It's about constructivism

 

Constructivism, a learning theory informed by cognitive psychology, educational research, and neurological science, views learning as the product of experience and social discourse. Constructivists consider learning to be an individual and personal event. The following principles¹ are based on the work of various constructivist theorists and are offered as a framework for this discussion. 

 Constructivism is a theory of learning, but it does not dictate how that theory should be translated into classroom practice. It is up to teachers and other educators to provide environments that support the ways students learn--learner-centered classrooms. Lessons that allow little opportunity for student response or discussion are not learner-centered; the focus is on the text or on the teacher. Such teacher-centered classrooms are often described as "traditional," although there are many time-honored instructional strategies that do not fit the teacher-centered model. To contrast the differences between a teacher-centered ("traditional") classroom and a learner-centered classroom, let's visit two seventh grade social studies classes studying U. S. geography.

The teacher begins the unit by having the students read aloud from their textbook's chapter on the Great Lakes states. As they read, the teacher writes new vocabulary words on the chalkboard. Using their textbook, the students identify these words and answer questions from the end of the chapter. The teacher checks for student understanding by asking short-answer questions ("Jim, what is the primary product of the Great Lakes area? Jackie, what is the difference between spring wheat and winter wheat?"), and by giving the students a blank map to fill in the state names in the region. Students check each other's homework, which is the completion of moderate-length sentences from a worksheet (How has state legislation recently affected commerce in Wisconsin?). During one class period, the teacher shows a film about the history of the railroad and its impact on Chicago. Students are reminded they will be tested on the content of the film and they should ask any questions they have about it. There are no student questions. As a review, the students play a game based on important facts and vocabulary, and a written test completes the unit.  

if you want read detail about this you can open this link..
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html

by : hendri