Hi Yam, Firstly, I am not an educationalist or even a "constructionalist"
But I suspect that if the goal is to get better scores on standard tests, the best way to achieve that is to teach to pass the test (which is what a lot of education systems are set up to do) If however, you want to teach skills that are valued by society and industry (ie you can add value to the modern world), then what you are measuring needs to be reconsidered. I am sure there is research out there to support constructionalism as a pedagogy suitable for today's Knowledge Society needs, but you will probably also find research saying it isn't because they are measuring the wrong things. Sorry I didn't answer the question, but it is important to ask the right question as well. Ian Thomson RICS and OLPC Coordinator Noumea SPC Phone +687 26 01 44 -----Original Message----- From: iaep-boun...@lists.sugarlabs.org [mailto:iaep-boun...@lists.sugarlabs.org] On Behalf Of Yamandu Ploskonka Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 3:52 AM To: iaep Subject: [IAEP] inquiry on constructionism advantages I have received an inquiry on implementing constructionism from a high official in the Bolivian government. Since my opinion may be biased :-), I request you help us with clear, simple and please objective answers (no vapor-stuff), if at all possible 1) How do constructionist pupils do on standardized tests, such as University entrance exams. (please inform about other demographic situations besides children of highly trained scholars - most Bolivian kids do not fit THAT bracket, alas) 2) How do they do with usual classroom tests, especially in the University. Core question is, are alumni of constructionism better, or at least competitive there? What evidence do we have to prove this? 3) Is there any evidence (objective, unbiased) as to the impact of constructionism in education? The big maybe here is further impact on development, yes ? (I may be mistaken here, please correct) 4) any other solid, statistically valid data supporting constructionism Please avoid treatises - I will be presenting this this week, and if anyone would volunteer, it may be possible to put you directly in touch with this official and/or his staff. It is, or should be widely known that I see the current conctructionist stance within OLPC and Sugar as a misguided, feel-good attempt that is bound to do more harm to most kids than good compared to what could be achieved with a solid curricular-content approach, but I honestly would be happier I were mistaken, if determined by solid evidence. I looooove constructionism, it just doesn't seem to me to be what kids need, and all in all, I wish it worked, but I cannot prove it does for most kids. I am certain, but cannot prove either, that it does work within classrooms with highly trained teachers, or for gifted kids, or when there is a lot of educated support from home, in any case not a basis to adopt it for a country like Bolivia. Yama _______________________________________________ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep _______________________________________________ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep