Education constructivism

Constructivism is linked to the philosophical-epistemological theory of (scientific) relativism or empiricism, which is in contrast to another theory, that of (scientific) realism or objectivism or positivism. Realists believe logical analysis applied to objective observations can be used to discover the truth about the world we live in. Relativists accept the existence of a real world, but question whether this world is knowable . They note that observations, and the choice of observations to be made, are influenced by the beliefs, theories, hypotheses, and background of the individual who makes them (6). Realism and empiricism must be considered as two extremes on a continuum. It is certain that in its early years (surely until, say, the beginning of the twentieth century), science was closer to relativism, but as time passed, we came closer to a realist state. Note that are there are those who argue that philosophical and educational constructivisms are intertwined (15, 16), and those who are against (IT) and critical (18) of the way these philosophical theories are linked to education theories. 

Educational constructivism extended the realism-empiricism dichotomy into how individuals learn, and assumed two main forms (19) (i) personal constructivism, which is associated with Piaget (5) and (ii) social-cultural constructivism which is linked to Vygotsky. Piagetian constructivism is associated with an idealized person (the epistemic subject ). On die other hand, according to Vygotsky (20), the learner constructs actively his/her knowledge, but this process is greatly assisted by interactions with peers and with the teacher who acts at the students zone of proximal development. 

Within science education, constructivism has become somewhat more clearly defined than in education more widely, having been introduced into the field by a range of scholars (Driver Easley, 1978 Driver Erickson, 1983 Gilbert Watts, 1983 von Glasersfeld, 1989) who have drawn upon key constructivist thinkers (Ausubel, 1968 Kelly, 1963 Piaget, 1929/1973 Vygotsky, 1934/1986). There are still many flavours to constructivist thinking reflected in science... 

If, on the other hand, some chemical educators do wish to support the more radical claim, that mature science itself shares constructivist elements, they should make this more explicit in their writings. But one suspects that only a small minority of chemical educators—most were trained as chemists—would want to go quite so far. Most educators are understandably attracted to educational constructivism, but overstate their case by drawing support from the more extreme and often anti-scien-tific writings of philosophical constructivists. 

Taber, K. S. (2006). Beyond constructivism The progressive research programme into learning science. Studies in Science Education, 42, 125-184. 

Such an approach is consistent with constructivism and follows the principle of induction by going from the macro to the submicro level. Note that the opposite approach, which starts from the structure of matter and follows a productive/receptive approach model, is quite common in chemistry education. 

Bretz, S. L. (2001). Novak s theory of education Human constructivism and meaningful learning. Journal of Chemical Education, 78, 1107. 

Shilandd, T. W. (1999). Constructivism The implications for laboratory work. Journal of Chemical Education, 76, 107-109. 

Bodner, G. M. (1986). Constructivism A theory of knowledge. Journal of Chemical Education, 63, 873-878. 

Duit, R., Treagust, D. F. (1998). Learning in science - from behaviourism towards social constructivism and beyond. In B. J. Fraser K. G. Tobin (Eds.), International handbook of science education (Vol. 1, pp. 3-25). Dordrecht, The Netherlands Kluwer Academic Publishers. 

Tobin, K. (2007) Key contributors Ernst van Glaserfeld s radical constructivism. Cult. Sci. Educ. 2, 529-538. 

Ferguson, R. L. (2007) Constructivism and social constructivism. In Theoretical Frameworks for Research in Chemistry/Science Education, eds. G. M. Bodner and M. Orgill, pp. 27-49. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall. 

Bodner, GM (1986) Constructivism A Theory of Knowledge. J Chem Educ 63 873-878. 

Tobin, K (1993) The Practice of Constructivism in Science Education, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ,... 

Young, M. F. D. (2008). Bringing knowledge back in from social constructivism to social realism in the sociology of education. London Routledge. 

Within the broader educational community, constructivism is understood in diverse ways and has been the subject of quite intense debate (Phillips, 2000). Constructivist approaches to teaching have sometimes been seen as equivalent to progressive or reform education or synonymous with discovery learning or teaching by enquiry. Some association with such terms is certainly justified, but unfortunately, given such diversity in use, constructivism has become a rather vague term that... 

Constructivism has its critics, even from within science education (Matthews, 1993,1994 Scerri, 2003), but such criticisms tend to be aimed at the philosophical underpinnings of some constructivist presentations, whereas the core of constructivism as applied in science classrooms is built upon findings from research into human learning. That is, at its heart, constmctivism in science education has drawn upon work in the psychology of learning, not on philosophical debates about epistemology. 

Bickhard, M. H. (1998). Constmctivism and relativism A shoppers guide. In M. R. Matthews (Ed.), Constructivism in science education A philosophical examination (pp. 99—112). Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Pubhshers. 

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