Like so many things in life, the methods of teaching have also evolved. Traditionally, teachers instructed students in the course material rather than encourage students to be constructive and think for themselves.
Imagine a classroom where the teacher is the controller of the learning environment. The teacher is the instructor, dictating, lecturing and reading aloud curriculum content with specific outcomes. The teacher views learners as having ‘knowledge holes’ that need to be filled with information (Novak, 1998, pp. pp 24-25).
The traditional method of teaching regards the lesson content as the most important way of gaining knowledge. Students master knowledge through drill and practice for example, rote learning. Learning is often competitive and the most common seating arrangement is in rows.
Now, imagine a classroom where the teacher acts as a mediator or a coach who assists students to develop and assess their own understanding and learning. This notion of teaching is called constructivism, which had its beginning in the late 1980’s. Teachers struggled with this new concept as there was very little documentation and they did not know how to identify what they were doing. In the 1990’s books on constructivism abounded (Jonassen, 1994, pp. 34-37). The effective teacher in the year 2010 and beyond must continually seek to improve their knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach, embrace new methods of teaching and knowledge of their student’s capabilities in order to become exceptional. Effective teachers strive to create the best possible conditions for learning and continually endeavour to make learning as easy as possible for students (Ayers, Sawyer & Dinham as cited in Killen 2005). Constructivism in teaching has been proven to be most successful to impart knowledge to children in the learning environment (Fetherston, 2006, pp. 151-174).
A constructivist teacher will produce a classroom environment that will provide meaningful learning experiences, allowing students to hypothesize, manipulate, pose questions, do research, investigate, imagine and create. Students will use these experiences, information and perceptions to construct knowledge and meaning (Fetherston, 2006, pp. 151-174).
Below is a table outlining the major differences between traditional classrooms and constructivist classrooms:  
(Brooks & Brooks, 1993, p. x) (Writing, Table and Circular map on: Traditional Teaching vs Constructivism by Shereen McNally)
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