Social Constructivism

1. Theorist:
Lev Vygotsky- Vygotsky was a cognitivist, but rejected the assumption made by
cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry that it was possible to separate learning from its
social context.
John Dewey, Piaget- development of childhood social constructivisim.
Jerome Seymour Bruner- was an American psychologist who made significant
contributions to human cognitive psychology

2. Social constructivism teaches that all knowledge develops as a result of social interaction
and language use, and is therefore a shared, rather than an individual, experience.

3. For a learner, social constructivism in a educational setting offers freedom for the
students to think critically for themselves. It allows them to understand and question
ideas, and hopefully solve the ideas individually or with a group. It allows the classroom
to be mainly student centered.

4. For teachers, they act as the facilitator at most times. Instead of a teacher centered
classroom, all the attention goes to the students. The teacher should enhance and
challenge the thinking in the classroom, and ask more questions rather than answer. It is a
great way for students to understand the material without being forced to learn the
material.