Constructivism Case Study

1. Describe two similarities between the traditional lesson and the constructivist one as described above. What are two differences?
- The students did not understand measurement and what it was used for, and the teachers thought that the students would understand what was going on. The students in the constructivist lesson thought of a few different ways to measure and were confused when they didn't come up with the same numbers. The traditional lesson the students were impressed on how big the whale was, but they did not get the use of the yard stick.

2. What are two benefits and two drawbacks of the constructivist approach as described above? Why? In your opinion, are the benefits worth the costs? Explain your response.
- Two benefits are she made the students think about the tool to use and what would work, then they understood the reason for standard measurement. The students also were able to be creative with their ideas and had a class discussion. She is teaching the students logical thinking and gave them the example of how important it is to have standardize measurement in the world.

3. How does the constructivist lesson described above promote critical thinking? Give specific examples of critical thinking from the case study and include a definition of critical thinking to support your response.
The students had to be creative and Tom made the connection that he was four feet tall, then they measured him. The other student took the letter "E" and thought of the number "3". These are conclusions they had to come up with on their own though critical thinking.

4. Would the constructivist activity be considered an authentic activity? Why or why not?
- She would have to teach them the instruments that they used to measure the boat and report to the king like they did back when the event occurred.