The resources that an individual brings with them to the situation will govern this perspective. From a constructivist standpoint, learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current and past understandings. Constructivism highlights the ways in which the learners selects, interprets and transforms information, constructing hypotheses, and making decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Mental models provide the means by which an individual interpets and organises experience in order to elaborate and extend current understandings. Whilst individuals actively give personal meaning to a given situation, they do so within the framework of a cultural context.
Individuals enter into a context where there are already many shared understandings.
These shared understandings shape and ground the personal interpretations made by individuals. The constructivist view of learning and teaching suggests the need for curricula that match and challenge the students' understanding to promote further growth and development. Religious educators have, for many years, appreciated the active role of the individual as he or she engages with the religious tradition. Conceptual frameworks like Shared Christian Praxis are based on this insight. A recognition of the active role played by the learner during the learning process does not necessily reduce to utter relativism or subjectivism.