Paul Mahoney's List: Paul's LT4 Act 1 Learning Theories

Website explaining the Constructivism learning theory.
A reaction to didactic approaches such as behaviorism and programmed instruction, constructivism states that learning is an active, contextualized process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring it. Knowledge is constructed based on personal experiences and hypotheses of the environment. Learners continuously test these hypotheses through social negotiation. Each person has a different interpretation and construction of knowledge process. The learner is not a blank slate (tabula rasa) but brings past experiences and cultural factors to a situation.

Website explaining the Constructivism learning theory.
Constructivism learning theory is a philosophy which enhances students' logical and conceptual growth. The underlying concept within the constructivism learning theory is the role which experiences-or connections with the adjoining atmosphere-play in student education.

A background on Social and Cognitive Constructivism focusing on Piaget and Vygotsky.
An effective classroom, where teachers and students are communicating optimally, is dependent on using constructivist strategies, tools and practices. There are two major types of constructivism in the classroom: (1) Cognitive or individual constructivism depending on Piaget's theory, and (2) Social constructivism depending on Vygotsky's theory. Similarities include inquiry teaching methods and students creating concepts built on existing knowledge that are relevant and meaningful. Differences include language development theory where thinking precedes language for cognitive constructivism and language precedes thinking for the theory of social constructivism. Understanding communicative tools and strategies helps teachers to develop individual learning methods such as, discovery learning, and social interactive to develop peer collaboration.

The current faddish use of the term constructivism has taken on as many different definitions as the number of people attempting to define it. This essay clarifies the meaning of constructivism through an examination of Karl Popper's and Jean Piaget's theories. The authors provide a rationale for the use of Popper's paradigm of "Three Worlds" and how his criterion for open and closed theories serves as a framework for Piaget's constructivist theory.
Steve Harlow; Rhoda Cummings; Suzanne M. Aberasturi
The Educational Forum, 1938-8098, Volume 71, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 41 – 48

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.