Constructivism emphasizes the importance of the knowledge, beliefs, and skills an individual brings to the experience of learning. It recognizes the construction of new understanding as a combination of prior learning, new information, and readiness to learn. Individuals make choices about what new ideas to accept and how to fit them into their established views of the world.

Constructivist teachers refer to raw data, primary sources, and interactive materials to provide experiences for their students rather than relying solely on another's set of data.

The premises of constructivism as an epistemology are:

• 1) Knowledge is constructed, not transmitted.
• 2) Prior knowledge impacts the learning process.
• 3) Initial understanding is local, not global.
• 4) Building useful knowledge structures requires effortful and purposeful activity.
• 5) The interpretation of stimuli depends upon previously constructed learning .

Constructivist approached is based upon the belief that:

1) Students come into our planetariums with an established world-view, formed by years of prior experience and learning.
2) A student's world-view filters all experiences and affects their interpretation of observations. They come in with certain expectations about what is going to happen.
3) Students are emotionally attached to their world-views and will not give up their world-views easily.
4) Challenging, revising, and restructuring one's world-view requires much effort.

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The Constructivist Planetarium

In the constructivist planetarium, the Planetarian is not someone who simply dispenses information, but structures activities that allow the student to learn or construct desired concepts.

Active Learning in the Planetarium

• Central is showing students how to learn.
• More emphasis is placed on developing students’ skills - as observers and interpreters than on simply transmitting information.
• Students are involved in more than listening and watching. They point out the position of stars, planets, etc. in the planetarium sky. They measure changes in the sky.
• Students are involved in predicting next position of stars, of sun; they are involved in explaining what they observe.

Adapted from Bonwell, Charles C. and James A. Eison, Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom, 1991, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, Washington, D.C.

Teaching Strategies

Begin with fundamentals

Build on what students know. Use this as a starting point.

A photo visit to Roth Planetarium
Preparing your class for a visit to the Planetarium
The Actual Core program your class will see.
Review questions you can use after a planetarium visit.
Astronomy Resources

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