Constructivism
Constructivism is the name of a school of educational philosophy aligned with the cognitive developmental theories of Jean Piaget and social developmental theories of Lev Vygotsky
Constructivism assumes that knowledge is constructed by learners as they try to make sense of their experiences. Learners interpret new information and connect this information to structures established from prior experience. Acquisition of knowledge requires the learner to construct new relationships among existing structures. The process of building new relationships is foundation to problem solving, learning, reasoning,and critical thinking.
Basic Premises
- Learners construct new understandings using what they already know. Students come to learning situations with knowledge gained from previous experience, and that prior knowledge influences what new or modified knowledge they will construct from new learning experiences.
- Learning is active rather than passive. Learners apply current understandings, judge the consistency of prior and emerging knowledge, and modify their understanding if necessary.
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