The pedagogical approach that asks learners to actively build their own understanding, often through class discussion and group work, linked to Piaget, Bruner and Vygotsky, and works well for extending thinking and developing independence.
Facts
Central QuestionHow does a learner actively build their own understanding from experience, rather than passively receive it? 1 Most Effective ForProblem-solving and critical-thinking tasks where learners connect new information to what they already know. 1 Constructivism
Filter Results4 entries
FAQs
Is constructivism's discovery-based approach actually better than direct instruction for students new to a topic?
Not according to a well-known challenge: Kirschner, Sweller and Clark argue that novice learners lack the prior knowledge to benefit from minimally guided discovery methods, and that cognitive-load research favours explicit, direct instruction with worked examples for this group.
Paul A. Kirschner, John Sweller and Richard E. Clark hold that minimally guided, discovery-style methods like constructivism's problem-solving emphasis are less effective for novice learners than explicit, direct instruction with worked examples. Their argument is that novices lack the prior knowledge to benefit from minimal guidance, and that cognitive load research favours explicit teaching for this group. The atlas records this as a live dissent on constructivism's own most-effective-for claim rather than settling the question either way: the debate over how much guidance a novice learner needs is unresolved in the research literature, not a matter this atlas takes a side on.
Connections
Associated With
Source Neuroconstructivism (Wikipedia)
PBL is a constructivist, learner-centered method built around student-directed inquiry into an open-ended problem.
Source Wikipedia: Problem-based learning
Whole language, the side of the Reading Wars dispute opposite phonics, draws on constructivist approaches to knowledge, emphasizing student interpretation of texts over decoding instruction.
Source Wikipedia
Developed By
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Includes
Source Anchored Instruction (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: APOS Theory
Source Appropriation of knowledge (Wikipedia)
Source Asynchronous learning (Wikipedia)
Source Authentic learning (Wikipedia)
Source Cognitive acceleration (Wikipedia)
Source Cognitive Apprenticeship (Wikipedia)
Source Commognition (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Community of Practice
Source Constructionism (learning theory) (Wikipedia)
Source Constructive alignment (Wikipedia)
Source Constructivism in science education (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Constructivist teaching methods
Source Culminating project (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Deanna Kuhn
Source Dialogue education (Wikipedia)
Source Distributed Cognition (Wikipedia)
Source Distributed Scaffolding (Wikipedia)
Source Dynamic assessment (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Educational theory of apprenticeship
Source Ernst von Glasersfeld (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Genetic Epistemology
Source Instructional Theory (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: John B. Biggs
Source Knowledge building (Wikipedia)
Source Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development (Wikipedia)
Dewey's experiential account is a principal ancestor of constructivist practice, alongside his standing as progressive education's leading theorist.
Source Simply Psychology
Source Wikipedia: Legitimate Peripheral Participation
Source Phenomenon-based learning (Wikipedia)
Source Private Speech (Wikipedia)
Source Quincy Method (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Radical Constructivism
Source Self-Authorship (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Situated Cognition
Source Social Interactionist Theory (Wikipedia)
Source Social learning (social pedagogy) (Wikipedia)
Source Student-Centered Learning (Wikipedia)
Source Writing across the curriculum, Wikipedia
Vygotsky's sociocultural account is the founding line of social constructivism.
Source Simply Psychology
Open Questions
Source Structural Learning, Pedagogy Explained
Policies Informed
POGIL's own live entity-description: a structure grounded in constructivist theory in which the instructor's role is to facilitate rather than to lecture.
In the Other Atlases
Same As
Also in Psychology Atlas: the same subject.
Sources
1. Simply Psychology
Simply PsychologyConstructivism as a Theory for Teaching and Learning page
Rather than passively receiving information, learners reflect on their experiences, create mental representations, and incorporate new knowledge into their schemas.
Constructivism as a Theory for Teaching and Learning page, applications
education should focus on problem-solving and critical thinking, encouraging learners to connect new information with prior knowledge
Includes: Zone of Proximal Development, Zone of Proximal Development page, sociocultural framing
Vygotsky emphasized that learning is a social process, where interaction and dialogue help students move from guided to independent mastery.
