Such a theory of knowledge and learning has significant implications for teaching. It changes the dynamics of the traditional classroom by empowering the learner as the focus and architect of the learning process while redefining the role of the instructor to be a guide and helper rather than the source and conduit of knowledge. Constructivism has become an educational theory of choice for many within modern educational institutions. Gaining additional insight into this theory is the purpose of this document. Learning does not occur in isolation, either.
Constructivist learners are active.
According to this theory, learners are active participants in knowledge acquisition, and engage in restructuring, manipulating, reinventing, and experimenting with knowledge to make it meaningful, organized and permanent. The importance of context related to knowledge and learning is emphasized. A constructivist learning setting differs greatly from one based on the traditional model. The average traditional American classroom, whether grade school or college level, tends to resemble a one-person show with a captive but often comatose audience. Instruction in these classrooms is based on the idea that there is a fixed world of knowledge that the student must come to know.