Can we do it? Yes we can!

So, now that you have the literature, you have the background and you know the facts - can you bring it?? That is, can you bring constructivism to your classroom? We know, it's nerve wrecking. But no one said it would be easy right? As we figure it, there are basically two ways to start thinking constructivily. You could:

A) Dive right in with the information you have and see what happens, or
B) Start gradually, and immerse yourself and your students into the world of constructivism slowly.

Althought both options have their merits, our research leads us to conclude that option B is probably the better route. We've come to this conlcusion for different reasons.

• better equips new-constructivist teachers to maintain classroom management
• teachers can optimize success for themselves and their students when they start with a few good lessons compared to many poor ones.
• teachers can observe students reactions to this "new" type of learning and change their instruction accordingly
• Starting slowly can also mean teachers have a chance to build up resources

Copeland (1970) proposed for beginning teachers that they "allow only one group a day to do the practical "discovery" work while the others continue their regular routine. This will allow a pilot approach to the new procedure to see how it works, and later the program can broadened as the tacher feels more secure with it" (p.331). For particularly weary teachers, or those who are more comfortable in highly organized classroom atmospheres, this may be the best option. The bottom line is that experimentation with constructivism is far more beneficial for students than none at all.