A Path to Unlocking Deep Learning in Science

For many educators, the term constructivism brings to mind a core principle from their teacher preparation. This foundational learning theory is a frequent topic in academic literature, appearing in peer-reviewed articles on platforms like EBSCOhost.

While the central tenet of constructivism—meaningful learning happens through active involvement—is widely understood, applying that is often challenging. In my work with teachers and curriculum specialists, I’ve found a fantastic entry point into constructivist theory: Shift the focus from just hands-on to encouraging minds-on learning. To truly embed this learning-by-doing approach—and meet the goals of modern frameworks like the Next Generation Science Standards—we can focus on four essential elements. Teachers who already use hands-on activities can make a smooth transition to constructivist approaches. Simple instructional shifts that leverage four elements can transform their practice.

The instructional design principles presented here are a way to think more purposefully about the nature of any design that has students’ engagement, deep conceptual understanding, and empowerment—all aims of constructivist learning—as curricular goals. These approaches are easy-entry points for teaching in constructivist ways and work for all students, no matter their age, background, or ability.

Essential Element 1: Activate Students’ Ideas

Students arrive at school as intellectually curious individuals with a wealth of knowledge gained from their lived experiences. They already engage in complex thinking—whether observing and wondering how to make an ice cube melt faster, exploring whether cars roll differently on various types of flooring, or constructing towers out of parts that seemingly stick together using magnetic tiles. As David Ausubel famously said, “The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach accordingly.”

Starting lessons with students’ ideas about instances or occurrences that exist in their lives and are related to the content makes learning meaningful and relevant, and primes their thinking about deeper learning soon to come.

Essential Element 2: Construct Evidence-Based Claims

While many of us recognize the ease with which we can start with students’ ideas, “teach accordingly” remains the challenge. There’s simply too much content to cover it all within the limited hours of the school day. Without a focus, the curriculum can become a series of disjointed lessons that amount to what Mike Schmoker identifies as “hundreds of hours of wasted class time each year.” Prioritizing evidence-based claims that students can make from a hands-on, minds-on experience is a powerful way to help finely focus the content on what is most essential for understanding.

The Framework for K–12 Science Education emphasizes a core approach to teaching and learning science, which involves three simultaneous dimensions: disciplinary core ideas (content), scientific and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts. To construct an evidence-based claim, students must integrate these components by analyzing data, identifying patterns, and forming scientific explanations.

Following the earlier examples mentioned in Essential Element 1, students can develop evidence-based claims by exploring how different materials affect an object’s movement. For example, testing cars on various floor types allows students to claim that the surface influences a car’s speed. They should support this assertion with quantitative evidence (such as timing the car’s speed) or qualitative evidence (such as observing the effort or force needed to push the car).

Similarly, using magnetic blocks can lead to claims about magnetic properties, such as that magnets selectively attract certain objects or that magnetic force (attraction and repulsion) works even without direct contact. The power in evidence-based claims extends past standards and constructivist theory. Evidence-based claims are foundational to cultivating the exact, analytical thinking demanded of true professionals. Analyzing ideas and data related to questions or problems is precisely the type of inquiry that leads to deeper understanding and empowers students to become more independent learners.

Essential Element 3: Enhance Learning

While a student’s ability to make evidence-based claims is a key destination in learning, many inherently abstract or complex concepts require more than a single exploration. Enhancements help refine and deepen students’ initial thoughts and explorations. The key to enhancements is that there’s a right time and place for these types of activities that ultimately support students’ experiences as they construct their evidence-based claims.

Enhancements through explanations like readings, discussion, academic vocabulary, or further elaborations confront limitations in students’ current understanding and guide them toward more sophisticated concepts. For instance, teachers might introduce ideas associated with unbalanced forces and how a greater push or pull in one direction impacts motion, or the fact that magnetic forces exist between objects and do not require them to touch (non-contact force). These activities aren’t merely supplementary—they’re integral to helping students make connections between their developing understanding and broader principles—and often show up on state or national assessments.

While foundational knowledge sets the stage, true mastery often comes from further explorations that elaborate on students’ experiences. Instead of just solving problems, answering questions, or addressing writing prompts in the textbook, students can tackle variations in their initial explorations and explanations that require them to adapt their understanding. For instance, students might elaborate on how different push forces are needed to make a car go up- or downhill. Similarly, they might have elaborate experiences with magnetic fields to see if they can arrange magnetic rings so they “float.”

Essential Element 4: Promote Reflection

A goal of constructivist thinking is that students play an active role in learning new content and constructing knowledge of their own abilities from learning by doing and thinking about the process. This process of reflection involves students considering their own learning processes and strategies, evaluating their understanding, and setting goals for further improvement and is a key feature of sensemaking lessons. Reflection can be as easy as an exit ticket that asks students to revisit their incoming ideas and provide a new, scientific explanation with reasons for their developing understandings (e.g., I use to think that [fill in the blank], but now I think [fill in the blank], because [fill in the blank]).

In sensemaking lessons that purposefully include reflection, students actively engage in activities such as self-assessment, goal-setting, and reflection; are more likely to achieve greater academic success; feel that they’re part of a community of learners; and feel more empowered to learn by doing on their own than their peers who don’t engage in these practices.

Putting it all Together: Explore Before Explain

Activating students’ prior knowledge, offering them opportunities to make evidence-based claims from firsthand experiences, and providing strategic enhancements allow educators to truly ignite learning from students’ initial curiosities. The power of these variables comes alive when applied through an explore-before-explain model. This approach purposefully sequences learning to maximize impact, leveraging the compounding of these variables to profoundly influence student outcomes.

By moving beyond traditional methods and intentionally integrating these four essential features into your instructional design, you can empower students to become confident, analytical, and curious learners who are prepared for the challenges of a complex world. This purposeful approach ensures that learning covers content and cultivates a deeper, more lasting understanding that will serve them long after they leave the classroom.