Includes: Learning by Doing, John Dewey on Education page, legacy
His stress on active, experience-based learning anticipated the constructivist theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.
Includes: Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development, Piaget's Theory and Stages page, constructivist framing
Children actively build up their knowledge about the world. They are not passive creatures waiting for someone to fill their heads with knowledge.
View the Source Structural Learning, Pedagogy Explained
Structural LearningPedagogy Explained, Five Pedagogical Approaches Explained, Constructivism
asks learners to actively build their own understanding...through class discussion and group work
- Open Questions: Does Direct Instruction or Discovery Learning Work Better for Novice Learners?, Pedagogy Explained, classroom guide, constructivism side of the debate
View the Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Social Constructivism, Social constructivism, lead section
Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge.
Includes: Instructional Scaffolding, Instructional scaffolding article, constructivist framing
Constructivists advocate that learning is better facilitated in a minimally guided environment where learners construct important information for themselves.
Associated With: Reading Wars, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_language, philosophy section
constructivist approaches to knowledge creation, emphasizing students' interpretations of texts and free expression of ideas in writing (often through daily journal entries)
View the Source The Marginalian
Includes: Discovery Learning, Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay, constructivist framingQuote, Includes: Discovery Learning, Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay, constructivist framing
Emphasis on discovery in learning has precisely the effect on the learner of leading him to be a constructionist, to organize what he is encountering.
View the Source Wikipedia: Problem-based learning
Neuroconstructivism (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Neuroconstructivism, See also sectionQuote, Associated With: Neuroconstructivism, See also section
Constructivism (psychological school)
View the Source Anchored Instruction (Wikipedia)
Includes: Anchored Instruction, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Anchored Instruction, Lead paragraph
Anchored Instruction is a technology centered learning approach, which falls under the social constructionism paradigm.
View the Source Dynamic assessment (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Dynamic Assessment, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Dynamic Assessment, Lead paragraph
Dynamic assessment is a product of the research conducted by developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky.
View the Source Social Interactionist Theory (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Social Interactionist Theory, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Social Interactionist Theory, Lead paragraph
It is based largely on the socio-cultural theories of Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky.
View the Source Private Speech (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Private Speech, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Private Speech, Lead paragraph
Private speech was first studied by Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget.
View the Source Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development, Lead paragraph
Lawrence Kohlberg's theory on the stages of moral development is an adaptation of a psychological theory originally conceived by the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget.
View the Source Appropriation of knowledge (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Appropriation of Knowledge, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Appropriation of Knowledge, Lead paragraph
Appropriation of knowledge is the process of constructing knowledge from social and cultural sources, and integrating it into pre-existing schemas.
View the Source Constructivism in science education (Wikipedia)
Includes: Constructivism in Science Education, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Constructivism in Science Education, Lead paragraph
Constructivism has been considered as a dominant paradigm, or research programme, in the field of science education since the 1980s.
View the Source Wikipedia: John B. Biggs
Includes: John B. Biggs, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: John B. Biggs, Lead paragraph, in-approach
John Burville Biggs (born 25 October 1934) is an Australian educational psychologist and novelist who developed the SOLO taxonomy for assessing the quality of learning outcomes, and the model of constructive alignment for designing teaching and assessment.
View the Source Distributed Cognition (Wikipedia)
Includes: Distributed Cognition, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Distributed Cognition, Lead paragraph, in-approach
Hutchins argues that mental representations, which classical cognitive science held are within the individual brain, are actually distributed in sociocultural systems that constitute the tools to think and perceive the world.
View the Source Commognition (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Commognition, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Commognition, Lead paragraph, in-approach
Commognition developed from Sfard's 1998 distinction between "acquisition" and "participation" metaphors for learning, an article that became one of the most cited in educational research.
