In order for students to learn any subject the material must be meaningful! Students must be able to connect it to their lives. As a child, one of my favorite science projects was one where I collected samples of water from my local bay, ocean, river, canal, and lake. I had always spent a lot of time in and around water whether it was while swimming or boating. My project was to compare the salt contents of each of the bodies of water. I loved this experiment because it had real meaning in my life. After conducting the experiment I made connections between the way I felt after coming out of those bodies of water and the way the water tasted. I knew the ocean had the most salt and thats why my skin felt tight and dry after swimming in the ocean. I saw the salt in the cup after the water evaporated and made the connection to the salt I felt on my body after swimming.
Constructivists say we build meaning by connecting what we already know with what we have newly learned. This is why we need to present our students with topics that they can relate to. We must allow them to build on what they know so they can reach higher order thinking. Learning can not be done passively but rather, actively obtained by thriving learner.
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