Constructivism (learning theory)

Constructivism is a theory of knowledge (epistemology) that argues that humans generate

knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas. Piaget
called these systems of knowledge schemata. Constructivism is not a specific pedagogy,
although it is often confused with constructionism, an educational theory developed by
Seymour Papert, inspired by constructivist and experiential learning ideas of Jean Piaget.
Piaget's theory of constructivist learning has had wide ranging impact on learning theories
and teaching methods in education and is an underlying theme of many education reform
movements. Research support for constructivist teaching techniques has been mixed, with
some research supporting these techniques and other research contradicting those results.

Formalization of the theory of constructivism is generally attributed to Jean Piaget, who

articulated mechanisms by which knowledge is internalized by learners. He suggested that
through processes of accommodation and assimilation, individuals construct new knowledge
from their experiences. When individuals assimilate, they incorporate the new experience
into an already existing framework without changing that framework. This may occur when
individuals' experiences are aligned with their internal representations of the world, but may
also occur as a failure to change a faulty understanding; for example, they may not notice
events, may misunderstand input from others, or may decide that an event is a fluke and is
therefore unimportant as information about the world. In contrast, when individuals'
experiences contradict their internal representations, they may change their perceptions of the
experiences to fit their internal representations. According to the theory, accommodation is
the process of reframing one's mental representation of the external world to fit new
experiences. Accommodation can be understood as the mechanism by which failure leads to
learning: when we act on the expectation that the world operates in one way and it violates
our expectations, we often fail, but by accommodating this new experience and reframing our
model of the way the world works, we learn from the experience of failure, or others' failure.

It is important to note that constructivism is not a particular pedagogy. In fact, constructivism

is a theory describing how learning happens, regardless of whether learners are using their
experiences to understand a lecture or following the instructions for building a model
airplane. In both cases, the theory of constructivism suggests that learners construct
knowledge out of their experiences. However, constructivism is often associated with
pedagogic approaches that promote active learning, or learning by doing.

Constructivist Philosophy

Many educators have adopted a constructivist approach to teaching.  This philosophy

represents a change from education based on behaviourism to education based on cognitive
theory.  Learners construct their own knowledge by interacting with their environment. 
Today, many opportunities for constructivist learning are available in hypertext learning
environments, such as the World Wide Web, where students discover and interact in a
network of information and resources in the pursuit of learning.  Gagnon & Collay (n.d.) have
identified four epistemological assumptions fro constructivist learning:

1. Knowledge is constructed by learners who are involved in active learning;

 2. Knowledge is symbolically constructed by learners who are making their own
representations of action;
3. Knowledge is socially constructed by learners who guide their meaning making to
others; and;
4. Knowledge is theoretically constructed by learners who try to explain things they
don't completely understand.

Constructivist theory in counseling

Constructivist theory offers alternative approaches to counselling. Based on holistic approach,

constructivism emphasizes the self-organizing principles underlying human experience.

Within this proactive, constructivist framework several core counseling approaches were
identified as important for counsellors. The more essential ones will be summarized below.

MEANING-MAKING

One of the basic tenets of a constructivist approach is that people are meaning-makers. Terms such
as "autopoesis," "sense-making," "self-organizing," and "meaning-making" have been researched
and described by numerous constructivist writers (Carlsen, 1988; Mahoney, 1991) and include
specific references to how people interpret the events of their lives in the pursuit of meaning. A
constructivist premise is that career information is enhanced significantly when personal meanings
become the central task of the counseling session.

NARRATIVE

Perhaps the most ubiquitous meaning-making opportunity is that which exists while clients are
relating important events in their lives. Counselors can significantly enhance their understanding of
client self-organizing processes by listening carefully to the words and phrases used when clients
relate an event or story. Although this appears to be rather obvious, professionals often overlook the
positive impact of using clients' own interpretations as evidence of their meaning systems.
Furthermore, collaborating with clients to create stories featuring possible, future selves (Markus &
Nurius, 1986) greatly increases the likelihood of client growth and change.

POWER

Counselors need to become aware of the ways in which they either empower or disempower clients
through their counseling approaches. A traditional "test them and tell them" approach to
counseling, for example, can disempower the client when the counselor assumes an expert position
regarding the client's personhood.