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This week we will start looking at the constructivist theory of learning. Constructivism isn't a new theory, John Dewey advocated it at the turn of the century, Jean Piaget developed the theory based on his view of psychological development of children, as did Joseph Bruner, and more recently, Vygotsky with social constructivism.
Here are some basic principles of the constructivist learning theory:
- It takes time to learn - learning is not instantaneous.
- Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input and constructs meaning out of it.
- People learn to learn as they learn - learning consists both of constructing meaning and constructing systems of meaning.
- The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental.
- Learning is a social activity.
- Learning is contextual.
- One needs knowledge to learn - it is not possible to assimilate new
knowledge without having some structure developed from previous knowledge
to build on.
1. Chapter 11
