Knowledge Spaces for Online Discovery Learning

Constructivism Concepts

The conceptual foundations of constructivism were influenced heavily by elements many theorists believed were missing from other learning theories. For instance, prior to constructivism, behaviorism, rooted in work by Pavlov, Skinner, and others suggested learning could be measured by behavioral change. Behaviorists viewed learning as a concept which could not be measured directly. Therefore, they believed a surrogate, instantiated as behavioral change, had to be measured instead. They posited that behavioral change was shaped by (1) the environment, (2) how close in time two events occur, and (3) reinforcement (either positive or negative). Behaviorists suggested that if a process influences behavior in a meaningful, long term way, then it was reasonable to assume learning had occurred.

The concept of behaviorism spawned a number of pedagogies. For instance, the idea of testing and giving grades is a form of behavioral reinforcement. Exam scores are viewed as measurable surrogates for learning. Instructivism (or direct instruction) is a common representation of behaviorism in education (Kim & Axelrod, 2005). Instructivist learning theory suggests knowledge exists outside the learner and is taught to the student by a teacher. Instructivism and other forms of behaviorism are generally teacher-centered. The student passively receives information from an authority.