CONSTRUCTIVISM

The theory holds that learning always builds upon knowledge that a student already knows; this prior knowledge is called a schema Because all learning is filtered through pre-existing schemata, constructivists suggest that learning is more effective when a student is actively engaged in the learning process rather than attempting to receive knowledge passively. wikipedia.edu

Schema - An internal knowledge structure. New information is compared to existing cognitive structures called "schema". Schema may be combined, extended or altered to accommodate new information

Constructivism focusses on how learners, rather than passively absorbing information try to organize and make sense of it.different from the information processing theories, which is about how people interpret information, constructivism is about how people create knowledge from observances and interactions.(Meegan Patternson)

Fundamentally, constructivism says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.(Thirteen Ed Online (2004)

Constructivism is the theory that describes learning to due to the construction of knowledge. The theory focuses on the understanding the information. A big component of Constructivism is socializing. The learners are posed with guiding questions and the learners work together to acquire the new information. Two famous contributors to Constructivism are Lev Vygotsky who is known for the definition of Zone of Proximal Development and Jerome Bruner who is known for stating that learning is an active process.

Constructivist views assert that learning is the active process of constructing rather than passively acquiring knowledge, and instruction is the process of supporting the knowledge constructed by the learners rather than the mere communication of knowledge (Duffy & Cunningham, 1996; Honebein, Duffy & Fishman, 1993; Jonassen, 1999;). Truth is determined by the viability of the learners’ understanding in the real world, where viability is culturally determined. The constructivist framework seeks to understand multiple perspectives, and challenges the learners’ thinking.

Approaches taught by Jean piaget and Vygotsky presents two quintessential forms of constructivism i.e. cognitive and social constructivism. These concepts are varied to the extent to which they propose that knowledge is either made or discovered.