For far too long, in all parts of the world, the most vulnerable members of society have been excluded from schools. All children, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic, or other conditions, including disabled and gifted children, have the right to education and the relevant pedagogy of inclusion. The teaching methods used should accommodate all members of the society. People who are planning the teaching strategies should also know that people learn better when they do things. The purpose of this chapter is to determine how the theory of constructionism can be applied in the teaching and learning of students in the inclusive education. Information collected from literature on teaching and learning in inclusive education is critically analyzed through the theory of constructionism. Various theorists found that constructionism is relevant to an inclusive classroom since it encourages learning by doing.
TopIntroduction
For far too long, in all parts of the world, the most vulnerable members of society are excluded from the mainstream education due to their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions such as disability. We are leaving in a diverse society that turns to be the characteristic of classroom situations. This diversity in the classroom includes students of all kinds, be it slow learning, fast learning, hearing challenges, short sightedness, and many more. The teaching strategies used should take note of these various challenges. The teaching strategies selected must be able to keep all students busy. It should not be a size fit all approach.
In cases where such students are incorporated into the mainstream education, teachers experience the problem of teaching in such diverse classes. Teachers have to be empowered with relevant approaches that will assist them to cope. At the end of the day, all students must benefit from the teachers’ efforts. These efforts should not lead to passive learning as this has failed many students. Getting students to be active will assist even those students experiencing learning difficulties.
This chapter suggests constructionism as a learning theory and that each method used in teaching should be in line with it. The main question to be answered by this study is: “how can the theory of constructionism be applied in the teaching and learning of students in the inclusive education?” The aim of the chapter is therefore, to determine how the theory of constructionism can be applied in the teaching and learning of students in the inclusive education. In an attempt to reach this aim, one consulted various literature and some knowledgeable teachers who formed part of community engagement were consulted to verify data collected from literature.
To be able to answer the above question, the chapter is divided into four sections which include conceptualisation of important concepts, constructionism as a learning theory, constructionist teaching methods and empowering of teachers towards constructionism for inclusive education.