How Constructivist Environment Changes Perception of Learning: Physics Is Fun

Abstract

The global availability of information makes its selection difficult, but at the same time it allows for the construction of teaching without the particular prior knowledge of students. However, it requires teachers to learn new abilities, such as developing a much broader coverage of the subject, explanations of illy solutions, and knowledge of different ways of thinking and the mental needs of pupils (pedagogical knowledge contents). We show examples of such teaching in physics in several quite different environments: from school classes to workshops for 3–4-year-old children, interactive lectures for children’s universities, ad hoc explanations in science museums for secondary school students, to public lectures in didactics at international congresses. Every specific environment requires different approaches, but the contents may remain similar: innovative, constructivist, and interactive approaches assure a successful outcome in any didactical situation.

Keywords

• learning environments
• learning sciences
• teacher education
• constructivist approach
• cognitivism