Philippine E-Journals

Traditional and Constructivist Teaching Approaches and Student Academic Performance in Social Studies

Rene A Japitana

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

An effective teacher incorporates a wide-ranging repertoire of various teaching and learning models, strategies, and techniques and is aware of the way to produce the right conditions for learning. This study was done to compare the constructivist approach and traditional approach to teaching and to determine their effectiveness in teaching social studies concepts. Two sections of the grade seven students of Saint Michael College of Caraga were involved. Learning plans and a checklist were developed according to constructivist and traditional approaches to teaching. The students’ academic performances were compared, and the significance of their difference was determined using the t‐test. After the study was conducted, it was found out that the students who were exposed to the constructivist approach and traditional approach to teaching had no significant difference in their academic performance after two grading periods. The study showed that there was no single better approach to teaching social studies. Educators and administrators can encourage their teachers to experiment with how useful constructivism and the traditional approach in other subject areas It was recommended that the administrators can provide training on the traditional and constructivist approaches with their teachers in planning activities in social studies.