Definitions, Resources, and Links related to the IT Field

Categories

• Learning Environments
• Technology Roles
• Learning Theories
• Taxonomy

Learning Environments

Constructivism

Jumping off point to other sites on Constructivism

http://pdts.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/ET-IT/constr.htm

Learning Environments

Links to various learning environments

http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/le.html

Constructivism

A place where learners may work together and support each other as they use a variety of tools and information resources in their guided pursuit of learning goals and problem-solving activities

Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in instructional design, Wilson (1996) (p.5)
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~elmurphy/emurphy/constructivism.html

USENET: a constructivist learning environment

Presentation on Constructivism presented to a session of the Association for Educational Communications in Anaheim CA, February, 1995.

Martin Ryder
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/aect_95.html

Constructivism

Constructivism is a theory which is based on results of Piaget's research. It differs from the traditional view, that knowledge exists independently of individual, the view that the mind is a tabula rasa, a blank tablet upon which a picture can be painted.

A brief overview of constructivist ideas reveals their utility. One foundational premise is that children actively construct their knowledge. Rather than simply absorbing ideas spoken at them by teachers, or somehow internalizing them through endless, repeated rote practice, constructivism posits that children actually invent their ideas. They assimilate new information to simple, pre-existing notions, and modify their understanding in light of new data. In the process, their ideas gain in complexity and power, and with appropriate support children develop critical insight into how they think and what they know about the world as their understanding increases in depth and detail. Constructivism emphasizes the careful study of the processes by which children create and develop their ideas. Its educational applications lie in creating curricula that match (but also challenge) children's understanding, fostering further growth and development of the mind.

Strommen, 1992
http://www.ic.polyu.edu.hk/posh97/Student/Learn/Learning_theories.html#constructivism