Only by wrestling with the conditions of the problem at hand, seeking and finding his own solution (not in isolation but in correspondence with the teacher and other pupils) does one learn." John Dewey, How We Think, 1910

Application of the Constructivist Checklist

Increasingly, researchers and educators are linking constructivism, technology and learning. This is not surprizing since many see in computer-based learning environments strong support for the principles of constructivist philosophy. Use of Muds (Multi-user Domains), E-mail, Usenet groups and of the World Wide Web in general provide environments, contexts and authentic 'worlds' which students can experience and explore. Other computer-based projects and environments make partial use of the Internet to provide students with rich learning environments and sophisticated cognitive tools.

The checklist presented in the previous section of this site lists the characteristics or principles of constructivist learning and teaching. These characteristics are based on constructivist theory of learning and epistemology. In this section, the checklist will be applied to a selection of computer-based projects and environments which are either described online or which operate in online environments. These projects, activities and environments have in common the fact that they are described by their creators as constructivist and all incorporate some form of electronic technology.

The projects, activities and environments themselves were not viewed in operation. The checklist is therefore only applied to descriptions of the projects and not to actual, personal observations. This vantage point did not allow for the observation of such phenomenon as teacher/student interaction, students' reactions to their learning experiences, student progress, and of many other factors which might influence the degree to which the various characteristics of constructivism might be successfully implemented in a learning situation. For this reason, there are a number of limitations to this inquiry. At the same time, the checklist does provide a simple instrument which can serve both a means to implementing a constructivist project or environment and a means of briefly characterizing an environment.


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

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