Constructivism as a theory for teaching and learning

Constructivism is ‘an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al., 2000, p. 256). In elaborating constructivists’ ideas Arends (1998) states that constructivism believes in personal construction of meaning by the learner through experience, and that meaning is influenced by the interaction of prior knowledge and new events.

Constructivism’s central idea is that human learning is constructed, that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning. 

What are the principles of constructivism?

Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or passively absorbed

Constructivism’s central idea is that human learning is constructed, that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning. 

This prior knowledge influences what new or modified knowledge an individual will construct from new learning experiences (Phillips, 1995).

Learning is an active process

The second notion is that learning is an active rather than a passive process. 

The passive view of teaching views the learner as ‘an empty vessel’ to be filled with knowledge, whereas constructivism states that learners construct meaning only through active engagement with the world (such as experiments or real-world problem solving). 

Information may be passively received, but understanding cannot be, for it must come from making meaningful connections between prior knowledge, new knowledge, and the processes involved in learning.

All knowledge is socially constructed

Learning is a social activity – it is something we do together, in interaction with each other, rather than an abstract concept (Dewey, 1938). 

For example, Vygotsky (1978), believed that community plays a central role in the process of “making meaning.” For Vygotsky, the environment in which children grow up will influence how they think and what they think about.

Thus, all teaching and learning is a matter of sharing and negotiating socially constituted knowledge.

All knowledge is personal

Each individual learner has a distinctive point of view, based on existing knowledge and values. This means that same lesson, teaching or activity may result in different learning by each pupil, as their subjective interpretations differ.

This principle appears to contradict the view the knowledge is socially constructed.

Although individuals have their own personal history of learning, nevertheless they can share in common knowledge

Fox (2001, p. 30)

Learning exists in the mind

The constructivist theory posits that knowledge can only exist within the human mind, and that it does not have to match any real world reality (Driscoll, 2000). 

Learners will be constantly trying to develop their own individual mental model of the real world from their perceptions of that world. 

As they perceive each new experience, learners will continually update their own mental models to reflect the new information, and will, therefore, construct their own interpretation of reality.