The Many Faces Although most constructivist classrooms feature active, social, and creative learning, different kinds of knowledge invite ferent constructivist responses, not one standard constructivist approach. 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Here and there, mentioning the C word 's almost baal manners, Perhaps i's possible to make better sense of the vexed and messy of constructivism by a questions, What Is Constructivism in Its Variety? No one can live in the world of educa sion long without becoming aware that ‘consteuctivism is more than one thing, But what accounts for the varie? Philosopher D. C. Philips (1995) ident Bes theee distinct roles in construc tivism, We'll call thems the active learner, the social learner, and the creative toarner. ‘The active learner: Knowledge and understanding as actively acquired. Constructivism generally casts leamers nan active role. Instead of just, listening, reading, and working through routine exercises, they discuss, debate hypothesize, investigate, and take view= ‘common thread in Betty st day at Constructivist High ‘The social learner: Knowledge and understanding as socially constructed. Constructivists often emphasize that knowledge and understanding are highly social, We do not construct them individvally ialogue with others, The teaching of history should make students aware of how historical “teuth” varies with the interest groups—hence in Betty's history class, the letters from the aristo cratic perspective, The teaching of science should lead students to recog: nize that scientific teuths are arrived at by’a social critical process that shapes their supposedly objective reality—thus, the group work in Betty's science class, The creative learner: Knowledge 2 and understanding as created or re coconstract them in ASSOCIATION FOR SUoEAVISION 4NB CURRICUIM DevELorsENT 7recreated Otten, constrvetivists hol that learners need to create or recreate knowledge for themselves, It is not ‘cnougl that they assume am active Stance, Teachers soul guide them rediscover scientific theories, historical perspectives, snd so on, Bettys history teacher hopes that the lester exercise will heip students reconstruct the 2st: cratic perspective, and hier science teacher hopes that the students’ theo: Fes and experiments will build a strong understanding of why objects fall as they do, eis natu to ask how the three constructivist moles relate to one aanotltet. An active tole forthe learner is basic in practice, social and creative aspects often accompany this role However, an active learner does not logically require the osher two. ‘Teachers can organize learning expert ences in active ways that do not require Teamers to engage in testing and building knowledge in x social manner for to invent or reinvent theories or viewpoints Why—and Why Not— Constructivism? ‘Why has constructivism enjoyed such advocacy for several decades? One reason is simply the search for better ‘ways to teach and learn, With tradi- ‘ional methods, researchers and teachers have noted persistent shortfalls fn students’ understanding and a great deal of passive knowledge across all ages and grades, including the univer sity (Gardner, 1990). | philosophical argument also supports constructivist educational practices. The stimuli that we ‘encounter, including messages from others, are never logically sufficient 10 ‘convey meaning, To some extent, the individual always has 10 construct oF reconstruct what things mean. Te thus makes sense to organize Ieuening 10 reflect this reality, Another kind of argument looks to psychological sources (Perkins, 19924; Duly & Jonassen, 1992; Reigeluth, 1999; Wilson, 1996; Wiske, 1998), Considerable research shows that active engagement in learning may lead to better retention, understanding, and active use of knowledge. A social times called collaborative oF conpera tive learning —oltea. although Not alway, fosters learning, Sometimes, raging students in discovery or reds ‘covery processes energizes them and yields deeper Such arguments certainly encourage constructivist teaching peactices. How. ever. complications arise, Consteuctvist techniques often require more time than do traditional edicationat pace Lices—a cost worth paying, enthusiasts, say, but many teachers feel the pres- suresand conclude that they need to make compromises, Asking learners t0 discover of rediscover principles can foster understanding, but leners some times persist in discovering the wrong Constructivism generally casts learners in an active role. principles —for instance, an idiosyr cratic scientific theory, Although ardent cconstructivists may argue that process is all, others believe that one way of another, students need to arrive at an understanding of the best theories propounded by the disciplines. Also, constructivist learning experi- ‘ences can exert high cognitive demands ‘on learners, and not all earners respond ‘well to the challenge (Perkins, 19926), Constructivist techniques can even seem deceptive and manipulative. “Why don't you just me what you want me to know instead of making a big secret of it? is not always an unreason: able question. What Kind of Constructivism Makes Sense When? ‘The complications make it important 10 deploy constructivist techniques wisely, in the right place for the right purpose How can a teacher create appropriate, largeted constructivist responses to learners’ difficulties? One approach to the challenge recognizes that different kinds of knowiedge—inert, ritual, conceptually difficult, and foreign—are B EDUCATIONAL Leanexsite/NovenaER 1999 likely to prove troublesome fr learners in dierent ways, wert Knowledge Inert knowledge sits inthe mind's ati Uunpacked only when specifically called for by a guiz ora diteet prompt but otherwise gathering dust (Bransford, Franks. Vye, & Sherwood, 1989, Bere iter & Scardamylia, 1985), A funk and relatively benign example is passive vocabulary —words that we understand but do not use aetively. Unfortanately, considerable knowledge that we would like to vee used actively proves to be inert. Students commonly learn ideas about society and self in history and social staies but make no connections to today's events or family life. Students eam concepts in science but make litle connection to the world around them, Students Jeaen techniques in math but fail to connect them 10 everyday appl: cations oF to their science studies What is the constructivist response ‘when teaching knowledge that i likely to become inert? One strategy #8 to ‘engage learners in active problem solving with knowiedge that makes ‘connections to their world. Betty Fable's Foglish teacher asked her students to make connections berween Frost's “Acquainted with the Night” and episodes in their own lives, For another ‘example, science students studying basic machines (levers, pulleys, and so ‘on) might find and analyze examples around their homes. [Another approach is o engage students in problemvbased learning, where they acquire the target concepts while addressing some medium-scale problem or project (Boud & Felet, 1991; Savery & Duly, 1996), The English students might search out varied ‘poems fora project on the theme ‘poems ofthe nights of our lives” The science students might bul a Rube Goldberg apparatus or construct useful gadgets that use basic machines. Ritual Knowledge Ritual knowledge has a routine and rather meaningless character. It feels like part of a social or an inlividual ritual: how we answer when asked sucheanclsuch, the routine that we