Constructivism depends upon students exploring their cultural upbringing and background to arrive at their own version of truth in the educational setting. If students have been raised and taught as passive learners, a constructivist teacher guides them to this awareness. Choose a novel, article or other reading that explores the traditions of a specific culture. Ask students to write a short response paper about how the reading makes them feel, whether or not they can relate and how this reading changes their views in some way. Students share pieces, then discuss how each student takes and gives something unique to each lesson.
Constructivist teaching encourages students to engage in personal research. With the guidance of the teacher, the student has almost total control over what she researches, how she researches it and how she presents the information to the teacher and the class through her project. The teacher oversees the process to make sure the student covers the topic in full with her methods. When teacher and student disagreements arise, the teacher discusses his thoughts with the student as an equal and comes to a compromise.
Constructivist learning is, above all, active rather than passive on the part of the students. Examples of active learning include science experiments, creative projects, field trips, working in small groups and student presentations. Students spend very little time sitting in their chairs listening to the teacher lecture. This minimizes the opportunity for students to "check out" while the material is being taught during class time.
Discussion is a key component of a constructivist classroom. The teacher constantly checks in with students through discussion and reflection to make sure she's allowing them to learn through leading. The arrangement of a discussion in a constructivist classroom is casual and inclusive. Students often lead discussions, take turns speaking in a flowing, free-form style and bounce ideas off each other with minimal teacher intervention.