It is fairly clear that before medieval times versions of the new pedagogy were dominant. In fact, in all the recent constructivist writings that I have read I've yet to see a direct quotation from any educational philosopher arguing that knowledge should be 'transmitted'. Instead they invariably infer and attribute a philosophy from the practice. It could well be that practice was dictated by social and other factors rather than by philosophy. Cohen quotes the American icon Mark Twain's story of learning to become a Mississippi riverboat pilot to indicate that there was a popular rebellion against 'formal education'.
Similar stories are common in European literature.
The proposition and demonstration were fairly written on a thin wafer, with ink composed of cephalick tincture. This the student was to swallow upon a fasting stomach, and for three days following eat nothing but bread and water. As the wafer digested, the tincture mounted to his brain, bearing the proposition along with it. Similarly, Charles Dickens' Gradgrind is made a ridiculous figure for his 'facts, facts' philosophy. In short, popular educational philosophy never did support objectivism.