Constructivism
Our decision to focus on the concept of meaningful learning rather than constructivism may surprise many responsible for the classes taken by preservice teachers. The term constructivism is used so frequently. This frequency, we suggest, is a problem. What constructivism represents is vague and the term appears to be used inconsistently in some cases implying a general model of what learning is, in some cases as a philosophy of education, and in some cases as a proxy for "hands on" or "learner controlled" activities.
Like Ausubel's meaningful learning, constructivism generally argues that learners build personal understanding and that this constructive process can be facilitated by appropriate activities and a good learning environment (see, for instance, APA/BEA, 1995; Brooks & Brooks, 1999; Knapp & Glenn, 1996). There is, however, no single, official explanation for what constructivism represents. The term has been used to address a wide range of issues, from the psychology of individual learning to philosophical reflections on science as a mechanism for pursuing knowledge (Loving, 1997). Some extreme constructivist positions may be disruptive to those of us attempting to bring practical solutions to classroom teachers, and we are in agreement with those, such as Loving, who advocate a balanced approach.
Probably the two most generally accepted principles of constructivism are these:
- What a person knows is not passively received, but actively assembled by the learner (Jonassen, 1991; Wheatley, 1991).
- In most circumstances, learning serves an adaptive function. That is, the role of learning is to help the individual operate within his or her personal world.
These two principles of constructive learning lead to at least three significant practical implications:
1. Responsibility for learning. The student accomplishes learning, and learning is the result of mental work. Learners must mentally act on the information they receive to create personal understanding and transform information into knowledge. Teachers must recognize that the presentation of information by itself may not result in the generation of knowledge. Teachers cannot directly control the mental behaviors that result in learning, but they may be able to model effective learning behaviors for students, and they may assist students by engaging them in activities that facilitate or encourage productive mental activity. Teachers play an important but indirect role.
2. The context of learning. Context has a lot to do with what the learner perceives as useful knowledge and how he or she integrates new experiences with existing knowledge. In the most critical sense, does the student see connections between the part of his or her world identified as "school" and the part identified as "real life"? A student who perceives little or no connection, constructivists argue, will not build much personal knowledge.
3. The purpose of education. Constructivists content that the primary purpose of education is not the acquisition of universal truths. Because each person has different experiences and is assumed to construct an individual interpretation of these experiences, each person's reality is slightly different. Learning means acquiring not abstract general truths but useful personal knowledge.