Constructionism is a theory of learning articulated by Seymour Papert of the MIT Media Lab, most influentially in his 1980 book Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas, extending Jean Piaget's constructivism with the claim that learning happens best not merely through mental construction of knowledge but through the active construction of a tangible or shareable artifact in the world, such as a program, a machine or a piece of writing. Papert developed the Logo programming language partly to give children a concrete medium in which to build, test and revise their own ideas, treating the resulting artifact as an object to think with. The theory underpins much of the modern maker education and educational robotics movement, which favors hands-on building and tinkering over lecture-based instruction as the route to durable understanding.
Facts
Core ClaimTheory articulated by Seymour Papert (Mindstorms, 1980), extending Piagetian constructivism with the claim that learning happens best through building a tangible or shareable artifact. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationConstructionism (learning theory), Constructionism and technology sectionQuote, Constructionism (learning theory), Constructionism and technology section
Papert was a huge proponent of bringing technology to classrooms, beginning with his early uses of the Logo language to teach mathematics to children.
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