Constructivism is a theory of both knowing and learning and this succinct review aims to explore both of these areas with slightly more emphasis on the learning side of the theory. The way in which knowledge is conceived and acquired, the types of knowledge, skills and activities emphasised, the role of the learner and the teacher, how goals are established: all of these factors are articulated differently in the constructivist perspective. Within constructivism, like cognitivism, there are different theories based on different constructivist perspectives.
From the individual constructivist perspective, knowledge is constructed internally, and tested through interaction with the outside world (Biggs 1993). Individual constructivism developed as a reaction to the behaviourist and information-processing theories of learning and it conceptualises learning as the result of constructing meaning based on an individual’s experience and prior knowledge (Lowenthal & Muth 2008). From a Vygotskian social constructivist prospective, knowledge is thought to develop internally
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but in a process driven by social interaction with the outside world (Cobb 1996), hence social constructivists believe that learning occurs via the construction of meaning in social interaction, within cultures, and through language (Lowenthal & Muth 2008). From this perspective, the context, and particularly the social context, is of prime importance. It is the context which brings about knowledge development within individual students (Marton & Booth 1997).
Another type of constructivism that is popular among educationalists is radical constructivism. From a radical constructivist perspective, knowledge consists of mental constructs which have satisfied the constraints of objective reality. The learner constructs knowledge from his experiences in an effort to impose order on and hence make sense of those experiences (Hardy & Taylor 1997). Radical constructivism starts from the assumption that knowledge, no matter how it is defined, is in the heads of persons, and that the thinking subject has no alternative but to construct what he or she knows on the basis of his or her experience (Von Glasersfeld 1995).
While the radical and social perspectives of constructivism each emphasise particular distinctive points of theory, Ernest (1995, p. 485) argues that there is a set of theoretical underpinnings common to both:
knowledge as a whole is problematised, not just the learner's subjective knowledge, but including mathematical knowledge;
methodological approaches are required to be much more judicious and spontaneous because there is no road to truth or near truth;
the focus of concern is not just the learner's cognitions, but the learner's cognitions, beliefs, and conceptions of knowledge;
the focus of concern with the teacher and in teacher education is not just with the teacher's knowledge of subject matter and diagnostic skills, but with the teacher's belief, conceptions, and personal theories about subject matter, teaching, and learning;
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although we can tentatively come to know the knowledge of others by interpreting their language and actions through our own conceptual constructs, the others have realities that are independent of ours. Indeed, it is the realities of others along with our own realities that we strive to understand, but we can never take any of these realities as fixed;
an awareness of the social construction of knowledge suggests a pedagogical emphasis on discussion, collaboration, negotiation, and shared meanings.
With regards to learning and the constructivist conception of learning, Von Glasersfeld (1995, p. 14) argues that: “From the constructivist perspective, learning is not a stimulus- response phenomenon; it requires self-regulation and the building of conceptual structures through reflection and abstraction”. In this paradigm, learning emphasises the process and not the product. How one arrives at a particular answer, and not the retrieval of an 'objectively true solution', is what is important. Learning is a process of constructing meaningful representations, of making sense of one's experiential world. In this process, students' errors are seen in a positive light and as a means of gaining insight into how they are organising their experiential world. The notion of doing something 'right' or 'correctly' is to do something that fits with "an order one has established oneself" (Von Glasersfeld, 1987, p. 15).
In this paragraph the learning process as it occurs in constructivism is illustrated descriptively. When a physical or mental action fails to produce a desired or expected result, a perturbation arises and the accommodation cycle begins (Von Glaserfeld 1989b). The experience is distinguished from its unperturbed counterparts, and the learner strives to resolve the perturbation. During this quest, the learner re-presents and compares experiences in an effort to determine what was unique about the perturbing experience and why her or his initial model of experience failed to account for it. Further, the learner often examines consciously his/her experiential model, by engaging in reflected abstraction in order to understand why his/her initial action produced an unexpected or undesired result. Regardless, while developing a viable solution the learner uses reflected abstraction to reorganise his or her model of experience and the activity that is guided by that model.
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Once a viable solution is constructed the perturbation is neutralised and cognitive equilibrium is re-established. Constructivist theory, therefore, suggests that in order to learn individuals must rationalise novel perceptions in light of their current knowledge.