• What is Constructivism
• What is the special Meaning for eLearning?
• Which eLearning Tools make use of Constructivism and in what point exactly?
• References
• Other Learning Theories

What is Constructivism

Constructivism is basically a theory — based on observation and scientific study — about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know.

In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different teaching practices. In the most general sense, it usually means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing. The teacher makes sure she understands the students' preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then build on them.
(simone)

Traditional Classroom	Constructiv Classroom
Curriculum begins with the parts of the whole.	Curriculum emphasizes big concepts, beginning with the whole and expanding to include the parts.
Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is highly valued.	Pursuit of student questions and interests is valued.
Materials are primarily textbooks and workbooks.	Materials include primary sources of material and manipulative materials.
Learning is based on repetition.	Learning is interactive, building on what the student already knows.
Teachers disseminate information to students; students are recipients of knowledge.	Teachers have a dialogue with students, helping students construct their own knowledge.
Teacher's role is directive, rooted in authority.	Teacher's role is interactive, rooted in negotiation.
Assessment is through testing, correct answers.	Assessment includes student works, observations, and points of view, as well as tests. Process is as important as product.
Knowledge is seen as inert.	Knowledge is seen as dynamic, ever changing with our experiences
Students work primarily alone.	Students work primarily in groups.

(simone)

What is the special Meaning for eLearning?

Constructivism is now one of the dominant pedagogies used in education. It encourages learners to build their own knowledge based on individual experience and apply this directly to their environment. The focus is on learning rather than teaching with the individual at the centre of a social process.

Constructivism is often considered the ideal pedagogy for e-learning as it both draws upon the strengths of the medium and best overcomes it weaknesses:

- constructivist pedagogy sees the learner at the centre of the learning experience rather than the tutor. In the e-environment it is difficult to maintain the traditional role of the tutor, but more than that, that Internet forces the student to actively engage in their learning and gives them such a degree of choice – of what to study, where to study, how to study and with whom. It is thus accelerating the process of placing the student at the centre of the learning experience.

- constructivist pedagogy sees knowledge being built and applied according to individual experience. Elearning enables context-based, work-based learning.

- with the learner at the centre of the learning experience, students need to take responsibility for the learning. Online technologies easily allow students to record and reflect upon their learning.

- constructivist pedagogy sees the learner as an active participant in their learning experience rather than a passive vessel to be filled with information. E-learning forces learners to be adventurers seeking out information, making connections and building knowledge.

- constructivism sees learning as a social experience, hence dialogue and collaboration are crucial. Elearning easily enables communication between learners without the barriers of time and place.
(Simone)

Which eLearning Tools make use of Constructivism and in what point exactly?

- every eLearning tool uses the learner-centered view which fits to the constructivist ideas
- people creating their own content are active especially in blogs and LCMS
- Web Quests (Web Quests are a didactic concept from the US on how to most successfully use the internet for a web search. It is organized with an
Introduction, Task, Process and Evaluation. To see examples click: http://webquest.org/index-create.php. There you can also create your own WebQuest?.)

References

http://www.13.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub1.html
(simone)

E-learning and constructivism
Learning & Teaching Enhancement Unit (LTEU)
Canterbury Christ Church University College
www.canterbury.ac.uk
(pdf is in attached file ;)
(Simone)

Dodge, B. (1997), Some thoughts about WebQuests?, URL: http: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html.

Wagner, W.-R. (2003), WebQuest? - ein didaktisches Modell zur Veraenderung der Lernkultur, URL: http://www.englisch.schule.de/wagner_webquestkonzept.pdf.

Other Learning Theories

Behaviorism (Pawlow, Skinner and Instructionalism)
Cognitivism (Bandura, Piaget)
Connectivism (Siemens)