I entered college two summers ago, that I found out I actually love school!  My first positive learning experience was at Palm Beach State College in Professor Fiedler’s American Literature After 1860 class.  Professor Fiedler skillfully utilized the constructivist approach to challenge me to determine what I perceived the lesson of the subject material to be and provide supporting data for my conclusion.  This method of teaching kept me captivated, unlike my previous school experience which did not provide the opportunity to use this type of critical thinking, but instead focused mainly on fact memorization.  I think today our main line school system “teaches to the test”, meaning the emphasis is placed on making sure students can pass the test, instead of focusing on providing students with the opportunity to actively construct their knowledge while being guided by the teacher. 

An earlier exposure to the constructivist approach of learning would have kept me much more interested in school and been much more beneficial, in that it would have better prepared me how to think through future life challenges.  It is my opinion that if teachers were to teach at least a portion of their class in the constructivist method it would be immensely rewarding for the students, and on a larger scale to the future of our society, as today students are tomorrow’s leaders.