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An IERI – International Educational Research Institute Journal

Table 1 Differences between traditional and constructivist models of instruction

From: What works where? The relationship between instructional variables and schools' mean scores in mathematics and science in low-, medium-, and high-achieving countries

Traditional instruction

Instruction inspired by constructivism

Emphasis on basic skills

Bias toward higher order skills

Subject matter orientation

Emphasis on learning processes and cognition

Structured approach

Discovery learning

Abstract-generalized knowledge

Situation specific knowledge

Standardized achievement tests

Performance assessment