Constructivist checklist
Constructivism is a theory of knowledge with roots in philosophy, psychology and cybernetics. Such is the definition provided by constructivist's leading theorist, E. von Glasersfeld (1989). How does this theory of knowledge translate into practice? How do definitions of what it means to "construct knowledge" inform our actions as educators? While constructivism is clearly gaining popularity as a new paradigm for learning, many question how the philosophy can be operationalized. They argue that it does not provide a method, approach or particular pedagogy.

At the same time, numerous researchers and educators are busy designing what they refer to as constructivist learning environments. Descriptions abound of what their creators refer to as "constructivist" projects, activities and approaches. How have these projects realized the transition from constructivist philosophy to practice? What characteristics do these projects and environments exhibit? The previous section of this site presented a summary of constructivist characteristics. This section considers how these characteristics might be exhibited in a given learning environment or project.

The following checklist is designed to serve as a simple instrument to observe some of the ways in which these constructivist characteristics are present in learning projects, activities and environments. The observation should provide insights into the ways in which constructivist philosophy translates into practice. The checklist will only be applied to projects, activities and learning environments which are presented online. For this reason, and depending on how the projects are described, it may not always be possible to observe all of the characteristics. Many may only be evident in the actual classroom situation. As well, certain projects may emphasize fewer characteristics depending on the teacher and the group of students. For this reason, the checklist serves a limited purpose. Nonetheless, it should provide some insights into how constructivist concepts might be operationalized in an instructional setting.


CONSTRUCTIVIST CHECKLIST

CHARACTERISTIC SUPPORTED NOT SUPPORTED NOT OBSERVED
Multiple perspectives
Student-directed goals
Teachers as coaches
Metacognition
Learner control
Authentic activities & contexts
Knowledge construction
Knowledge collaboration
Previous knowledge constructions
Problem solving
Consideration of errors
Exploration
Apprenticeship learning
Conceptual interrelatedness
Alternative viewpoints
Scaffolding
Authentic assessment
Primary sources of data


Introduction| Epistemology| Learning Theory| Characteristics| Checklist| Checklist Application| Summary| References|

This site was created by Elizabeth Murphy, Summer, 1997.