A Constructivist Pedagogy For Career And Technology Education

14 Pages 3523 Words

a differing answer would be given.

Defining constructivism requires that a theory be explored. Constructivist theory is the belief that all learners are actively engaged in their learning process or knowledge acquisition. This further expands to include the idea that as learners, “we construct our own understandings of the world in which we live” (Brooks, 1999). This understanding relies heavily on the learner’s prior knowledge and experiences, which directly influence the way that the learner will ‘construct’ his or her new knowledge. Questioning and research of exactly what or who influences the construction process has brought about different forms of constructivism. The three forms of constructivism to be explored in this essay are radical, social, and cognitive constructivism(s).

The Radical Constructivist Approach to Learning

The term radical constructivism was first coined by Ernst von Glasersfeld in 1974 (von Glasersfeld, 1974). Von Glasersfeld based his theory on the 18th century works of Giambatista Vico, and the later 20th century theories of Jean Piaget (von Glasersfeld, 1989).

The radical constructivist perspective holds that all knowledge is constructed by the subject, or learner. Radical constructivists believe that knowledge is a subjective creation from the subject’s experiences that has been demonstrated to be viable (von Glasersfeld, p. 123). Viable here means “to fit”--in other words, the learner creates knowledge based on his or her experiences that fit into his or her understanding of reality.

In a radical constructivist model of knowledge, reality is what each subject understands it to be, based on their knowledge, experience, and goals. Von Glaserfeld argued that a subject cannot truly “know” reality, they can only know their understandings of reality as it fits their experiences and affects their lives. Therefore, the subject adapts what knowledge he or she...