The basic content of constructivist learning theory can be explained from two aspects: the meaning of learning (that is, what is learning) and the method of learning (that is, how to learn).
1. Constructivism on the meaning of learning holds that knowledge is not acquired by teachers, but by learners in a certain situation, that is, under the social and cultural background, with the help of others (including teachers and learning partners), using necessary learning materials and through the way of meaning construction. Because learning is a process of meaning construction under a certain situation, that is, social and cultural background, with the help of others, that is, through interpersonal cooperation activities, constructivism learning theory holds that "situation", "cooperation", "conversation" and "meaning construction" are the four major elements or attributes in the learning environment. "Situation": The situation in the learning environment must be conducive to students' construction of the meaning of what they have learned. This puts forward new requirements for teaching design, that is to say, in the constructivist learning environment, teaching design should not only consider the analysis of teaching objectives, but also consider the creation of situations conducive to students' constructive meaning, and take the creation of situations as one of the most important contents of teaching design. "Collaboration": Collaboration occurs in the whole learning process. Collaboration plays an important role in the collection and analysis of learning materials, the proposition and verification of hypotheses, the evaluation of learning achievements and the final construction of meaning. "Conversation": Conversation is an indispensable link in the process of collaboration. The members of the study group must discuss how to complete the prescribed study task plan through conversation; In addition, the process of collaborative learning is also a dialogue process, in which each learner's thinking achievement (wisdom) is shared by the whole learning group, so dialogue is one of the important means to realize meaning construction. "Meaning construction": This is the ultimate goal of the whole learning process. Therefore, the meaning of construction refers to the nature, laws and internal relations of things. In other words, the amount of knowledge gained depends on the learners' ability to construct the meaning of knowledge according to their own experience, not on the learners' ability to remember and recite what the teacher taught.
2. Methodology Constructivism of learning advocates learner-centered learning under the guidance of teachers, that is, it not only emphasizes the cognitive role of learners, but also ignores the guiding role of teachers. Teachers are helpers and promoters of meaning construction, rather than imparting and inculcating knowledge. Students are the subject of information processing and the active constructor of meaning, not the passive receiver and indoctrination object of external stimuli. Students should become active constructors of meaning, which requires students to play the main role in the learning process from the following aspects:
(1) Construct the meaning of knowledge through exploration and discovery;
(2) In the process of constructing meaning, students are required to actively collect and analyze relevant information and materials, and put forward various assumptions about the problems they have learned and verify them;
(3) Try to connect what is reflected in the current learning content with what you already know, and seriously think about this connection.
Teachers should become helpers in the construction of students' meaning, which requires teachers to play a guiding role in the teaching process from the following aspects:
(1) Stimulate students' interest in learning and help them form learning motivation;
(2) By creating a situation that meets the requirements of teaching content, we can prompt the clues of the connection between old and new knowledge and help students construct the meaning of what they have learned.
(3) In order to make meaning construction more effective, teachers should organize collaborative learning under possible conditions and guide the process of collaborative learning to make it develop in a direction conducive to meaning construction. The methods of guidance include: raising appropriate questions to arouse students' thinking and discussion; Try to guide the questions step by step in the discussion to deepen students' understanding of what they have learned; It is necessary to inspire and induce students to discover laws and correct and supplement wrong or one-sided understanding.