BMTS416
Constructivist Mathematics Teaching

ECTS Value: 2 ECTS

Contact Hours: 10

Self Study Hours: 24

Assessment Hours: 16

 

Overall Objectives and Outcomes

Constructivism is principally a theory of knowing and learning. Hence, it has a great influence on the way teachers present learning opportunities to their students. This module prepares prospective mathematics educators to approach mathematics teaching with constructivist sensitivities. It will help them to become negotiators between their own mathematics and the mathematics being constructed by their students. This will be done through a continuous interplay between anticipating didactic processes, interacting with the students, developing models of students’ mathematics, and revisiting the mathematics for students. 

By the end of this module, the learner will be able to: 

Competences

    • a)Cooperate with the mathematics head of department to organise continual professional development sessions to mathematics teachers on constructivist mathematics teaching;
    • b)Participate in the evaluation, review, and/or creation of school policies about constructivist teaching and learning, particularly in the area of mathematics education;
    • c)Discuss constructivist mathematics teaching with other module learners in the creation and assessment of mock constructivist lessons;
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Knowledge

  • a)Name the three constructivist theories and identify the core similarities and differences between them;
  • b)List the cyclical stages involved in a constructivist mathematics lesson utilising the MNL framework (Borg, et. al, 2016);
  • c)Identify the benefits and drawbacks of teaching mathematics with constructivist sensitivities;
  • d)Recall core literature about constructivism and about constructivist teaching.
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Skills

    • a)Design a student-centred lesson in which utilises the MNL framework;
    • b)Apply the MNL framework to analyse teacher sensitivity toward constructivism in a mathematics lesson;
    • c)Teach mathematics with a sensitivity to constructivist notions of learning.

Assessment Methods

This module will be assessed through: Lesson Plan, Assignment, Review

Suggested Readings

Core Reading List 

  1. Borg, P., Hewitt, D., & Jones, I. (2016). Negotiating between learner and mathematics: A conceptual framework to analyze teacher sensitivity toward constructivism in a mathematics classroom. Constructivist Foundations, 12(1), 59‒69. https://constructivist.info/12/1/059.borg. 
  2. Fox, R. (2001). Constructivism examined. Oxford review of education, 27(1), 23-35. 
  3. Glasersfeld, E. von (2013). Radical constructivism (Vol. 6). Routledge. 
  4. Piaget, J., Kagan, J., & Inhelder, B. (2000). The psychology of the child. Basic Books. 
  5. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press. 
  6. Wadsworth, B. (2004). Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive and Affective Development: Foundations of Constructivism. Longman Publishing. 

Supplementary Reading List 

  1. Ernest, P. (1994). Varieties of constructivism: Their metaphors, epistemologies and pedagogical implications. Hiroshima Journal of Mathematics Education, 2 (1994), 2. 
  2. Glasersfeld, E. von (1995a). Radical constructivism: A way of knowing and learning. The Falmer Press.  
  3. Glasersfeld, E. von (1995b). A constructivist approach to teaching. In L. Steffe & J. Gale (Eds.), Constructivism in education (pp. 3-16). Lawrence Erlbaum. 
  4. Glasersfeld, E. von (1994). A radical constructivist view of basic mathematical concepts. Constructing mathematical knowledge: Epistemology and mathematics education, 5-7. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203454206. 
  5. McLeod, S. (2024). Constructivism Learning Theory & Philosophy of Education. https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html#:~:text=interpretation%20of%20reality.  
  6. Phillips, D. C. (1995). The good, the bad, and the ugly: The many faces of constructivism. Educational researcher, 24 (7), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X024007005. 
  7. Piaget, J., (1985), The Equilibration of Cognitive Structures (translation by T. Brown & K. J. Thampy), Harvard University Press. 
  8. Siegler, R., DeLoache, J., & Eisenberg, N. (2003). How children develop. Worth Publishers.
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