Constructivism

1. Constructivism Constructivism means that knowledge is not given, but constructed. There are several flavors of constructivism, e.g., social constructivism or radical constructivism. Radical constructivists claim that there is no certainty in knowledge because there is no objective foundation for it. Social constructivists claim that all knowledge is built up by interaction among members of a group or culture. In their extreme, constructivists deny the relevance of empirical research for the acquisition of scientific knowledge or for practical work, e.g., in education. Contributor © POSbase 2004

2. Constructivism in cognition According to Anderson et al. (2000), proponents of constructivism subscribe to four central claims regarding education: 1. Knowledge cannot be instructed (transmitted) by a teacher, it can only be constructed by the learner. 2. Knowledge cannot be represented symbolically. 3. Knowledge can only be communicated in complex learning situations. 4. It is not possible to apply standard evaluations to assess learning. Anderson et al. (2000) criticized each of the above-mentioned claims of constructivism. © POSbase 2004