A lecture given to the UTM Faculty of of Social Sciences and Humanities on 25th January 2021 as part of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Adjunct Lecture Series.
Abstract:
Constructivism has been considered a key perspective in education for some time, but different commentators have construed constructivism in different ways, perhaps explaining why the notion has been much criticised as well as widely championed. A common suggestion is that constructivism is a theory of learning, but not a theory of teaching. The implication being that ‘constructivism does not tell teachers how to teach’. Strictly, this is correct: constructivism is a theory of learning that can help us understand classroom learning better, and so inform curriculum development, lesson planning, and pedagogy. That is, although not a theory of teaching, constructivism offers strong guidance on both why students often do not learn from instruction as intended, and on how to develop effective pedagogy. So, just as a road map (or satellite navigation system) is not a form of transport, but can still be invaluable to a driver on a journey to an unfamiliar place, constructivism is not a teaching method, but can provide invaluable guidance to teachers. This lecture introduces basic constructivist ideas about learning, establishing principles to inform teaching (which will be explored in the follow-up lecture), and shows how these ideas may be inconsistent with common informal ideas about such core ideas as knowledge, perception, communication, and memory.
Pre-lecture preparation
A lecture preview, offering some questions to consider, and points to think about before the lecture, was provided. You can visit that page here.
View the lecture
https://www.facebook.com/367141090487913/videos/239743770939099
Lecture notes
Download the lecture in the form of slides plus presenter notes. (The file is quite large, due to the number of images it contains.)
Reduced size file (should download quicker)
Distorted images
Here are the distorted images presented before the lecture, alongside the originals. (Use the sliders to see each image.)
Bee visiting flower
Unusual images
A close up of ice crystals on a wooden fence on a cold morning 
The sun getting low in the evening, seen through a wood at the Norfolk coast (Hunstanton) 
Vapour trails – one aircraft has just moved 'into' (actually, behind?) the trail of a plane that is no longer in the camera's field of view 
This is the sea. (But I turned it through 90˚as I thought it might have been too obvious.) Yes, the sea around England often is this colour! 
This is a reflection of the sun, but seen in an icy puddle on the ground. 
This is a record (a vinyl 'LP'). Extra marks if you know which album it is! 
Well it is obviously boats in a harbour – but taken through a window angled so that you see one image through the glass superimposed with a reflection. 
Trees – reflected in the water of a lake.