View the Source Wikipedia: Community of Practice
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Community of Practice, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Community of Practice, Lead paragraph, in-approach
A community of practice (CoP), also called a vertical community, is a group of people who "share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly".
View the Source Wikipedia: Legitimate Peripheral Participation
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Lead paragraph, in-approach
Legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) describes how newcomers become experienced members and eventually old timers of a community of practice or collaborative project.
View the Source Wikipedia: Educational theory of apprenticeship
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Educational Theory of Apprenticeship, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Educational Theory of Apprenticeship, Lead paragraph, in-approach
The apprentice perspective is an educational theory of apprenticeship concerning the process of learning through active participation in the practices of the desired skills, such as during workplace training.
View the Source Wikipedia: Situated Cognition
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Situated Cognition, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Situated Cognition, Lead paragraph, in-approach
Situated cognition is a theory that posits that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts.
View the Source Distributed Scaffolding (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Distributed Scaffolding, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Distributed Scaffolding, Lead paragraph, in-approach
With many students and multiple different levels of skill or Zones of Proximal Development, there is a need to create many support structures that can properly address each student's developmental level.
View the Source Social learning (social pedagogy) (Wikipedia)
Includes: Social Learning (Social Pedagogy), Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Social Learning (Social Pedagogy), Lead paragraph, in-approach
Social learning (social pedagogy) is learning that takes place at a wider scale than individual or group learning, up to a societal scale, through social interaction between peers.
View the Source POGIL (Wikipedia)
Includes: POGIL, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: POGIL, Lead paragraph, in-approach
Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is an activity-based, group-learning instructional strategy.
View the Source Quincy Method (Wikipedia)
Includes: Quincy Method, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Quincy Method, Lead paragraph, in-approach
Emphasis was instead placed on social skills and self-expression through cultural activities and physical training, as well as teacher-prepared materials, experience-based learning and children's own writing.
View the Source Culminating project (Wikipedia)
Includes: Culminating Project, Lead paragraph, in-approachQuote, Includes: Culminating Project, Lead paragraph, in-approach
A culminating project (also known as a senior project, grad project or exit project), is a project that challenges high school seniors to demonstrate their academic knowledge in an experiential way (in most cases).
View the Source Ernst von Glasersfeld (Wikipedia)
Includes: Ernst von Glasersfeld, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Ernst von Glasersfeld, Lead section
Glasersfeld is known for the development of radical constructivism.
View the Source Wikipedia: APOS Theory
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: APOS Theory, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: APOS Theory, Lead section
APOS Theory takes a constructivist view towards mathematical learning.
View the Source Cognitive acceleration (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Cognitive Acceleration, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Cognitive Acceleration, Lead section
The approach builds on work by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky and takes a constructivist approach.
View the Source Phenomenon-based learning (Wikipedia)
Includes: Phenomenon-based learning, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Phenomenon-based learning, Lead section
Phenomenon-based learning is a constructivist form of learning or pedagogy, where students study a topic or concept in a holistic approach instead of in a subject-based approach.
View the Source Authentic learning (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Authentic Learning, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Authentic Learning, Lead section
Authentic learning, on the other hand, takes a constructivist approach, in which learning is an active process.
View the Source Dialogue education (Wikipedia)
Includes: Dialogue Education, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Dialogue Education, Lead section
Dialogue Education is a form of Constructivism and can be a means for Transformative learning, (Vella, 2004).
View the Source Wikipedia: Genetic Epistemology
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Genetic Epistemology, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Genetic Epistemology, Lead section
This theory opposes traditional epistemology and unites constructivism and structuralism.
View the Source Constructionism (learning theory) (Wikipedia)
Includes: Constructionism (education), Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Constructionism (education), Lead section
In this sense, constructionism is connected with experiential learning and builds on Jean Piaget's epistemological theory of constructivism.
View the Source Student-Centered Learning (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Student-Centered Learning, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Student-Centered Learning, Lead section
Student-centred learning theory and practice are based on the constructivist learning theory that emphasises the learner's critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience.
