Running head: CONSTRUCTIVIST PEDAGOGY: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE 1

Constructivist Pedagogy: A Review of Literature

Stevie Morga

Franciscan University of Steubenville

A constructivist pedagogy is a theory of teaching that encourages students to build their

own knowledge. The important thing to understand about constructivist pedagogy is that the

teacher should act as the guide to student learning. Finding a balance between teaching and

allowing students to construct their knowledge is necessary. The goal of a constructivist

pedagogy is to allow students to take ownership and action over their own learning, technology

is one way to ensure students can do this. This review of literature looks to understand the role of

technology in a constructivist classroom.

Peterson (2012) looks to understand the relationship between the various persons who

have defined constructivist pedagogy. The first philosopher Peterson (2012) looks at is Vico who

looked to connect material information, such as text, to knowledge through creativity. Vico

looked not to give his students definitive knowledge, but rather to allow students to cultivate

their own understanding of language through self-development of language (Peterson, 2012).

The next person was a philosopher named Ernst Cassirer who encourages people to look beyond

the world and to look for knowledge of the cosmos (Peterson, 2012). Cassirer suggests that

perhaps the mind should expand beyond that is known and look towards the world of meaning

(Peterson, 2012). This theory is especially important in constructivist pedagogy because students

must be able to take what is known in the present and stretch it to make sense to something not

yet understood. The third person reported in this article is Jean Piaget (Peterson, 2012). Piaget

argues that knowledge of the world was not pre-existing but rather has to be learned through

observation and experience (Peterson, 2012). Piaget says little about pedagogy, however he does

say that it is important that students take action in their own learning (Peterson, 2012). The goal

of this article was to understand the symbolism of knowledge and how to find that through

constructivism (Peterson, 2012). Through a study of these three theorists, it is clear that
CONSTRUCTIVIST PEDAGOGY: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3

constructivism helps build understanding of the deeper meaning, the symbolism, of knowledge

so that it might be applied at any time (Peterson 2012).

Technology has found it’s place in the constructivist classroom according to Keengwe,

Onchwari & Agamba (2014). These three researchers explored the relationship between e-

learning and constructivism (Keengwe et al, 2014). Kengwee et al (2014) begin their article by

giving a definition of both e-learning and constructivism. E-learning, according to Kengwee et al

(2014), allows students to use technology as a tool to dive deeper into their learning.

Constructivism, however, is a way of learning through hands-on activity and involves teachers

and learners alike to build their own understandings (Kengwee et al, 2014). The question that

surrounds this article is how do these two things, e-learning and constructivism, relate to one

another (Kengwee et al, 2014). This question is answered through the three guidelines for

effective e-learning practices (Kengwee et al, 2014). The first guideline is having a learning-

centered design which means creating meaningful experiences with technology and encouraging

collaboration (Kengwee et al, 2014). The second guideline is creating an effective e-learning

environment which means teaching your students how to use technology so it is helpful and

relevant to what they are learning (Kengwee et al, 2014). This includes teaching students the

language of technology (Kengwee et al, 2014). Finally, the third guideline is to make sure that

pedagogy comes before technology (Kengwee et al, 2014). This means being sure that

technology is supporting the instructors pedagogy since it is simply an effective tool and

knowing what is appropriate for the selected grade level (Kengwee et al, 2014). In conclusion,

through this idea of incorporating e-learning into a constructivist pedagogy teachers are able to

create a student-centered meaningful learning experience (Kengwee et al, 2014).

During this generation the use of technology is very important for allowing students to

explore and further their individual learning. Churcher, Downs & Tewksbury (2014) investigated

collaborative constructivist learning through technology. This was based on Lev Vygotsky’s

theory that all knowledge is acquired through conversation with others (Churcher, et al, 2014).

The classrooms involved would use two resources to allow students to explore their learning as a

class: Facebook and a wiki site (Churcher, et al, 2014). The classroom using Facebook consisted

of 30 students who were given discussion questions that must be answered and discussed through

Facebook (Churcher, et al, 2014). Facebook was chosen because it was a site that is familiar to

the students in the classroom therefore easier to implement (Churcher et al, 2014). After this

study was conducted, a survey found that students for the majority felt that they were more

aware of their peer’s thoughts as well as felt Facebook was a good modem for discussion and

learning (Churcher, et al, 2014).

The second study was conducted in a college course using wiki sites to co-create an exam

(Churcher, et al, 2014). Students would collaboratively create a list of questions that might be on

their own exam (Churcher, et al, 2014). From this list, a percentage would be selected to be on

the actual exam (Churcher, et al, 2014). For the majority of participants in this study, students

reported back that students had an easier time retaining information for this test because they

created parts of the exam (Churcher, et al, 2014). The purpose of this study was to examine if

social learning is the best way for students to construct their individual knowledge (Churcher, et

al, 2014). Overall this was proven to be successful because as social beings, teachers should

allow students to work through their understandings and build on their knowledge in community

with their classmates (Churcher, et al, 2014).

Thus far, technology has been supported in constructivist pedagogy, however Chen &

Bennett (2012) present a study in which technology is allowed, but not the main focus of

learning. In this study Chen et al (2012) look into Chinese international students and their use of

online learning. Three research questions were given about the beliefs, characteristics, and

negotiating about pedagogical practices of Chinese students (Chen et al, 2012). Data was

collected through discussion, interviewing postgraduate online educators, and case studies (Chen

et al, 2012). The results showed that Chinese culture focuses curriculum heavily on content

knowledge (Chen et al, 2012). This came from the students response that they believe quantity of

information leads to deeper understanding (Chen et al, 2012). From the teacher interview data, it

was found that all teachers emphasized pedagogy over technology (Chen et al, 2012). As a result

from the case studies, Chen et al (2012) found that students preferred guidance and authority to

solidarity when learning. Chen et al (2012) also reported that students felt the self-paced learning

of online education created a poor quality learning experience. The study looked to understand

Chinese use of technology in the classroom which was answered through three research

questions (Chen et al, 2012).

In conclusion, technology is a good way for teachers to allow students to gather deeper

understanding of knowledge. Teachers are able to go from being on stage to being a mentor. This

allows each student to dive deeper into learning while creating time for the teacher to check

progress and understanding at differentiated levels. The goal of a constructivist pedagogy is to

allow students to take ownership and action over their own learning, technology is one way to

ensure students can do this. Future research should include how professional development

creates support for teachers on implementing technology as a tool in their classroom.

Peterson, T.(2012). Constructivist pedagogy and symbolism: Vico, Cassirer, piaget, bateson.

Educational Philosophy and Theory 44(8) 878-891.

Churcher, K., Downs, E. & Tewksbury, D. (2014). “Friending” vygotsky: A social constructivist

pedagogy of knowledge building through classroom social media use. The Journal of

Effective Teaching 14(1) 33-50.

Keengwe, J., Onchwari, G. & Agamba, J. (2013). Promoting effective e-learning practices

through the constructivist pedagogy. Educational Informational Techology 19 887-898.

Chen, R. & Bennett, S. (2012). When chinese learners meet constructivist pedagogy online. High

Education 64, 677-691.