Constructivism

Many educational psychologists were more concerned with what was going on inside the human brain than how to get in.  Dewey (1916), Piaget (1973), Vygotsky (1978) and Bruner (1996) each proposed that learners could learn actively and construct new knowledge based on their prior knowledge.  In these perspectives, the role of the instructor is a facilitator (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998).  For Dewey (1916), a situation represents the experiences of the environment affecting the learner, and interaction takes place between the learner and his or her environment.  So, knowledge is based on active experience.  However, Piaget and Dewey each believed that the educator's role involves the shaping of learners' real experience from the environment, and knowing what surroundings tend to promote experiences that lead to growth (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998).

Dewey (1916) considered that the main function of education was to improve the reasoning process.  He also recommended adapting his problem-solving method to many subjects.  A student who is not motivated will not really perceive a problem, so problems selected for study should be derived from learner interests (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998).  Therefore, the methods of constructivism emphasize development of learner's ability in solving real life problems.  As a result, problem solving and free discovery come together.  In other words, knowledge is dynamic and is built around the process of discovery (Dewwy, 1916).  Dewey considered the teacher as a guide rather than a director since learning allowed for creative interaction with the teacher rather than outcome-based teaching.

Vygotsky placed more emphasis on the social context of learning.  Vygotskian theory, emphasizes the importance of the socio-cultural context in which learning takes place and how the context has an impact on what is learned (Vygotsky, 1978).   Since Vygotsky emphasized the critical importance of interaction with people, including other learners and teachers, in cognitive development, his theory is called "social constructivism" (Maddux, Johnson and Willis, 1997).  Much of collaborative problem solving strategy is built on the best known of Vygotsky ideas, the zones of proximal development (ZPD).

Source: TYLEC handout - 'Toward constructivism for adult learners in online learning environments' Huang, H-M., British Journal of Educational Technology Volume 33 No 1, 2002 pp 27-37