Constructivism: How I Learn

The learning theory I believe to best represent my approach to learning online is constructivism. In this theory, learning is based on an individual’s consciousness, free will, and social influences. Constructivism highlights how each person's learning process is unique, and argues that human behavior is inherently not deterministic. According to constructivism, we are in a constant state of understanding our surroundings, and that we are always learning in a dynamic environment. Though reflection and analysis, we learn by assimilating new knowledge with previous knowledge. As such, our behavior is not predictable (or predeterminate) because each person’s individual experiences leads to a different learning outcome. However, these learning outcomes can be guided by social interactions. We teach and learn through social processes in places such as school, work, public areas, and online communities. We are all learners and teachers, meaning that as you read this blog post, I am teaching you and affecting your learning experience, even in a minute way. If you leave a comment on this blog, you will be teaching me in some way as well.

Constructivism best represents how I learn because I strongly identify with the idea that learning is a dynamic, ongoing process of building upon previous knowledge. This concept has actually been explored by ancient Greek philosophers. Diotima of Mantinea once said, "Thus, unlike the gods, a mortal cannot remain the same throughout eternity; it can only leave behind a new life to fill the vacancy that is left as it passes away”. This statement essentially means that we are in a constant state of change. When applied to learning, this means that our understanding of the world is always evolving, and that we learn by assimilating new knowledge with old knowledge. I agree with this idea. The only way we can learn something new is if we have something old to build off of. My knowledge of constructivism was built off of what I had previously been taught about learning. I was also able to connect this new knowledge with my knowledge about ancient Greek philosophy. Theoretically, we would be able to trace back everything I've ever learned to some previous learning experience.

I also believe that learning is strongly associated with social interactions. Research has shown that our upbringing has a strong impact on our beliefs, values, attitudes and behavior. We certainly learn through interactions with our parents and school teachers, but we also learn through our peers or even strangers. In the 21st century, social interaction is often facilitated by technology. In my next blog post, I'll discuss how constructivism connects to how I learn in an online classroom.