Learning Theories: Constructivism

Constructivism focuses on how learners actively construct meaning by linking new information to prior knowledge, experiences, attitudes, and beliefs. It is learner centered. Instructors facilitate through questions, scaffolds, and feedback rather than simply transmitting content.

What it is

• Constructivism is often viewed as related to cognitivism yet distinct because it emphasizes the learner’s lived experiences during knowledge construction.
• Learners connect new content to existing schemas and to personal experiences in order to make meaning.
• Instructional role shifts toward facilitating, guiding, and providing timely feedback while learners take active responsibility.

Discovery Learning

Discovery learning invites students to uncover relationships and concepts themselves. Rather than telling, instructors provide materials, prompts, and tasks so that learners generate the principle. Bruner championed this approach and argued it supports retention and transfer.

• Example Students measure several circles and compute circumference divided by diameter. They notice the ratio is about 3.14 and then formalize pi as a constant. Discussion addresses variability from measurement error.
• Potential benefits active engagement, motivation, autonomy and responsibility, creativity and problem solving, tailoring to individual pathways.
• Common criticisms possible cognitive overload, risk of misconceptions if guidance is absent, difficulty detecting errors when students work independently or only with peers.

Criticism

• Without appropriate scaffolding, discovery activities can overload working memory and allow misconceptions to persist.
• Instructors may struggle to observe and correct thinking in real time if too much responsibility is shifted too early.

Social Development Theory

Vygotsky argued that social interaction precedes and drives cognitive development. Meaning is deepened through dialogue and collaboration. Learning is more effective when learners interact with a more knowledgeable other such as an instructor, coach, peer with greater expertise, or even a computer system that provides guided support.

Zone of Proximal Development

The zone of proximal development, or ZPD, is the distance between what a learner can do unaided and what the learner can achieve with guidance. Scaffolding provides just-in-time support that allows the learner to operate inside the ZPD and then internalize skills for independent performance.

• Inner circle: what the student can do alone.
• Middle circle: what the student can do with guidance and scaffolding.
• Outer circle: what the student cannot do yet.

Implications in Teaching and Learning

• Design for active engagement where students connect new ideas to prior knowledge and ask questions.
• Use scaffolds such as guiding questions, worked examples early on, modeling and coaching, and detailed feedback.
• Position the instructor as facilitator, guide, and motivator. Maintain visibility to correct errors promptly.
• Assess understanding through performance and explanation, not only recall.

Learning Activities

• Discovery and collaborative learning with hands-on tasks that surface underlying principles.
• Case studies and problem based learning that require analyzing authentic scenarios and proposing solutions.
• Research projects that connect literature to practice.
• Flipped classrooms where content is previewed before class and applied in interactive sessions.
• Modeling and coaching with gradual release of responsibility.

Conclusion

Constructivism positions learners as active agents who build understanding by linking new information to what they already know. With well timed scaffolding and social interaction, strategies such as discovery learning and collaborative problem solving can increase autonomy, engagement, and performance across classroom and clinical settings.

References

• Clark, K. R. 2018. Learning Theories: Constructivism. Radiologic Technology, 90(2), 181–182.
• David, L. 2015. Constructivism. Learning Theories website. Accessed June 10, 2017.
• Pritchard, A. 2014. Ways of Learning: Learning Theories and Learning Styles in the Classroom. 3rd ed. Routledge.
• Ertmer, P. A., and Newby, T. J. 2013. Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43–71.
• Kelly, J. 2012. Learning theories. The Peak Performance Center. Accessed June 10, 2017.
• David, L. 2017. Discovery learning. Learning Theories website. Accessed June 10, 2017.
• David, L. 2014. Social development theory. Learning Theories website. Accessed June 10, 2017.