I'm Content with this class's Content

This is a picture of me involved in the balls and ramps activity. We were given instruction to build a ramp that went up at least three inches, and down at least three inches (not right after each other), and to have a ball go on it, and roll exactly 6 feet after completing the course.
While this learning experience was multi-purposeful and covered many of the goals' objectives, I found it to be drilling in an idea we had read and discussed in class a couple of days prior. I thought this activity was a huge example of constructivism. Before we started the activity we were to write down what we knew about balls and ramps. In this way, we were stating our prior knowledge, perhaps based on earlier teaching we had absorbed (aka physics class), or even past experiences and personal witnessing. Then once we had those ideas down, we were to "have at it". We had free range of different types of balls (golf, foam, steel) as well as cardboard box pieces, PVC pipes, and wooden blocks. In the beginning, my group was struggling to apply the objective information we had written on our slates, to this active learning, "hands on" situation we were in. Some things we thought would work did not; so consequently we were editing and adapting our theories and knowledge about balls and ramps as we went along.
This is totally constructivism. We learned about this in our reading, making it Understanding Content (in this class). It is the idea that when new information is offered, an individal appraises it and either rejects it, sticking with their old knowledge; or they save it so that it cooperates and harmonizes with their prior convictions; or finally, they let the new information completely override their earlier thoughts. Experiencing this personally let me realize that it is a very good method to use in the classroom because it humbles a child, without embarassing them in front of the class when they get something "wrong". They find it for themselves, and correct it for themselves. In order for my group to "succeed" (or be the closest group in our class to success), we had to leave behind some of our old thinking. It was hard, but necessary and in the end, good. Even though I read the online article about constructivism, and we talked about it in class, it was very helpful to see a real-life example and scenario (that I was in, no less) of it, to understand it even more fully.