View the Source Knowledge building (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Knowledge Building, BodyQuote, Includes: Knowledge Building, Body
Knowledge building can be considered as deep constructivism that involves making a collective inquiry into a specific topic, and coming to a deeper understanding through interactive questioning, dialogue, and continuing improvement of ideas.
View the Source Wikipedia: Constructivist teaching methods
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Constructivist Teaching Methods, LeadQuote, Includes: Constructivist Teaching Methods, Lead
Constructivist teaching is based on constructivism.
View the Source Cognitive Apprenticeship (Wikipedia)
Includes: Cognitive Apprenticeship, LeadQuote, Includes: Cognitive Apprenticeship, Lead
Constructivist approaches to human learning have led to the development of the theory of cognitive apprenticeship.
View the Source Constructive alignment (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Constructive Alignment, LeadQuote, Includes: Constructive Alignment, Lead
Constructive alignment was devised by Professor John B. Biggs, and represents a marriage between a constructivist understanding of the nature of learning, and an aligned design for outcomes-based teaching education.
View the Source Wikipedia: Radical Constructivism
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Radical Constructivism, LeadQuote, Includes: Radical Constructivism, Lead
Radical constructivism is an approach to epistemology that situates knowledge in terms of knowers' experience.
View the Source Instructional Theory (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Instructional Theory, BodyQuote, Includes: Instructional Theory, Body
Originating in the United States in the late 1970s, instructional theory is influenced by three basic theories in educational thought: behaviorism, the theory that helps us understand how people conform to predetermined standards; cognitivism, the theory that learning occurs through mental associations; and constructivism, the theory explores the value of human activity as a critical function of gaining knowledge.
View the Source Asynchronous learning (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Asynchronous Learning, LeadQuote, Includes: Asynchronous Learning, Lead
In many instances, well-constructed asynchronous learning is based on constructivist theory, a student-centered approach that emphasizes the importance of peer-to-peer interactions.
View the Source Writing across the curriculum, Wikipedia
Includes: Writing Across the Curriculum, BodyQuote, Includes: Writing Across the Curriculum, Body
Janet Emig's 1977 article "Writing as a Mode of Learning," grounded in constructivist theories of education, suggested that writing functioned as a unique and invaluable way for students to understand and integrate information.
View the Source Self-Authorship (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Self-Authorship, BodyQuote, Includes: Self-Authorship, Body
The first assumption states people create knowledge by interpreting their personal experiences through what is known as constructivism.
View the Source Wikipedia: Deanna Kuhn
Includes: Deanna Kuhn, intro of the articleQuote, Includes: Deanna Kuhn, intro of the article
Her research program has focused on the development of scientific reasoning skills, critical thinking, metacognition, informal reasoning, and constructivist teaching methods, such as problem-based learning and collaborative learning.
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
Does Direct Instruction or Discovery Learning Work Better for Novice Learners?
Researchers disagree on how much guidance novice learners need. One line of research holds that minimally guided discovery approaches are less effective for novices than explicit teaching with worked examples, citing cognitive-load evidence; another finds well-designed guided inquiry can still be beneficial, arguing scaffolding quality and task design matter more than the direct-instruction-versus-discovery label itself.
What would resolve this Comparative studies that isolate the amount and quality of instructional scaffolding, rather than only labelling a method direct instruction or discovery learning, would show whether the disagreement is about guidance itself or about how well each approach is implemented.
Educational psychology and instructional designStructural Learning, Pedagogy Explained
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Most Effective For
Kirschner, Sweller and Clark hold that minimally guided, discovery-style methods like constructivism's problem-solving emphasis are less effective for novice learners than explicit, direct instruction with worked examples, arguing that novices lack the prior knowledge to benefit from minimal guidance and that cognitive load research favours explicit teaching for this group.
A dissenting reading, from Paul A. Kirschner, John Sweller and Richard E. ClarkStructural Learning, Pedagogy Explained, Structural Learning
Essays About This Entity (1 essay)
Constructivism as a Question About Authority
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