Taylor Sandweg’s Updates

Constructivism and the RAN Strategy

The constructivism approach to learning really emphases student’s using their prior knowledge to help them construct new knowledge. KWL charts are a classic teaching tool that in my opinion were revamped with constructivism in mind in the new RAN strategy. We all remember filling out KWL charts in school: 

This strategy already shows signs of being a constructivist activity, since it builds on prior knowledge, but I believe the updated RAN (Reading and Analyzing Non-fiction) strategy goes a step further. 

Not only does it ask for prior knowledge, but it gives students a chance to reflect on their prior knowledge after they have done the readings. Reflection is another main component of constructivism and allows the students to renegotiate what they thought they knew, and fit it into new knowledge gained to construct new meaning and knowledge.