Constructivism and its place with elearning.
Constructivism: the broader view of Constructionism
That guy Piaget seems to creep up in every uni subject! Firstly before i begin, i am not going to provide info on Piaget’s life and critique all his developmental theories. If you would like that sort of information click here. If not, please continue to read my thoughts.
So, what has old man Piaget got to do with elearning? I for one remember that he died in 1980 so he sure certainly didn’t contribute to online learning! Or did he…
I believe he did contribute to the wide world of elearning but indirectly.
Developmentalist Jean Piaget became well renown for his particular theory on Constructivism. AS the name implies, it is based on constructing- that children are making/creating something. ‘Constructivism — particularly in its “social” forms — suggests that the learner is much more actively involved in a joint enterprise with the teacher of creating (”constructing”) new meanings.’ (www.learningandteaching.info)
So basically im writing this blog to remind myself as a student teacher to not only use technology as a means to present or display information, but as a way students can discover, fiddle and build on their own learning and create new meanings. This can be done by just browsing the net or using creative programs like Scratch.
For further information and insight on Piaget and his constructivist theory, I recommend taking a a quick read of Gillani B, O’Guinn C.
