Constructivism, as it has been used in academic circles, is the reflective practice of philosophical and psychological understandings about how humans learn and take on new information so that it can be incorporated with previously held information and knowledge. It is a philosophical point of view about teaching and learning in that it values the idea that authentic learning can only be achieved when an individual learner is given the opportunity to process new information in ways that make sense to that individual. Constructivism further proposes that this authentic learning is best accomplished and processed in an interactive social context. A growing body of cognitive psychological research that spans the past 30 years supports this pedagogical point of view. By asking the question, "How do we learn?" researchers have investigated the mechanics of brain functioning to come up with new understandings and strategies for how humans take on new information and then move it from short term memory where it is quickly forgotten to long term memory where it can be used and incorporated with other information that is stored in that long term memory. In practice, then, constructivism can be best seen as a collection of teaching strategies that create learning environments through which individuals can process new information so that it can be incorporated into previously held knowledge and not forgotten. Spencer Kagan's Cooperative Learning methods and Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences reflect two of the most well known attempts to put cognitive research and constructivist philosophy into practice.

On the surface, cognitive psychology and constructivist pedagogy seem hard to dispute and thoroughly uncontroversial. In the world of educational politics, however, this researched based pedagogy has become a lightening rod for controversy. In the national education debates notable neo-conservative leaders from Rush Limbaugh and Lynn Cheney to former Secretary of Education William Bennett and educator E.D. Hirsch have vilified constructivist educational pedagogy as a source of evil and the reason for poor student academic achievement nationwide. In a widely circulated New York Times Op-Ed piece Cheney claimed that constructivism would ultimately lead to the collapse of our civilization. What truly ruffled the feathers of conservative politicos was the notion that American history when taught with constructivist strategies could lead students to "wrong" conclusions about the United States and its role in the world. If allowed to question historical decisions and analyze the actions of historical figures students might not come away from their studies with the proper patriotic understandings of our past. The sticking point here is that constructivism seeks to have students "construct" understandings that make sense to them instead of having information delivered to students in a packaged pre-digested way with ready made and "correct" conclusions. So great is the controversy that the National Standards for U.S. History, which were based on constructivist teaching strategies, were unanimously condemned (99-0) on the floor of the U.S. Senate in 1993. The resolution carried no enforcement weight, but conservative America clearly made its point. Now that we have a conservative presidential administration and a Department of Education growing with Lynn Cheney approved appointees these issues will reappear with great regularity and will filter down into the "No Child Left Behind" initiatives launched by the department.

Constructivism: A Quick Definition and list of Characteristics

Definition: Constructivism is a "view of learning in which learners use their own experiences to construct understandings that make sense to them, rather than having understanding delivered to them in already organized form….Learning activities based on constructivism put learners in the context of what they already know, and apply their understanding to authentic situations." (Kauchak & Eggen, 1998, p. 184)

Characteristics of Constructivist Teaching

• Learners construct their own understanding
• New learning depends on current understanding
• Learning is facilitated by social interaction
• Meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning tasks

  (Kauchak & Eggen, 1998, p. 185)

For further reading see:

Bruning, Roger H., Schraw, G. J., & Ronning, R. R. (1995). Cognitive Psychology and Instruction, 2nd edition. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

Kauchak, Donald P. & Eggen, P. D. (1998). Learning and Teaching: Researched-Based Methods. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

A Briefly Annotated Web-ography on Constructivism

http://tip.psychology.org/bruner.html reviews Bruner's theory on constructivism and connections to Piaget

http://www.funderstanding.com/index.html Web site dedicated to teaching methodologies

http://www.funderstanding.com/constructivism.cfm the constructivist page on the site

http://pdts.uh.edu/~srmehall/theory/social.html Page dedicated to Vygotsky's work on Social Constructivism

http://pdts.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/ET-IT/constr.htm Extremely useful site on Constructivism with many extra links to other locations, full of good ideas and thumbnail explanations of educational and pedagogical theories

http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/lindavr/home.htm Site defining and outlining Constructivism, Behaviorism and Instructional Design

http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n03/ Classroom Compass magazine -- the Winter 1994 issue with articles on Constructivist models for the mathematics classroom

http://www.sk.com.br/sk-vygot.html Explanation of Vygotsky's work and the theory of the Zone of Proximal Development

http://www.ic.polyu.edu.hk/posh97/Student/Learn/Learning_theories.html A page of comparative learning theories

http://www.univie.ac.at/constructivism/ The official Web site for Radical Constructivists