Oct
24
Constructivism Revisited: progress in ever decreasing circles…
Filed Under Current Trends, Topics for debate | 5 Comments
Constructivism Revisited: progress in ever decreasing circles
Alexander Romiszowski
(Educational Technology 46/5, September-October 2006, pp61-63)
Are post-objectivist educators on the wrong track(s)?
About two years ago, this magazine published an animated exchange, instigated by Clifton Chadwick’s somewhat provocative article, entitled “Why I am not a Constructivist”. I read this article and the series of rebuttals and replies with interest, noting particularly the way that the discussion developed as argument was followed by counter-argument. Chadwick’s original paper, as I recall, rejected the constructivist position as a basis for the design and implementation of instruction on the grounds that such approaches have not been shown to lead to instructional improvements, and then proceeded to an analysis of constructivist philosophies in order demonstrate why such approaches could not be expected to add value to the teaching-learning process. The ensuing rebuttals, however, focused on Chadwick’s interpretation of the philosophies and largely ignored the initial reason for including such an article in a magazine that focuses on the technology of education, where “technology” is understood in the broad sense of applying scientifically proven knowledge to the solution of practical real-world problems.