Learning professionals that understand the constructivist learning approach accept that their students bring their own individual experiences to the classroom everyday. Learners’ background and previous knowledge highly impacts their ability to learn. Therefore, learning professionals who are able to use constructivist learning theory in their training help their students understand their previous knowledge.

What is Constructivism?

Constructivism is a learning theory that focuses on active learning in which learners individually construct knowledge based on their past and present experiences. The theory can be traced back to educational psychology in the work of Jean Piaget in the 19th century. In this learning approach learners are actively thinking, analyzing, incorporating, and applying what they learned with what they already know. Constructivists do not share the stance of behaviorists who claim that knowledge is independent of the mind. Rather they view learning as a non-linear process, it is an open-ended journey with unknown goals.

Principles of Constructivism:

There are many elements and principles of constructivism that shape the way the theory works. The different principles of constructivism include:

Major key points underpinning the cognitive learning theory:

1. Knowledge is constructed – each learner begins the learning journey with some previous knowledge and then continues to build their understanding on top of that. Individual learners will select which pieces of the experience they should add onto their knowledge.
2. Learning is a social activity – interacting with others is important in constructing knowledge. Group work, discussions, and interactions are all crucial to creating understanding.
3. Learning is an active process – learners must actively engage in discussions and activities in order to construct knowledge. Learners should not take on a passive role and retain information. In order to build meaningful ideas, there must be active engagement.
4. Learning is contextual – learners learn by creating connections between what they believe and the information they already have. Learning occurs within the context of our lives. We reflect on our lives and classify the new information as it fits into our current perspective.
5. People learn to learn, as they learn – as each learner moves through the learning journey, they get better at selecting and organizing information. They are able to better classify ideas and create more meaningful systems of thought.
6. Learning exists in the mind – hands-on activities and physical experience are not enough to retain knowledge. Active engagement and reflection are critical to the learning journey. In order to develop a detailed understanding, learners must experience activities mentally as well.
7. Knowledge is personal – because learner’s have different perspectives, so will the knowledge gained. Every learner comes into the learning journey with their own set of experiences and will take away different things as well.
8. Motivation is key to learning – learners will not be able to learn if they are unwilling to reflect on pre-existing knowledge and activate their thought process. It is important that learning professionals work to motivate their students to be engaged in the learning journey.

Application of Constructivism:

It’s important to understand how learning professionals can apply constructivism in their classrooms to create a unique learning environment for their learners. The goal is to create a learning environment that promotes active engagement. There are four key components that are important to the success of a constructivist classroom. These are:

1. The instructor takes on the role of the facilitator and not that of a director – instructor is responsible for carrying on the role of the negotiator and for guiding and interacting with learners

2. There is equal authority and responsibility between the learners and the instructor – shared authority in the sense that the instructor / instructors encourage students and provide feedback while learners should be given the opportunity to reflect on their understanding and demonstrate their learning.

3. Learning occurs in small groups – learning activities occur when a group of 2 or more learners work together and teach one another.

4. Knowledge is shared between both the learner and the instructor – instructors assist students in creating knowledge through interaction and engagement in turn, students build knowledge based on their prior understanding of those interactions. Those four key points must be taken into account in order for the implementation of constructivism in the classroom to be successful. With those four key components being understood the distinction between the constructivist classroom and the traditional classroom becomes clear. Constructivist classrooms are more student-centered and the learning journey revolves around the interests and questions of the learners. Instructors guide the learning process by implementing group activities and facilitating interactive experiences. Learners, on the other hand, build on their prior knowledge and construct new understanding based on the lessons taught.

In conclusion, constructivism is based on the idea that learning occurs when learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction rather than passively receiving information. Learners are the ones responsible for constructing their own meaning and knowledge. Constructivist teaching promotes critical thinking and independent learners.