Social Constructivism

Social Constructivist Learning Theory


Where Piaget argued that knowledge is aquired in proportion to the developmental stage within the individual child, social constructivists view knowledge as being formed through social exchange. The social exchange requires the individual thinker to exchange ideas with others. Through this social exchange with peers or more knowledgable adults, internal ideas are transformed through external exchange and then internalized as more developed ideas or knowledge.
We have participated in online discussions as the tool through which we each express ideas, respond to the ideas of others and develop knowledge. The advantage of the written form of communication is the thoroughness and thought required to write my own post, read and understand the thoughts of others and modify my own ideas based on what I learn. It is especially helpful to be able to look back at helpful exchanges and re-internalize the ideas. Where a verbal exchange or conversation would occur more quickly and have far less accurate record (even if notes or minutes are recorded), the flow of a verbal exchange face to face personally feels more natural. The online discussion is new territory for me, and the flow feels less familiar and is at times more difficult to follow. I also miss the information gained from non-verbal cues such as tone or facial expression. The online format, however, does focus far more on the content and is much less likely to be misdirected by an individual's opinion. The opinion or ideas of each participant are valued and stated; respect and consideration are given to each post. While I am less familiar with this process I have learned a great deal from it.